by Nahid Kazemi ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 11, 2022
Clever construction and intertextual inspirations weave a thought-provoking homage to a fabled heroine and master...
This reframing of the classic One Thousand and One Nights explores universal themes through a contemporary lens.
Having fallen in love with stories at an early age, pale-skinned Shahrzad, with her springy black curls, is “always waiting for another story.” By the time she meets a sad boy in the park, she is an adept storyteller and budding writer. The account of the boy’s family—they fled an angry king whose life was touched by tremendous loss—introduces additional dimensions to this rich tale that is, by turns, realistic and magical. Readers journey with Shahrzad as her imagination takes flight via a toy airplane. Her encounter with the angry king hones her narrative powers while enabling the king to transcend his prolonged grief and revoke his harsh laws. The illustrations convey Shahrzad’s probing wit and a youngster’s whimsical representation of the story world, which includes a reference to One Thousand and One Nights (or “maybe it was just ten”). While Shahrzad wears the same dress throughout the book, her appearance varies, alternating in scale and vantage point, thereby raising an intriguing question about the protagonist’s perspective. Are we seeing her as a “girl” or as a writer recalling her own childhood memories? In this manner, the overall narrative invites us to ponder the nature of time as both cyclical and linear.
Clever construction and intertextual inspirations weave a thought-provoking homage to a fabled heroine and master storyteller. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-59270-352-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Judith Henderson
BOOK REVIEW
by Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
BOOK REVIEW
by Michelle Nott ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
BOOK REVIEW
by Karim Alrawi ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Maribeth Boelts
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Daniel Duncan
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts & illustrated by Lauren Castillo
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out.
Teachers influence children profoundly.
From earliest childhood, Lila Greer, the youngest of five in a single-dad household, has been a worrier. Then the family moves. Entering second grade feels overwhelming: Nothing’s familiar, and she has no friends. But Ms. Kern, Lila’s new teacher, invites Lila to erase the chalkboard at recess and to articulate her fears. It helps that someone listens. Soon, classmates get into the act, and lonely Lila makes friends, emerges from her shell, and learns that “what ifs” have positive sides. Lila grows up, still fretting sometimes, and then becomes a new teacher who worries upon meeting her own students. But then she remembers the teacher who helped her overcome her fears and doubts years earlier. What was that marvelous, ineffable quality Ms. Kern possessed? Then Lila remembers: It was kindness! Harnessing that memory, Lila now welcomes her own “smiling young faces.” This is a sweet story that emphasizes good cheer, helpfulness, and the importance of feeling welcome and heard, no matter who you are: terrific messages, expressed in bouncy verses that scan well. The illustrations are colorfully lively. Readers will appreciate occasional displays of humorous and quirky typesetting creativity and will admire Lila’s poufy topknot, which resembles a huge ball of yarn. Lila is light-skinned, Ms. Kern is tan-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781419769047
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
More by Andrea Beaty
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.