A magnificently exuberant dive into music history.
A surprisingly supportive take on the punk movement and one of its unforgettable founders.
Ruttenberg takes a poetic sensibility in this dual narrative of both the life of Joey Ramone (née Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and the birth of punk music itself. Born sick, he grew up to be ungainly, with thick glasses; his Jewish heritage also marked him as an outsider. “Soon enough bullies—UGH! ICK! YUCK! ACHHH!—spotted this thin, clumsy, incredibly tall kid and, with [the] devil’s instinct, smelled difference.” Ramone discovered rock ’n’ roll, yet by the time he was grown, “rock music sounded like it was being made by the parents.” He co-founded the Ramones in 1974, and here the book makes an elegant detour, exploring punk, its origins, and its greater significance. With eloquent wordplay, Ruttenberg gives readers an intimate sense of Joey Ramone’s life and times without ever tipping into fictionalized details or faux dialogue. Even the lack of backmatter (nary a timeline or bibliography in sight) cannot overshadow the frenzied fun on the page. The bold colors and sheer delight of Schreiber’s art make Ramone an appealingly larger-than-life figure, each page vibrating with music and movement. Above all, Ruttenberg underscores the inclusive nature of Ramone’s music; the titular lyrics (from the song “Pinhead”) serve as a rallying cry for outsiders everywhere. Space is left at the end for kids to write their own songs (librarians beware!).
A magnificently exuberant dive into music history. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781937112424
Page Count: 51
Publisher: Drag City
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
