A reverent invitation to an enduring classic for new audiences.
A profile of the author of The Prophet, incorporating atmospheric images and phrases from his writings.
In retracing the events of their subject’s life, McCarthy focuses on two themes: the experience of growing up in two countries and Gibran’s “secret hope” that through his art and words he would someday have a gift to give to the world. Born Gibran Khalil Gibran in Lebanon to the Maronite faith, he fled sectarian strife as a child to Boston, where his name was shortened. He was sent back to Lebanon to finish his education and meditate among the cedars and then wound up in New York (“the electric shining heart of America”), where, McCarthy writes, he painted and composed poems intended “to connect the people of Lebanon” and “help Americans come together in celebration of their many differences.” His paintings and drawings, which ran to nudes, get little scrutiny here, but that inner dream was realized in a short but powerful book that has brought generations of readers “straight to the heart of hope.” Appended source notes in smaller type add both psychological insight, with mention of his “existential depression” and emotionally abusive father, and biographical detail. Incorporating snippets of patterned and printed papers into stunning painted collage illustrations, Holmes creates images of dignified figures of various ages, mostly people of color, placed in diverse settings rich in hues that underscore the overall intensity of feeling. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A reverent invitation to an enduring classic for new audiences. (bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0032-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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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