A tale with an inspirational message that kids from any background can learn from.
Two Black brothers rise up from racism and poverty in this debut illustrated children’s book based on a true story.
The Allen children have experienced many challenges over the years: growing up in poverty, having drug-addicted parents, and sometimes being hungry, homeless, or separated. When the youngest sibling, Gilbert, is struggling in school, he asks his Black teacher for guidance. But she tells him: “You’re not doing well because you’re just not that smart...focus on sports, that’s what you’re good at.” It’s true that Gilbert is a talented athlete, but that’s not enough for him. Things at school get even worse, so Gilbert goes to live with his older brother, Michael, a college student. Gilbert’s new school offers a better education, but his grades are still low. Michael provides subject matter tutoring and teaches Gilbert excellent study habits. Although both brothers encounter racism and low expectations, they lift each other up and become even more motivated, succeeding not just as athletes, but also as scholars. Michael achieves his dream of continuing to help kids by becoming a principal while Gilbert finds purpose in social work. Today, they inspire kids to find success through four steps: find effective mentors, become “vulnerable enough to accept and let go of the unhealthy feelings inside,” seek counseling, and practice mindfulness. In their book, the Allen brothers provide a heartening example of how it’s possible to overcome very serious hardships like poverty and familial disruption. Their approach combines good character traits, including grit and determination; organizational skills, such as making schedules and checklists; and the establishment of emotional strength through mutual support and activities like journaling, reading books on racism, or collecting positive quotations. Goshay, who has worked on many children’s books featuring Black characters, provides varied and expressive digital illustrations.
A tale with an inspirational message that kids from any background can learn from. (glossary)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73441-877-4
Page Count: 55
Publisher: Tgosketch Illustration
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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