A traditional hero gets a courageous, compassionate makeover in this pleasing, well-illustrated story.
In a twist on a familiar fairy tale, Jack rescues the bean crop and a sad Giant in this children’s book.
Young Jack Garbanzo lives with his parents. They’re farmers, but Jack prefers carpentry. The Garbanzos’ field of magical beanstalks has lost its enchantment and turned spindly ever since a green-skinned, droopy-eyed young Giant slipped from his cloud and fell into town. Ostracized and mocked, he’s been hiding in the bean field, where he sobs salty tears of misery every night. With the family’s bean harvest threatened, Jack ventures out one night to ask the Giant why he’s crying. He explains that “I’m a nice guy...well, Giant. I miss my mom, dad, and my cat, Puss ’N Boots.” He regrets ruining the crops but can’t go home now by climbing a beanstalk; the weakened plants won’t support his weight. Taking pity on the unfairly maligned Giant, Jack uses his woodworking skills to build a huge spiral staircase surrounding the tallest stalk. As he’s working, the townspeople come to appreciate the friendly Giant, and everyone says an affectionate goodbye when he’s finally able to climb home. Howell keeps her anti-bullying fable from becoming too preachy or heavy-handed, explaining simply that the townsfolk “did not like the clumsy Giant child who didn’t look like them.” Humor, often bean-themed, also uplifts the tale, as with the Garbanzos living in the town of Pinto. Gledhill’s well-composed, richly colored illustrations add another layer of whimsy through details such as fairies teasing the Giant’s pet frog. The mix of classic fairy-tale elements with an updated sensibility works well, and Jack is an appealingly brave and kindhearted hero, sneaking out in the middle of the night to visit the Giant everyone else fears or scorns.
A traditional hero gets a courageous, compassionate makeover in this pleasing, well-illustrated story.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64764-667-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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