An illustrated collection of poems seeks to celebrate teen engagement with music in its many forms. Members of a garage band trash talk each other, a girl plays “Double Dutch with the Lord” to Aretha Franklin, a boy plays air guitar to the radio, another boy wishes devoutly for a trumpet but must settle for tuba in the school band. The poems burst with the energetic bravado of adolescence, frequently invoking the pantheon for inspiration: “In my sleep, I am / Moon / Bonham / Buddy / Blakey / 10,000 / Charlie / Watts / of / power / I am the drummer— / ‘What? OK, Mom, I’m coming!’ ” Teen concerns embed themselves in the poems, from anxiety before a performance to a desire to impress the opposite sex to parental woes: “Ba DA da da DA. / Got a brand-new guitar. / Ba DA da da DA. / Just the other day. / Ba DA da da DA. / Played it for five minutes. / Ba DA da da DA. / Then my mom took it away.” It’s a fairly lengthy collection—24 poems—and although there is some nod to girls, they by and large (and most successfully) operate from a male perspective. Newcomer Adoff’s enthusiasm for his subject comes endearingly to the fore in the section of “Backnotes,” in which he identifies the artists alluded to and includes specific selections for listening. This enthusiasm carries the collection through an inevitable unevenness and at times forced maintenance of the title motif. The illustrations, by newcomer French, are a sort of neo–Jazz Age/comic-book pastiche. The palette is dominated by purple and orange, with vigorous splatters of color as a background for boldly outlined figures. It’s a risky enterprise, a picture book specifically aimed at teens, but the striking graphics and teen-friendly subject may well make it a viable one. (Picture book/poetry. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-525-46949-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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