Amusing, informative, and relatable, for young readers and caregivers alike.
A Black mother and daughter discuss role models.
A young girl named Maya dreams of being a princess, much to the consternation of her mother, who shares examples of amazing Black women through history to coax her daughter away from what she sees as a stereotypically feminine desire. Wouldn’t Maya rather be a doctor, like Alexa Canady? Or a dancer, like Misty Copeland? Or a rocket scientist, like Annie Easley? As the two walk home from school, Mom offers more examples of women whom she hopes Maya will emulate. Though these women are fantastic, Maya is steadfast about wanting to be a princess. And at the end of the story, she tells her mother she wants to be just like Princess Amina, a warrior princess who, centuries ago, ruled the Zazzau Kingdom in West Africa—a fearless leader, she was devoted to her people and worked tirelessly for them. This satisfying conclusion flips the narrative and upends assumptions about who a princess is and what she might look like; caregivers of princess-obsessed kids may chuckle at the reveal. The text is conversational, accompanied by lively illustrations that set a light, fun tone. The book strikes a good balance, including subjects that readers may not be familiar with as well as better-known names. Backmatter offers more information about the women featured in the book.
Amusing, informative, and relatable, for young readers and caregivers alike. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9798887770345
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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