Sadly, there’s not much to unpack in this box.
A young turtle’s experiences with bullying and friendship lead him on a journey of self-acceptance.
When a pair of box-turtle parents discovers that their baby is born without a shell, they don’t miss a beat. The loving parents “[give] him a name and a shell, both of which fit just right”: Terrance, in a playful nod to his species, wears a cardboard box. Terrance is perfectly happy until a trio of bullies shame him for his unusual shell. Mortified, Terrance leaves the box behind to look for something beyond reproach. Hijinks ensue during Terrance’s search for a new shell, which features the disrobed reptile and his anthropomorphic buttocks on full display. At every step of the determined turtle’s quest, Terrance’s unnamed hermit crab friend is there, supporting Terrance as he tries on box after box. After a roster of options (including a mailbox, a boombox, and a jack-in-the-box) are rejected for their slapstick effects, Terrance is downcast—until the hermit crab offers up their own tiny shell. This generous act of friendship inspires Terrance to return to his beloved cardboard box after all. Among a range of titles featuring a be-true-to-yourself message, this effort doesn’t quite stack up. Aside from its overworked story, the idea that Terrance “[is] so much more than just his shell” implies that he does have an unfortunate attribute. Such a concept does little to challenge the biases of Terrance’s bullies or the false notion that Terrance’s shell is “definitely weird.”
Sadly, there’s not much to unpack in this box. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-73-523050-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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