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THE WARRIOR STORY

Name: THE WARRIOR STORY
Author: We The Force Studios

developed by We The Force Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2014

A sanitized but action-packed rendition of the hero’s early exploits.

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Elaborate video game graphics give this somewhat embroidered account of David’s youth and battle with Goliath a melodramatic cast.

The story, available in Spanish or occasionally awkward English is arranged in six independently loading chapters—four of which include a chase or other animated game that must be played before continuing. Figures in the cartoon scenes have a loose-jointed, craggy look. David resembles a small wooden doll, and Goliath towers over him as a feral, skeletally thin giant with a horned helmet and glowing eyes. Characters move and scenes pan or shift smoothly with prompted taps and swipes. Except during the games, each chapter can be restarted by tapping an icon, and a drop-down ribbon menu allows readers to skip to another chapter or to toggle the audio narration and background music on or off. Once a reader achieves good scores in the course of reading the story, the games can be played separately and, online, even competitively. Despite an early episode in which David kills a lion and a narrative reference to Goliath’s “hellish gaze now stained with red,” there is no blood or overt violence to be seen.

A sanitized but action-packed rendition of the hero’s early exploits. (Requires iPad 2 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 7-10)

Pub Date: July 11, 2014

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: We the Force

Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH

by Chris Barton ; illustrated by Don Tate ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015

A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering.

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An honestly told biography of an important politician whose name every American should know.

Published while the United States has its first African-American president, this story of John Roy Lynch, the first African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lays bare the long and arduous path black Americans have walked to obtain equality. The title’s first three words—“The Amazing Age”—emphasize how many more freedoms African-Americans had during Reconstruction than for decades afterward. Barton and Tate do not shy away from honest depictions of slavery, floggings, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, or the various means of intimidation that whites employed to prevent blacks from voting and living lives equal to those of whites. Like President Barack Obama, Lynch was of biracial descent; born to an enslaved mother and an Irish father, he did not know hard labor until his slave mistress asked him a question that he answered honestly. Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lynch had a long and varied career that points to his resilience and perseverance. Tate’s bright watercolor illustrations often belie the harshness of what takes place within them; though this sometimes creates a visual conflict, it may also make the book more palatable for young readers unaware of the violence African-Americans have suffered than fully graphic images would. A historical note, timeline, author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography and map are appended.

A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering. (Picture book biography. 7-10)