Lovely and healing.
A young child in an interracial family copes with an older sister’s illness and hospital stay.
Two children lie happily in the woods with their parents, among grass, trees, and flowers in hues of yellow, white, red, and blue. “At first nobody knew. It was the perfect day, it was the perfect weather… // …to build a shelter in the woods.” The children sing as they work and build “the perfect, perfect shelter!” But soon things change. Big sister is tired. The weather reflects the family’s changes. Despite a “wild wind,” the children build again. Then, amid a “river of rain,” the mother helps the narrating protagonist mend the shelter, as the big sister is with the doctors. Big sister has an operation; the narrator worries and doesn’t understand. A thunderstorm strikes. The perfect shelter is gone. Over time, through snowy days and nights, big sister, still in the hospital, grows stronger. One day, she suggests building a shelter right there in her hospital bed. The story captures the turmoil, uncertainty, sadness, and anxiety of watching a loved one go through illness and wanting things to go back to normal, and it ends with a celebration of finding a new normal. Gilland’s illustrations use gorgeous layered colors, patterns, and clean lines with plenty of white space for thoroughly engaging pictures. The father has brown skin, the mother presents as White, and the children are shades of light brown.
Lovely and healing. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68464-050-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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