An uplifting option for children curious about jumping from princess fairy tales to princess biographies.
An inspirational ode to princess power.
A trio of children explore the question “If you were a princess, what would you do?” Alongside the ideas introduced in the main text (“If you were a princess, you would be remembered for marvelous deeds”), Homzie offers tidbits, in a smaller font, about nearly 30 real princesses. The subjects are celebrated for their skills and strengths, from princesses who work to rescue and protect animals, such as Princess Alia of Jordan and Princess Stephanie of Monaco, to royals who defended their lands, including Princess Pingyang of the Tang dynasty in China and Princess Lakshmi Bai, who lived in the 19th century in what is now northern India. The jewel-toned illustrations show the children helping their community, energized by the mountain-climbing, rapping, law-practicing real-life princesses surrounding them. The book ends as it began, with a question: “How can you become a princess in your own way?” Like a BuzzFeed listicle in picture-book format, this title offers fiction-to-nonfiction–bridging potential that makes it an attractive gift for a princess-obsessed child. Backmatter includes short princess biographies. Featured princesses are from a wide range of countries and cultures throughout history, a diversity that is mirrored in the characters’ community. The main children include one with brown skin and brown curly hair; another who has light skin and long dark braids, who presents as Asian and who uses a prosthetic leg; and one with straight brown hair and light tan skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An uplifting option for children curious about jumping from princess fairy tales to princess biographies. (works cited) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5617-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments.
The junior senator from California introduces family and friends as everyday superheroes.
The endpapers are covered with cascades of, mostly, early childhood snapshots (“This is me contemplating the future”—caregivers of toddlers will recognize that abstracted look). In between, Harris introduces heroes in her life who have shaped her character: her mom and dad, whose superpowers were, respectively, to make her feel special and brave; an older neighbor known for her kindness; grandparents in India and Jamaica who “[stood] up for what’s right” (albeit in unspecified ways); other relatives and a teacher who opened her awareness to a wider world; and finally iconic figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley who “protected people by using the power of words and ideas” and whose examples inspired her to become a lawyer. “Heroes are…YOU!” she concludes, closing with a bulleted Hero Code and a timeline of her legal and political career that ends with her 2017 swearing-in as senator. In group scenes, some of the figures in the bright, simplistic digital illustrations have Asian features, some are in wheelchairs, nearly all are people of color. Almost all are smiling or grinning. Roe provides everyone identified as a role model with a cape and poses the author, who is seen at different ages wearing an identifying heart pin or decoration, next to each.
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-49-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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