An enjoyable read that artfully mixes adventure, heart, and cultural competence.
A hearing boy and his deaf friend use ASL, gondolas, and the Dewey decimal system to solve a mystery in Kane’s debut middle-grade novel.
Charlie struggles to be heard. His parents traipse around the globe saving rare animals, leaving him in the care of his grandparents, who would rather watch TV than engage. That changes when he boards a rickety gondola to the Flying Hands Cafe, part of the Castle School for the Deaf. There he meets Frog, an energetic deaf girl intrigued by a mystery swirling around her favorite author. The solid narrative includes a zany cast of characters (none of whom are explicitly racialized), a fast-moving plot, and a low-stakes but suspenseful mystery. What makes this story stand out is the depiction of Deaf culture and community, likely drawn from the author’s education and work as an interpreter. Uninformed readers will learn some signs and letters of the alphabet, both from the writing and the finely detailed illustrations heading each chapter, as well as absorbing information about ASL and Deaf etiquette. (For example, Charlie’s grandmother asks if he and Frog are sweethearts; when Frog asks what Grandma said, the embarrassed Charlie “almost wrote ‘never mind’ before he realized how rude that would be. Frog had a right to know.”) Deaf readers, as well as hearing children with deaf family members and others enmeshed in Deaf community, will see familiar cultural markers, such as the “Deaf can” motto and the school’s importance in the local community.
An enjoyable read that artfully mixes adventure, heart, and cultural competence. (Mystery. 7-12)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-00582-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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