A noteworthy tale of a young Jewish athlete taking a personal stand.
From the moment young Estee Ackerman picked up a Ping-Pong paddle, she fell in love with the game.
Estee started winning against her family and then entered tournaments, but never on Saturdays, the Jewish Shabbat, a day of rest. At age 11, in 2013, she qualified for the finals at the U.S. National Table Tennis Championships. But when she realized she was scheduled to play on a Saturday, Estee decided that she’d follow the tradition of not working or playing athletic games on Shabbat. “She was sad she had missed the chance at a gold medal. But she knew she had made the choice that was right for her.” When a reporter wrote about her dilemma, other articles followed, and many supported her difficult decision. Luckily, next year, finals were scheduled for a Monday, and Estee won! The straightforward text highlights Estee’s skill and independence. Those with religious ideals will most appreciate this book, but other thoughtful readers will understand the importance of Estee making up her own mind, especially when her family says, “It’s up to you, Estee.” The illustrations have an action-oriented cartoon quality and incorporate onomatopoeic Ping-Pong ball sounds. Filled with swirling stars, the Shabbat scenes shine with familial warmth. Estee’s family is light-skinned, and her dad and brother wear yarmulkes. Backmatter notes that Estee is currently enrolled in Yeshiva University and training in the hopes of joining the U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Team.
A noteworthy tale of a young Jewish athlete taking a personal stand. (in Estee’s own words) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781499816099
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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 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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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