A series starter that encourages thinking in new ways.
A boy and his friends use a wheelchair for sand adventures in a picture book about creative problem-solving.
Leigh, Cosmo, Tara, and two dogs are enjoying the boardwalk together when Tara suggests going down to the beach. “Sorry, guys, my wheels get stuck in the sand,” explains Leigh, who uses a wheelchair. The pals brainstorm ways for everyone to enjoy the sand, first using the dogs to pull the chair like huskies. When that doesn’t work, Cosmo realizes the wheels need to be wider and finds dune-buggy tires, which the friends affix over Leigh’s wheels. The result? “Leigh is zooming across the sand all on his own!” Although McIver’s story focuses on a wheelchair’s limitations, the way the three kids find solutions feels empowering. Some may find a scene in which Tara and Cosmo take Leigh’s chair for a spin to be problematic, but the way they credit Leigh as the expert on maneuvering the chair helps to normalize his experience. McIver’s simple sentences and accessible vocabulary (with some Australian spellings, such as tyres) make this story, inspired by the author’s late son, a good choice for independent readers. Debut artist Keys’ eye-catching, cheerful watercolor illustrations realistically depict the characters; Tara appears to be of Asian heritage, and Cosmo, who wears glasses, and Leigh are light-skinned.
A series starter that encourages thinking in new ways.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-648-41783-5
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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