Soledad (whose name means solitude) sighs because she is a latchkey kid. Almost every day after school, she does her homework, has her supper, and falls asleep on the couch before anyone else is home. By keeping his focus firmly on Soledad’s perceptions, González enhances her feelings of isolation from the adult world, a situation reflected in Ibarra’s almost adult-free illustrations. Thus, when the neighbor Mrs. Ahmed checks on Soledad in the afternoon, the woman speaks through the door and doesn’t enter the apartment or the illustration. Likewise, Soledad’s mother appears only twice—waking Soledad up for school and coming home early from work one afternoon—and her father never. But Soledad begins to see her situation from a new angle when her friends, sisters Nedelsy and Jahniza, catch her playing with an imaginary sister. The two girls accompany Soledad home that afternoon and help her understand the advantages of time to oneself and how to think of close friends like themselves as family. In this way González creates a comforting and familiar ambience even as he deals with an uncomfortable reality. Even so, some readers will find the lack of dramatic tension a drawback, distancing Soledad because she seems so internalized. Others may bristle at the semi-baby talk of the title (both Soledad’s nickname and her almost inevitable response to too many situations). These reservations about the text (in both English and Spanish) do not apply to the artwork. Ibarra depicts Soledad’s urban environment in warm earth tones and blues, predominantly executed in chalk, and the round faces of Soledad and her friends and neighbors are stylized and child-like without being cartoonish. These strengths, combined with González’s insights into the child’s mind, create a visually inviting and emotionally encouraging experience, but one that will likely function better as a shared reading between adult and child rather than a child’s read-alone. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-89239-180-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
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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