This “celebration” makes magic out of the everyday joys of being in the world.
A series of young brown girls admire the many different browns in their environments and in their own images in this poetic celebration of self and nature.
“Deep secret brown. / Like the subtly churning river currents / playfully beckoning me / through my grandmother’s kitchen window….” A girl gazes, smiling, out the window at a scene of the natural world. On the next spread, a close-up of a bespectacled girl’s face is accompanied by the line, “Deep secret brown…like my eyes.” Another girl admires the “feathery brown” of tree shadows on a hike with her daddy and then the “feathery brown” of her eyelashes. Still another tastes the “amber brown” of honey from her aunt’s hive and admires the “amber brown” of her own hair. Each girl is featured with family members or friends, relating to nature, and on her own having fun or in a reflective moment. The text of the poem is delightfully filled with rich imagery and luscious language, complex enough to grow into but familiar enough to enjoy at any age. Juanita’s earth-toned illustrations are joyful and remarkably inclusive. The girls and their friends and family wear a variety of hairstyles; there are characters in hijabs, one with vitiligo, a child in a wheelchair, and an adult without a hand. Readers may find themselves wondering whether this is the same girl in many aspects or many—and then contemplating their own multifaceted natures.
This “celebration” makes magic out of the everyday joys of being in the world. (Picture book. 6-12)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-88448-797-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
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
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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