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
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.).
Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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