An earnest, pedagogical kids’ book whose illustrations are its most appealing aspect.
In Johnson’s (Charli’s Rainy Day, 2016, etc.) illustrated children’s book, little girls learn how to share toys and have more fun.
Charli loves playing with her friends Brittany, Malia, Yasmeen, and Katie at school, but they don’t live near one another, and she misses them on the weekends. One day, she has an aha moment: what about a play date? She proposes this idea to her parents, and her mother agrees and helps her with the invitations. (Why her father doesn’t initially get involved isn’t explained, but later, when Charli’s friends’ parents are on the scene, fathers and mothers take part.) When Charli’s pals and their parents arrive for the play date, she can barely contain her excitement—but trouble soon erupts over sharing toys. Katie and Yasmeen want the same doll; Charli and Malia want the same dress-up hat. After hearing the shouting, the girls’ parents get involved and explain “the importance of sharing and being mindful not to hurt one another’s feelings.” Charli’s mother gets a timer from the kitchen “to enforce what they were learning about sharing.” The new system works beautifully, and later, in school, the teacher notices how well the kids are sharing things. She asks other students “to watch and observe how Charli and her friends shared during play time,” making the girls feel special. Johnson offers a straightforwardly moral, instructive tale here. However, the characters are improbably open to the joys of good behavior: they love being taught a lesson and handing over toys, because using a timer is fun; they look for approval from their teacher and parents, not from peers. Well, maybe, but for parents who’ve discovered that lectures about the importance of sharing don’t always do the trick, this book isn’t likely to help. The illustrations, though, are lively, colorful, and expressive, and it’s nice to see Charli’s friends and their parents representing a diversity of cultural backgrounds—one mother, for example, wears a hijab.
An earnest, pedagogical kids’ book whose illustrations are its most appealing aspect.Pub Date: June 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9974181-1-8
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Nevaeh Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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