A long picture book for grade school readers with appealing illustrations, a diverse cast and a solid introduction to salsa.
Hickman introduces Roscoe Alfonso Leonidas Washington III and his multigenerational family of salsa dancers in the third book of a series, amusingly illustrated by Rousseau.
Young Roscoe isn’t particularly interested in salsa dancing. His grandparents salsa dance. His parents salsa dance. And despite how much they love dancing, when they ask Roscoe if he wants to learn to salsa dance, “it reminds me of the times my mom told me to eat my peas.” But as they keep giving him advice, he decides he’d rather learn to dance than disappoint his family. Roscoe starts dancing everywhere—in his room, on the football field, in front of the mirror—until he can really imagine himself as a salsa dancer. But despite his growing comfort, he still has to learn. Luckily, his friend Sara has a plan: They’ll take the 60-minute salsa dancing class together. “This is absurd, ridiculous learning how to salsa dance in 60 minutes,” Roscoe says, but Sara is convinced they should give it a try. In the remainder of the oversized picture book—alternating between sometimes-lengthy text and cartoonish full-color illustrations depicting Roscoe’s facial expressions and family members in hilarious detail—Roscoe and Sara go through instructions on how to salsa. While the book wouldn’t actually teach anyone to dance, it’s believable that Roscoe and Sara are able to pick up the basics in a one-hour lesson, which gives Roscoe the confidence he needs to dance in a competition with his family. The cast in the illustrations is wonderfully diverse, and salsa dancing is never presented as something that’s strange for a boy to learn, which might encourage young male readers to branch out into a new athletic activity. The text sometimes has a stilted flow, and the dialogue doesn’t always ring true, but Roscoe’s journey from disinterest to dancing champ is believable, and the illustrations help make him a sympathetic hero.
A long picture book for grade school readers with appealing illustrations, a diverse cast and a solid introduction to salsa.Pub Date: July 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1481809078
Page Count: 66
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
