A thrilling ode to rap and the creative process.
A talented youngster schools readers in this rhyming introduction to hip-hop.
Prolific author Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, spoken word poet Jeffery Boston Weatherford, have teamed up for a tutorial on composing and performing rap lyrics. The narrator, a swaggering Black child who was “born holding a mic, pad, and pen,” is the perfect teacher. As the setting shifts from a living room to the child’s neighborhood, the park, and the train station, the text introduces many poetic devices and rap-specific terminology (defined in a glossary at the end), starting with hyperbole: “Once I took the mic, I rapped for five years straight.” The authors encourage readers to write about what matters to them, to practice, and to perform. Reading the lively text aloud is an accessible and fun way to practice rapping. Martinez’s joyful illustrations employ both primary and pastel colors, shading, collagelike layers, and words to create a child’s creative world with an irresistible sense of depth and mood. Pieces of lined yellow paper are woven throughout the spreads to hold text and remind readers of the tools of the creative process. Old-school hip-hop gets a shoutout with depictions of records, boom boxes, and cassette tapes.
A thrilling ode to rap and the creative process. (note from Jeffery Boston Weatherford, glossary) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781250833570
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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