Kingsbury, a prolific author of Christian novels for adults, offers a story for younger readers about a courageous knight who competes to become prince of his homeland and heir to the throne. The competition pits four knights from different villages against one another as they face three challenges to test their speed, strength and intelligence. The dark-haired knight from the west village is introduced as a kind, hard-working young man who practices all these skills prior to the competition. His father encourages him along the way with comforting messages about God’s support. During the challenges each of the other knights cheats in some way to gain an unfair advantage, so the king chooses the deserving knight from the west village as the winner of the contest. The story is wildly predictable and not particularly interesting, although the methods of cheating are inventive. The biggest drawback to the text is the lack of individual names for the knights, who are identified only by their village’s direction, which leads to many repetitions of “the knight from the west village.” Grimard’s pleasant illustrations show a medieval world of castles, ornate costumes and flying banners. She depicts the winning knight as a serious young man who smiles only twice in the story, when he is carrying a little disabled boy who can’t walk properly. Earnest, but that's probably not enough to captivate readers. (Picture book/religion. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-310-71645-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
An empowering and important tale of bravery.
A Black Muslim boy must summon the courage to ask for a place at school to pray.
It’s Muhammad’s seventh birthday, and Daddy has a special gift for him: a prayer rug that’s royal blue with gold stitching and that smells of incense. Muhammad is now old enough to independently offer the five Muslim daily prayers, or salat. He packs the rug before school the next day and plans to find a private place for salat. But asking his teacher for help feels harder than anticipated—especially after seeing mean passersby jeer at his father, who prays in the open while working as an ice cream truck driver. To claim a space, Muhammad will need to be brave, just like his joyful, hardworking Daddy. Once again, Thompkins-Bigelow (Mommy’s Khimar, 2018) has written a beautiful, positive, and welcome portrayal of Black Muslim families. Her melodic writing captures Muhammad’s feelings as he works to find his voice and advocate for his needs. Aly’s playful, energetic illustrations offer a nod to Islamic art traditions and work in tandem with the text to give readers a glimpse into Muhammad’s hopes, fears, and growth. An author’s note explains what salat is, the times and names of the prayers, how it is performed, and other relevant terms used within the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An empowering and important tale of bravery. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781984848093
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging.
Badir, a newly arrived Tunisian immigrant to Canada, rallies along with his classmates to save a beaver’s natural habitat from destruction by local residents annoyed by the animal’s constant damage to surrounding trees.
Badir is captivated by what he initially thinks is a huge, swimming rat, an animal he briefly spotted in a pond on his way back from school. With the help of the internet, his teacher, classmates, and also forthcoming strangers eager to share what they know, Badir soon learns that the little creature he spied in darkness is in fact a beaver, Canada’s national symbol. He also finds out that local residents, worried by how the beaver might harm the trees around its habitat, are starting a petition to have what they regard as a pest removed from the park. Unfazed by the task ahead, Badir, along with his classmates, organizes a countercampaign—brainstorming sessions, banners, and all. Who will ultimately get the upper hand? Will the beaver saga have a happy ending? With her gentle tale, Stewart does an excellent job at promoting cultural understanding, not only by foregrounding a young Muslim character and his family, but also by setting the story during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, introducing the reader to many of its facets and doing so with effortless grace. Gendron’s black-and-white illustrations depict a multiracial urban setting.
A beautifully written page-turner about belonging. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1727-2
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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