Next book

MY GRANDMA'S PHOTOS

A gentle book about remembering, as well as grieving, a life well lived.

Through photographs, a grandmother relives her life with her grandchild before dying peacefully.

Ali’s grandma’s mind gets confused, and her body is tired. When shown old photographs, Grandma doesn’t recognize her young self. But Ali’s gentle presence helps Grandma remember. “At that moment I felt as if I were being pulled into the photo. Together with Grandma, I traveled into the past.” Through a series of black-and-white photographs, Grandma shares her life’s journey. Ali meets Grandma at different ages. Ali watches her grow up and achieve her dream of owning a dressmaking shop. When they reach the last photograph, of her wedding, Grandma decides it’s time for her to stay with Grandpa. Grandma tells Ali it’s OK to let her go, that Ali has a life to live and to capture in new photographs. Although Grandma is gone now, Ali remembers her through the photos hung all over the house. The first-person narration of this gentle picture book translated from Turkish brings a childlike sense of wonder, joy, and sadness to this story about letting go of a loved one. Although Ali is given he/him pronouns on the book jacket, no pronouns are used in the text of the book. Smudgy charcoal, textured colored pencils, and occasional collage elements, along with striking use of real photographs, create a dreamlike scrapbook. Illustrated characters have white skin and graphite-colored hair. Black-and-white photographs appear to depict people with dark hair and pale or tan skin.

A gentle book about remembering, as well as grieving, a life well lived. (Picture book. 5-10)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5420-3115-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids

Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021

Next book

LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

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

Next book

IMANI'S MOON

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Mackinac Island Press

Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014

Close Quickview