A bright salutation of a story, with one determined woman at its center.
Pimentel tenders the story of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to (surreptitiously) run the classic Boston Marathon, with illustrations that pay close attention to the route along the way.
Hot on the heels of Kristina Yee and Frances Poletti’s The Girl Who Ran, illustrated by Susanna Chapman (2017), is another rendering of Gibb’s saga. This time the story pivots less around Gibb’s trick to evade the officials than the sheer joy of running—it is as though Gibb is on one long runner’s high, and it’s good fun to run along with her. Readers learn that Gibb trained in nurse’s shoes, making “her feet feel weightless” when she bought proper running shoes (boys’ size six, as there are none for “girls”). Once she was in the race and doffed her sweatshirt to avoid heat exhaustion, she was cheered on by all but the most curmudgeonly marathon watchers. Archer provides the landscape through which the blonde white woman trains and then the marathon path itself. Her artwork is an eyeful, a deep-dish mixture of oil paint and collage with tissue paper and hand-stamped patterned papers as materials. In addition, she adds mile markers and elevation notes to convey the runners’ toils and why it is called “Heartbreak Hill.” The tiny smattering of African-Americans engaged in the race and in the crowds is sad but true.
A bright salutation of a story, with one determined woman at its center. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-99668-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
Colorful, upbeat, and just for Swifties.
What is being a Swiftie all about? Finding joy in the things you love!
For Taylor Swift and her fans, love comes from baking tasty desserts, snuggling with pets, enjoying fireworks with friends, and attending concerts. Vibrant illustrations that evoke bright pop music are scattered with references to Taylor’s life, such as a red sports jersey (a nod to her high-profile relationship with a certain Kansas City Chiefs tight end) or a stack of friendship bracelets (which devotees know are commonly made by hand and traded at Swift’s concerts). Without this prior knowledge of Swift lore, this peppy picture book may feel like a somewhat superficial, though positive, list of ways to find happiness; some readers may wish the author had included messages about acceptance and self-love, commonly found in Swift’s lyrics. Still, the intended audience will welcome it as a joyful love letter to her fans. Pops of color splash across scenes of Taylor and a racially diverse set of friends doing their favorite things atop a stark white background. The star’s recognizable fashion style and facial features are spot-on, while most other featured characters feel more generic.
Colorful, upbeat, and just for Swifties. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781665973519
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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
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