This seemingly simple read-aloud to introduce young readers to the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act achieves...
In this touching picture book by the authors of White Water (2011), an African-American boy learns the importance of voting by accompanying his grandfather to a polling station.
Michael has learned the value of hard work from his chores on the farm and patience from the afternoons fishing with Granddaddy. When Granddaddy puts on his best suit, Michael knows it is a special day. His grandfather is voting for the first time! But when a deputy at the voting booth stops them, the joyous occasion becomes a lesson about racism and injustice. The story is subtle, skipping over the struggle required to achieve progress. Instead, the gentle “patience, son, patience” refrain implies justice will come as a matter of course if readers wait their turn. Coretta Scott King Award–winning illustrator Ransome captures the nuance that is left out of the text in his vibrant watercolor paintings. The Confederate flag flying over the polling station and the facial expressions of the white people there underscore the racialized context for sanitized statements like “some people were allowed to vote and some people were not.” The final page of historical information about voting rights in the South is a nice bonus.
This seemingly simple read-aloud to introduce young readers to the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act achieves complexity in its images. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: July 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6593-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Feline fanciers will snap this up like catnip.
Catty Corner, who’s half cat, half girl, struggles when she attends school for the first time.
Until recently, Catty’s been homeschooled by her half-cat mom (her father is fully human), who teaches her subjects such as reading and string chasing, as well as the importance of following rules like “no midnight zoomies” and “no knocking over shiny things.” But when her mom gets an amazing job at the fish cannery, Catty contends with a whole new challenge: third grade at a real school. On her first day, Catty manages to break every single one of her parents’ big rules for outside the house: no hissing, scratching, or biting. She goes home crestfallen: “Today will go down in hissssstory as the worst first day of school ever.” But when her mom gives her a diary in which both Granny Tabby and Mom detailed their own difficult days as the only half cats, half girls at school, Catty slowly changes her attitude. Careful readers may wonder why Catty’s parents never socialized her with other children and why Granny Tabby’s diary wasn’t shared with her in advance of her first day of school. That said, with its pawsitively adorable puns and sweetly spunky protagonist, this quickly paced tale will please cat lovers; young readers looking for relatably awkward school stories will find it charming, too. The text is broken up by occasional watercolorlike illustrations depicting Catty as light-skinned with ginger hair and tail; her schoolmates are diverse.
Feline fanciers will snap this up like catnip. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781454956471
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship.
A child finds connection to the world all around in this Korean import.
The illustrations in this unusual picture book achieve a 3-D effect reminiscent of claymation. The opening scene shows an aerial view of a playground scattered with maple and gingko leaves; a tethered dog watches a child aiming at marbles. Accustomed to spending time alone and solitary play, Tong Tong’s fertile imagination infuses a bag of assorted spherical hard candies with powers that give voice to unlikely speakers, such as the living room sofa and Marbles the old dog, each speaking with Tong Tong to share a sentient perspective. The hard candies also channel the tough love hidden within Tong Tong’s father and Grandma’s bubbly, reassuring voice emanating from another realm. The candies’ magic reveals yet another dimension when Tong Tong is drawn outdoors to witness nature’s beauty as copious falling leaves bid farewell to the season. Through these uncanny exchanges, Tong Tong not only makes surprising discoveries, but also delves into complex emotions, celebrates a continuing relationship with Grandma, and takes courageous steps toward a tantalizing conclusion. The enhanced artwork establishes depth and perspective, featuring details some may find initially unsettling—along with the cryptic, open-ended narrative. That said, depictions of facial expressions are skillful and endearing, and the interplay between text and illustrations will cause readers to linger and ponder.
An enigmatic, quirky representation of an active imagination in search of understanding and companionship. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2959-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
