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GRANDMA MABLE, ARE YOU ABLE?

Name: GRANDMA MABLE, ARE YOU ABLE?
Author: Willie Etta Wright
ISBN: 978-0-9703551-5-7

by Willie Etta Wright ; illustrated by Blueberry Illustrations ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 17, 2018

While it encourages family exercise, this tale presents a puzzling transformation.

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A student learns a surprising lesson about his African American grandmother’s capabilities in this debut children’s book.

Jacob, the young African American narrator of this tale, isn’t as excited as his classmates about an upcoming Family Exercise Day. His only relative is his Grandma Mable, who has white hair, sore knees, and sometimes walks with the help of a cane. Jacob is doubtful she can participate, but his grandmother says she’ll do her best. On the big day, Jacob, Grandma, and their dog, Friendly, head to the park and take on a series of challenges. For each one, Jacob asks “Grandma Mable, are you able?” The energetic activities include running, skateboarding, and kicking a ball. In every case, Grandma shows herself to be a real contender; she even performs a cartwheel. In fact, she outdoes injury- and accident-prone Jacob, who is more used to playing video games than exercising. Grandma explains that she’s used to hard work and has stayed fit so she can be strong for Jacob. She praises his efforts, and the two plan to exercise weekly. In her story, Wright offers an amusing, turn-the-tables scenario and a warm family relationship that parentless kids who live with relatives will likely appreciate. That said, Grandma’s sudden metamorphosis from a cane-using elderly woman into a spry, cartwheeling exercise enthusiast doesn’t make much sense. The book’s prose poem style is also rather odd since the rhyme has no regular scheme or meter and doesn’t break into lines or stanzas, as in “The day wasn’t done. We had to finish even in the hot sun.” The images by Blueberry Illustrations have a flat, generic quality with little detail, although they do depict a racially diverse set of characters.

While it encourages family exercise, this tale presents a puzzling transformation.

Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-9703551-5-7

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2020

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE

From the Ryan Hart series , Vol. 1

by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!

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Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.

Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.

Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 28, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Sherry Shine

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by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson

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THE PORCUPINE YEAR

From the Birchbark House series , Vol. 3

by Louise Erdrich ; illustrated by Louise Erdrich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2008

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and...

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This third entry in the Birchbark House series takes Omakayas and her family west from their home on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, away from land the U.S. government has claimed.

Difficulties abound; the unknown landscape is fraught with danger, and they are nearing hostile Bwaanag territory. Omakayas’s family is not only close, but growing: The travelers adopt two young chimookoman (white) orphans along the way. When treachery leaves them starving and alone in a northern Minnesota winter, it will take all of their abilities and love to survive. The heartwarming account of Omakayas’s year of travel explores her changing family relationships and culminates in her first moon, the onset of puberty. It would be understandable if this darkest-yet entry in Erdrich’s response to the Little House books were touched by bitterness, yet this gladdening story details Omakayas’s coming-of-age with appealing optimism.

The journey is even gently funny—Omakayas’s brother spends much of the year with a porcupine on his head. Charming and enlightening. (Historical fiction. 9-11)