Quietly, delightfully superb.
Henkes’ third book centered on the Miller family—after the Newbery Honor The Year of Billy Miller (2014) and Billy Miller Makes a Wish (2021)—follows Billy’s 4-year-old sister, Sal.
Sal’s New Year’s Day has plenty of big moments of misunderstanding—and understanding. She is full of feelings today and sheds more than a few tears. Two people in her household seem like interlopers—the new baby, just over a week old, who doesn’t yet have a name, and Papa's younger brother, Uncle Jake, whose exuberance and habit of calling her Salamander are extremely irritating. Plus, she's misplaced a treasured gift from Santa—her favorite pair of a set of seven flower-themed underpants. Henkes’ keen awareness of the ways it is hard and constantly revelatory to be a child gives this simple family story a sense of heart and happiness. Endearing spot drawings—Sal imagining elves making underwear, for example—convey whimsy and cheer. The third-person narrative sticks close to Sal, observing this close, loving household from her perspective. Though Sal knows that Uncle Jack and Papa are brothers, her surprise when she realizes that her uncle is her father’s younger brother (“…she never thought of them as kids. And she never thought about who was older. All adults seemed generally the same age to her”) is a realistic example of how children make sense of family relationships and the world. Henkes channels the inner lives of his protagonists with sensitivity and respect—his audience will feel seen. Characters are cued White.
Quietly, delightfully superb. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-324492-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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