THE TURTLE IS GETTING MARRIED

Name: THE TURTLE IS GETTING MARRIED
Author: Qiao-Mei Li

by Qiao-Mei Li & illustrated by Ming-Jin Zheng & developed by Kai-feng Kama Bookstore ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2012

A charming tale, but not seaworthy enough to bear the heaping cargo of cultural information it’s plainly designed to carry.

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An original, folkloric tale set in Taiwan and positively festooned with maps, games and nonfiction side articles—but much in need of better translation and proofreading.

Li pairs two turtles—one belonging to a clan from Toucheng that “held a peaceful and prosperous life by fishing,” the other from the port of Keelung, which specializes in “delivering various goods on the sea”—who fall in love “at the very first sight” and are wed with much rejoicing. Zheng illustrates the speedy romance with childlike, pink-dominant assemblages of waxy crayon strokes, large pieces of cut paper and carved vegetable stamps. Value-added features include a labeled map (the same map) of the local coastline that spins friskily into view on every screen with the touch of a corner, two simple interactive games and four multiscreen side essays with photos. These last survey the Taiwanese fishing industry (whose workers “attract small fishes like sardines by exploiting their phototaxis nature”), wedding legends and the important functions of nonprofit organizations in Taiwanese society. There is an option for audio narration, but only for the story, and the narrator’s script sometimes varies slightly from the visible text. An icon on each screen allows readers to switch among English, Japanese and Chinese versions. If not always fluid, the English translation is frequently laughable: “A day at sea equals three days without defecation,” according to one folk saying.

A charming tale, but not seaworthy enough to bear the heaping cargo of cultural information it’s plainly designed to carry. (strip index) (iPad storybook/informational app. 7-10)

Pub Date: July 17, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Kai-feng Kama Bookstore

Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH

by Chris Barton ; illustrated by Don Tate ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015

A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering.

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An honestly told biography of an important politician whose name every American should know.

Published while the United States has its first African-American president, this story of John Roy Lynch, the first African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lays bare the long and arduous path black Americans have walked to obtain equality. The title’s first three words—“The Amazing Age”—emphasize how many more freedoms African-Americans had during Reconstruction than for decades afterward. Barton and Tate do not shy away from honest depictions of slavery, floggings, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, or the various means of intimidation that whites employed to prevent blacks from voting and living lives equal to those of whites. Like President Barack Obama, Lynch was of biracial descent; born to an enslaved mother and an Irish father, he did not know hard labor until his slave mistress asked him a question that he answered honestly. Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lynch had a long and varied career that points to his resilience and perseverance. Tate’s bright watercolor illustrations often belie the harshness of what takes place within them; though this sometimes creates a visual conflict, it may also make the book more palatable for young readers unaware of the violence African-Americans have suffered than fully graphic images would. A historical note, timeline, author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography and map are appended.

A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering. (Picture book biography. 7-10)