A multilayered, emotional tale that is occasionally overtaken by its rich visual detail.
Missing her grandmother, a young Chinese American girl finds comfort in a museum.
For Emmy, “museums have always been a special place for Nainai and me,” and all summer they explored them together during Nainai’s visit. Already missing their trips and meals of dumplings, Nainai gives Emmy a blue blanket made up of mementos before returning to China. The differing textiles and patterns are beautifully rendered in layered, uneven strokes of color. In an attempt to cheer Emmy up, her dad takes her to a museum with a special exhibit: a traditional house brought over from China. The plan seems doomed from the start when Emmy loses her beloved blanket. Yet elongated descriptions narrate how Emmy finds bits of blue and comfort in each room. Bit by bit, Emmy comes to terms with her longing for Nainai and realizes commonalities with her dad, himself an immigrant. A happy reunion with the blanket marks the end of her emotional journey. Wong provides a warm, textured palette with thick black lines to describe both simply drawn figures and elaborate ornamentation. At times the expression of the illustrations seems inhibited by the elaborate details that can dominate the pages. This tale is based on the Yin Yu Tang house, which traveled from China’s Huizhou region to the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts; further information about it is found in a concluding note.
A multilayered, emotional tale that is occasionally overtaken by its rich visual detail. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8757-7239-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Peabody Essex Museum/Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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