Readers will be doing a snow dance and waiting for winter all the more.
Goldstone follows up his Awesome Autumn (2012) with a salute to all things winter.
As autumn’s tome was devoted to change, this one fashions winter as “a season of wondering and waiting.” Some of the things Goldstone imagines that readers might wonder about are how animals survive the cold, how snowflakes and icicles form, and why breath is visible in the cold. And there are all sorts of things people wait for in the winter: for days to get longer, for snow to enjoy winter sports, for everyone to get on their outdoor gear, for winter holidays. Trees wait out the winter by dropping their leaves or having specialized foliage, like evergreens, while animals cope by hibernating or slowing down, and many have adaptations to help them find food or survive the cold. Rounding out the book are spreads delineating things readers can feel, hear, and taste and shapes readers can see in winter. The final page looks forward to “Spectacular Spring,” and the backmatter gives instructions for six wintry crafts, including fake snow, paper snowflakes, and pine cone bird feeders. Photos get readers up-close and personal with the sights of winter; many are cropped to look like mittens, and many pages are decorated with stunning photographs of snowflakes.
Readers will be doing a snow dance and waiting for winter all the more. (Nonfiction. 5-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9981-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A charming year in the life of a most idyllic farm; horse lovers will be entranced.
Let’s go for a pony ride!
Lily, a young Black child who lives on a farm, takes readers on a tour. Meadows’ verse leads us step by step through the seasons—ponies grazing in a pasture on a warm day, Lily taking part in a pony show in autumn, and ponies hunkering down in the barn, taking refuge from the “frost and snow” of winter. The easy rhythm of the text pairs well with Cloud’s soft, pastoral vistas. While the story is delivered with a light touch, it still shows the hard work of caring for a large animal. “Soapy water in a pail. / Gentle strokes from head to tail.” “Pick the hooves / for stone and dirt / I notice when / my pony’s hurt.” Exuding familial warmth, the bright artwork lets readers follow Lily from pastures to picnics—and even, best of all, to the arrival of a newcomer: “A foal is born / New life is here.” This easy reader will speak to any child who has wished for a pony of their own and refreshingly centers a family of color—something not often seen in similar titles.
A charming year in the life of a most idyllic farm; horse lovers will be entranced. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780593483169
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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