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I’M YOUR PEANUT BUTTER BIG BROTHER

Name: I’M YOUR PEANUT BUTTER BIG BROTHER
Author: Selina Alko
ISBN: 978-0-375-85627-3

by Selina Alko & illustrated by Selina Alko ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2009

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A biracial child wonders what his soon-to-be-born sibling will look like. “I blend from semi-sweet dark Daddy chocolate bar and strawberry cream Mama’s milk,” he says, introducing some of the foods used to evoke possible skin tones. He also speculates about eye color and shape, hair texture and color—eventually moving a bit from the rather clichéd use of food for such descriptions. Ultimately, however, the questions posed by the young child narrator feel adult-driven, rather than at home in his voice. Flap copy suggests as much, noting that, when pregnant, Alko, “as half of an interracial couple…wondered what the child might look like.” In other words, while expectant big brothers and sisters of all races have questions, the book ultimately visits adult preoccupations upon the child narrator and implied audience, even as illustrations (employing a naïve style that beautifully suits the child’s first-person voice) at times depict a more unsophisticated, childlike understanding of genetics and racial identity development. An unfortunate mismatch. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 10, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-375-85627-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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STARS OF THE NIGHT
by Caren Stelson ; illustrated by Selina Alko

- BOOK REVIEW
I IS FOR IMMIGRANTS
by Selina Alko ; illustrated by Selina Alko

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE GOLDEN RULE AT SCHOOL
by Selina Alko ; illustrated by Selina Alko

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GOLDIE'S GUIDE TO GRANDCHILDING

by Clint McElroy ; illustrated by Eliza Kinkz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity.

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While spending the day with Grandpa, young Goldie offers tips on the care and keeping of grandparents.

Though “loyal and loving,” Goldie’s grandfather proves to be quite a character. At Grandparents Day at school, his loud greeting and incessant flatulence are embarrassing, but Goldie is confident that he—and all grandparents—can be handled with the “right care and treatment.” The young narrator notes that playtime should involve the imagination rather than technology—“and NO video games. It’s just too much for them.” Goldie observes that grandparents “live on a diet of all the things your parents tell them are bad for them” but finds that Grandpa’s favorite fast-food restaurant does make for a great meal out. The narrator advises that it’s important for grandparents to get plenty of exercise; Grandpa’s favorite moves include “the Bump, the Hustle, and the Funky Chicken.” The first-person instruction and the artwork—drawn in a childlike scrawl—portray this grandfather in a funny, though unflattering, stereotypical light as he pulls quarters from Goldie’s ears, burps on command, and invites Goldie to pull his finger. Goldie’s grandfather seems out of touch with today’s more tech-savvy and health-oriented older people who are eager to participate with their grandchildren in contemporary activities. Though some grandparent readers may chuckle, kids may wonder how this mirrors their own relationships. Goldie and Grandpa are light-skinned; Goldie’s classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 29, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-24932-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: First Second

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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GRANDFATHER COUNTS

by Andrea Cheng & illustrated by Ange Zhang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000

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Cheng’s story of a Chinese-speaking grandfather who comes to live with his daughter’s English-speaking family ably communicates the difficulties of the language barrier, and the unanticipated joys that come from working your way through that barrier. Helen is ambivalent about the arrival of her grandfather, Gong Gong, from China. She wants to know her grandfather, but she has had to surrender her room and her cherished view of the train tracks to him. Worst of all, he doesn’t understand what she says, and as she doesn’t understand him, he withdraws. Her mother says to give him some space and time. One day while Helen is sitting on the back wall, Gong Gong joins her, and together they count the train cars as the freight rumbles past. Contact. Helen learns the first eight numbers in Chinese and Gong Gong learns them in English. From there it is a short leap to Helen’s Chinese name and its Chinese characters, and then the letters used to spell Helen. That every journey starts with a first step is a commonplace conceit, but here the notion fits so snugly the point practically sings, and it feels like an adventurous beginning at that. Lushly colored artwork from Zhang is both elegant and captures the moods of tentativeness, surprise, and satisfaction. (Picture book. 4-6)