An uplifting and unique take on Ramadan.
While fasting for the first time, a child learns that Ramadan is about so much more than eschewing nourishment.
Deenie is worried (“Can I really survive without food and water until sunset?”), but the youngster is reassured by Mom’s gentle words (“You can try it for a couple of hours if you like”) and the knowledge that Ramadan offers the opportunity to replace bad habits with good ones. Although the experience is initially a bit isolating (feeling hungry, Deenie sits out soccer practice), each day Deenie fasts a little longer. The protagonist realizes that Ramadan is also about expressing gratitude, taking time to reflect, and showing kindness. Most importantly, Deenie finds a sense of belonging. As Eid arrives, Deenie looks back on the month and marvels: “Inside of me, something has grown bigger and better than ever before.” Calm and gentleness of spirit are at the forefront of this book. With so many different flavors of tales about Ramadan, Zahri has made the inspired choice to focus on personal growth. Her illustrations are warm and inviting, conveying the closeness of family and the unity of community during such an important month for Muslims. A heartfelt author’s note precedes the story, and a glossary defines Arabic phrases. The family is tan-skinned; though race and ethnicity aren’t specifically mentioned, Zahri mentions growing up in Malaysia, and in the mosque, Deenie’s mother sports a prayer dress typically worn there.
An uplifting and unique take on Ramadan. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781623716189
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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