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MY NAME IS A STORY

Name: MY NAME IS A STORY
Author: Ashanti
ISBN: 978-0-0632-2236-6

by Ashanti ; illustrated by Monica Mikai ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2022

Sweet.

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Singer/songwriter Ashanti’s picture-book debut follows a little girl learning to accept and celebrate her unique name.

The story opens with a brown girl named Ashanti in a racially diverse classroom; she wishes that her name was “easy…like recess, sunshine, and skipping rocks.” Instead, she finds that her name is “a spelling bee for my teacher and jumbled puzzle pieces on my classmates’ tongues.” Her classmates call her name “weird” and giggle when she writes it on the board. When she cries in her brown-skinned mother’s lap after school, her mother explains the glory of her name and offers affirming words for each letter, like awesome, strength, and harmony. Ashanti wipes her tears away, and by the time they reach the final letter of her name, she is shouting, “An INSPIRATION! INNOVATION! A bright IMAGINATION!” with a smile and a triumphant stance. Her mother tells Ashanti that her name is a story, and the next day at school, Ashanti stands before the class with her head held high. Heartfelt moments between mother and daughter are the highlight of this book. Mikai’s speckled, pastel-hued art brings light and energy to the page. This does feel like a tale that’s been done before—the story arc is similar to Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow’s Your Name Is a Song (2020), illustrated by Luisa Uribe, and the main character’s physical appearance echoes Mikai’s prior picture-book art. Still, there is room for all of these titles on shelves. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sweet. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 19, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-0632-2236-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)