Read as an ode to Aretha Franklin rather than as a true biography.
The early beginnings and professional life of the prolific singer and activist are presented in this LP–shaped picture book.
The text is presented in rhyming couplets, one per double-page spread, with a spelled-out lead word printed in block letters setting each one up. “B-L-E-S-S-E-D” leads off, and the titular “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” introduces the final couplet. The short stanzas move the book quickly from one point in Franklin’s life to the next, hinting kaleidoscopically at who she was and why she was so important. Children with no previous familiarity with the subject will require context from caregivers to understand most points. (A narrative biographical note sums up the main points in the backmatter.) Weatherford acknowledges that Franklin’s mother left the family when her preacher father was unfaithful: “Clarence and Barbara Franklin can’t seem to agree. / Daddy wasn’t faithful, so Mama chose to flee.” The spread that includes this information is introduced with “S-T-R-I-F-E,” and the illustration is almost identical to one seen earlier symbolically showing the family establishing roots in “D-E-T-R-O-I-T.” Though Barbara is missing from the “S-T-R-I-F-E” illustration, Clarence wears the same grin, and the effect is unsettling. Overall, the striking, richly colored, painterly illustrations work well with the text and perform due homage to Franklin, but the story of Franklin’s life is left wanting. The oversized, 11 ¼-inch-square trim fittingly accommodates its subject.
Read as an ode to Aretha Franklin rather than as a true biography. (discography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5228-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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