by Vita Murrow ; illustrated by Julia Bereciartu ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
An inclusive compilation permeated with strong values.
This collection reimagines 15 fairy tales with modern touches and community-minded heroes.
At the request of King Midas, Pied Piper, Geppetto, and Anansi, Murrow (Power to the Princess, 2018, etc.) returns with a new set of stories that rethink the roles of heroes, kings, and princes. A young Arthur discovers his talent for solving disputes by listening instead of doing battle. Pinocchio learns a real boy’s heart “gives and receives and loves bravely.” Despite his fears, Quasimodo stands up for what he believes in to save the community center from demolition. Each tale includes bright cartoon illustrations of racially and culturally diverse characters who wear modern attire apart from the occasional wizard robe or suit of armor. Along with promoting representations of sensitive, nurturing men who are unafraid to express themselves, Murrow expands beyond cis-heteronormativity with casual queer representation. Jack, from “Jack and the Beanstalk,” has two moms. The title character of “The Snow Man” falls in love with another Snow man (even if they both melt at the end). Anansi’s child Golden Silk uses they/them pronouns, as does the postal carrier’s partner in “The Pied Piper” (although the binary language of “hardworking men and women” slips in directly after their appearance). Forcefully optimistic—sometimes in defiance of a tale’s original ending—the characters earn their happily-ever-after resolutions by learning lessons about dedication, justice, and love.
An inclusive compilation permeated with strong values. (Fantasy. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-782-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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by Ethan Murrow & Vita Murrow ; illustrated by Ethan Murrow & Vita Murrow
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by Vita Murrow ; illustrated by Ethan Murrow
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
by Deborah Zemke ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2019
A funny and timely primer for budding activists.
Problems are afoot at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, and it’s up to Bea Garcia to gather the troops and fight.
Bea Garcia and her best friend, Judith Einstein, sit every day under the 250-year-old oak tree in their schoolyard and imagine a face in its trunk. They name it “Emily” after their favorite American poet. Bea loves to draw both real and imagined pictures of their favorite place—the squirrels in the tree, the branches that reach for the sky, the view from the canopy even though she’s never climbed that high. Until the day a problem boy does climb that high, pelting the kids with acorns and then getting stuck. Bert causes such a scene that the school board declares Emily a nuisance and decides to chop it down. Bea and Einstein rally their friends with environmental facts, poetry, and artwork to try to convince the adults in their lives to change their minds. Bea must enlist Bert if she wants her plan to succeed. Can she use her imagination and Bert’s love of monsters to get him in line? In Bea’s fourth outing, Zemke gently encourages her protagonist to grow from an artist into an activist. Her energy and passion spill from both her narration and her frequent cartoons, which humorously extend the text. Spanish-speaking Bea’s Latinx, Einstein and Bert present white, and their classmates are diverse.
A funny and timely primer for budding activists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-9)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2941-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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by Robin Newman ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
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by Ian Lendler ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
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by Deborah Zemke ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
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