A visual treat and a lively, child-respecting story of inclusion.
Thinking differently leads a little girl to discover her secret superpower.
Lex is excited about her class trip to the science museum, but she’s anxious, too. Her brain works differently than other kids’, and she worries that she won’t be able to keep up if the visit requires a lot of reading. (In this standout picture book, children learn that Lex has dyslexia, which means she has difficulty recognizing words and letters.) At a display of famous mathematicians, scientists, and more, Lex struggles to read about Katherine Johnson, the groundbreaking Black NASA mathematician, while her classmates have already moved on. Her spirits rise when she is told how many brilliant, accomplished people were also dyslexic. And, when the class is stumped by a three-dimensional geometric puzzle, Lex realizes that “different” can be “super.” She uses her ability to process information as visual images to provide the answer. Expertly designed as a graphic novel for young children, the book features Perciante’s beautiful depictions of Lex’s world (Lex and her family are Black; her classmates and other adults appear ethnically, racially, and physically diverse). Rich with saturated color, the illustrations, some full page, incorporate strips of text and dialogue balloons. Following Rae’s First Day, a Kirkus Reviews best book of 2021, this is the second book in Jordan’s resonant Capables series, which is structured around the theme of inclusion and features children with disabilities discovering their “super-capabilities.”
A visual treat and a lively, child-respecting story of inclusion.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73645-805-1
Page Count: 44
Publisher: The Capables, LLC
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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