Lets young readers tiptoe through the wild, wonderful life of a celebrated poet.
A young Mary Oliver (1935-2019) is entranced by the natural world and the many questions it evokes.
How would it feel to fly? Do flowers ever get sad? Might rocks be living things? These questions and many more awaken a sense of wonder in Mary, prompting her to write in her notebook wherever she finds herself (even if that means stowing pencils behind trees on her regular route through the woods). Mary finds joy and solace in poetry, both in writing her own verse and reading that of others. When Mary meets photographer Molly Malone Cook as a young adult, she’s thrilled to gain a life partner who asks the same questions of the world as she does. Mary becomes well known, even winning a Pulitzer in 1984, but she continues to lead the quiet existence she loves. Frankel’s gently flowing, lyrical prose mimics some of Oliver’s work in its pacing and rhythm. More discussion of Mary’s sexuality or feminism might have rounded out the story, though the writer’s personality comes through strongly. Hu’s digital illustrations have an ethereal watercolor feel, highlighting the natural world in muted hues.
Lets young readers tiptoe through the wild, wonderful life of a celebrated poet. (author’s note, timeline, a note on the craft of poetry, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781662680823
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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
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
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