It’s heartening to learn that books and libraries—no matter their form—have always prevailed.
A tale of bringing a very valuable commodity to people in the Kentucky hills.
During the Great Depression, Junia the mule and her “Book Woman” carry precious cargo to the residents of remote areas in the eastern Kentucky hills. Folks here have no access to reading materials, except for those delivered by “Pack Horse librarians,” like the one in this story, set in 1936. The two make a stalwart team, starting their rounds before dawn, traversing difficult terrain in all weather, and finishing after dark. Every month they travel “hundreds of miles to drop off thousands of reading requests.” Narrator Junia describes a day’s adventure: The duo encounter a menacing rattlesnake, ford waterways, and narrowly escape disaster when a rickety bridge collapses into a creek before they cross it. They’ve formed warm bonds with their patrons; Book Woman knows their reading preferences perfectly and tailors her collections to meet their needs. This is a warm, heartfelt, and humorous tale; readers who regularly visit school and public libraries will marvel that such librarians once existed (an author’s note offers background on the real-life Kentucky Pack Horse librarians). The colorful illustrations capture the cozy spirit and feel of the rural setting and residents. Junia’s a delight; kids would love to meet her on their next library trip. The “Book Woman” presents white; there’s diversity among the background characters.
It’s heartening to learn that books and libraries—no matter their form—have always prevailed. (photograph, mule fun facts, additional resources) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781534113039
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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