A lively and beautifully illustrated salute to Indigenous achievement.
A collective biography that sparks further curiosity about the Native heroes it celebrates.
A Canadian musician and member of the Midewin composes his second upbeat assortment of notable Indigenous North Americans, highlighting 13 men and women with a broad array of accomplishments. A companion to the author’s Go Show the World (2018), this collection expansively interprets heroism by introducing readers to actor Chief Dan George, advocates Louis Riel and George Bonga, authors N. Scott Momaday and Tasha Spillett, and Two-Spirit chief Pine Leaf, among others, though without discernible order. While the rhyme scheme occasionally stumbles, awkwardly pairing words like love and does or folk and vote in brief stanzas of verse, an uplifting refrain recenters its inspiring message: “We are who we are. / There’s strength in this too. / We kept this place free, / so you can be you.” Limited information is conveyed in just a few lines per hero while heftier content is saved for the backmatter, a springboard that contains a paragraph of text per person. Every inch of the page is covered in bold swipes of saturated acrylics, and joyful portraiture is surrounded by realistically detailed landscapes and symbolic ancestral imagery including canoes, corn, and regalia. While the individual stories presented here are scant, their presentation brims with admiration and enthusiasm, and it’s the weight of their totality that carries this picture book.
A lively and beautifully illustrated salute to Indigenous achievement. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book/collective biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781774883594
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song.
Through the power of music, Lucimarian Tolliver is reminded of what’s important.
Lucy is one of the only children of African descent on her block—called Lucy Street—in 1930s Akron, Ohio, but all her neighbors share one commonality: poverty. Lucy’s carefree spirit is dampened when her family’s furniture is repossessed one day. She visits her grandfather, who comforts her by singing the folk standard “This Little Light of Mine.” Grandpa tells Lucy that she’s destined for greatness and that she should never stop singing, even through life’s toughest moments. Back at home, Lucy’s father scolds her for singing at the dinner table, so she quickly finishes eating and wanders outside and sings into the night. Her voice reaches her family and neighbors, who are all touched by her song. Digital illustrations evoke the time period in muted tones, featuring endearing characters with simple yet expressive features. The visual subject matter is repetitive from page to page, as are the incorporated lyrics of “This Little Light of Mine.” Based on Lucimarian Tolliver’s experiences growing up during the Depression, the text contains an epilogue but lacks backmatter detailing historical context or more information about Lucy’s life. Though the themes of optimism and the importance of family, faith, and music shine through the text, readers may be left with more questions than answers.
A brief but sweet snapshot of an inspiring girl who finds hope in song. (Picture-book biography. 5-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063222540
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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