The familiar story of an object that is passed from person to person is given an unusual twist in this poetic, Spanish-sprinkled tale set in the pampas of Argentina. “A gaucho, an Argentine man, sits carving” with “hands, dirt-lined and leathery,” making a lovely moon necklace of bone, black stone, and silver that he will give to someone when the moment is right. “You would buy this necklace if you could, / but money slides off its silver chain like rain off the pampas grass. / This moon will be given.” The necklace is passed from one person to another. It is given freely without expecting anything in return, a custom the Argentines call “to make a gauchada.” From a grandmother, to a mother, to a girl who smiles in her sleep, “the moon and the stone travel farther than the gaucho will ever roam,” even across the sea. Each time the necklace is given, it is accompanied by the story, and in the end it is given “ . . . perhaps to you. And you will tell of an open space / where cows stamp the land and champ the pampas / . . . and a gaucho, an Argentine man, sits carving.” Negrin’s (The Secret Footprints, 2000, etc.) lush, surrealistic paintings, with their strangely elongated horses, give a mystical, mysterious quality to the story and evoke the Argentina of his childhood. A note explains the meaning of “to make a gauchada” and the Spanish phrases that are used. In making this Gauchada, the author and illustrator have given readers a lovely gift and knowledge of a charming custom that deserves to spread. (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-81267-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
Will and his little brother Steve face third grade and kindergarten in this over-the-top chapter book in the venerable Step-Into-Reading series for new readers. Will knows that going to the same school as his brother is going to be a challenge, but he does not know how much of a challenge it will be. From the moment Will has to hold Steve’s hand and take him to kindergarten, everything that can go wrong does. Whether Steve is slamming all the lockers, making faces through the third-grade window or starting a food fight in the cafeteria, he’s embarrassing his older brother. Expressive and stylized color illustrations add to the exaggerated plot lines. A comfortable, predictable ending on the bench outside of the principal’s office will make new readers everywhere smile with recognition. No one will mistake this for a lesson book about back to school, but new readers will find many reasons to laugh out loud with Will and Steve. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83904-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
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
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