Exuberantly affirming and infectiously joyful.
The founders of the Grammy nominated hip-hop children’s music collective Alphabet Rockers encourage kids to celebrate who they are and tell their stories.
In first-person narratives, six diverse young people take turns sharing their experiences of prejudice; their identity struggles; and their desire to be seen, understood, and respected. “No one says my name right at school,” an Indian girl reveals sadly as the artwork shows her being taunted by classmates. On a double-page spread showing a Black boy being racially profiled by a White storeowner, the text reads “You don't know me, / but I need you to know that / I don't always feel safe here.” Despite being made to feel like they don’t belong, the characters are making positive contributions to the world. “I’m making music that sends a signal to kids everywhere that / there is no limit to being you,” says an Asian girl with a prosthetic hand who is a DJ. “When I help the community, / I MAKE THE PLANET BETTER / FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS / TO COME,” declares a Native American girl who is a land and water protector. A White nonbinary kid welcomes questions, acknowledging that some can hurt: “I have a friend who loves me for me. / Doesn’t ask about my body parts, / but does want to know what / it is like being nonbinary.” A biracial boy contemplates the starry night sky and reminds the reader that “I've always been here. Shining.” Evans’ digital illustrations present the kids cartoonishly, with large, glowing eyes and differentiated skin tones. The text—which might be imaginatively enhanced via spoken word or rap—sometimes reads choppily. The kids’ engaging stories build to an empathic, call-and-response coda: “If you feel it in your heart and you’re ready to take part, / say I’m not alone—I’M NOT ALONE.”
Exuberantly affirming and infectiously joyful. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72824-028-2
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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