Next book

BOLD WORDS FROM BLACK WOMEN

INSPIRATION AND TRUTHS FROM 50 EXTRAORDINARY LEADERS WHO HELPED SHAPE OUR WORLD

From the Bold Words series

Honest, inspirational, and unapologetic declarations of the trials and triumphs of Black womanhood.

An exciting and creatively illustrated compilation of noteworthy quotes attributed to 50 Black women across time.

Powerful and unforgettable words spoken by politicians, actresses, musicians, athletes, activists, writers, supermodels, businesswomen, philanthropists, dancers, one astronaut, one first lady, and one U.S. vice president grace the pages. Some entries capture the characteristics for which the subject is best known, such as anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston’s memorable and poetic assertion of her elemental optimism: “No, I do not weep at the world—I’m too busy sharpening my oyster knife.” Others capture the speaker’s sense of humor, as in high priestess of neo-soul Erykah Badu’s admission that “I’m pretty mutable as a human being, period—if you put me on Pluto, I can figure it out.” Still others emphasize the vital importance of Black women’s radical self-care; Audre Lorde notes: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Each quote appears next to a bold portrait illustration of its utterer. Ahanonu’s artwork, executed digitally, draws from pop-art aesthetics with eye-catching color blocking and fragmented shapes used to embellish and visually unify the entries. The text on each page includes a brief biographical note and a few lines of text elucidating the quote.

Honest, inspirational, and unapologetic declarations of the trials and triumphs of Black womanhood. (Nonfiction. 10-adult)

Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5344-6394-3

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022

Next book

FIND MOMO EVERYWHERE

From the Find Momo series , Vol. 7

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 Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be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

Next book

THE BOY WHO FAILED SHOW AND TELL

Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.

Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.

It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.

Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)

Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020

Close Quickview