An endearing and heartwarming journey to define family and self that will resonate deeply.
Hedgehog has always known where she belonged…until one day, she isn’t so sure.
Hedgehog is excited about winter coming! Winter means snowball fights, tubing, and making snowhogs! On her way to Owl’s house with her best friend, Mutty (a stuffed dog), she runs into…herself? Owl, with the help of his trusty dictionary, tells Hedgehog she has a doppelgänger, although they soon realize it is simply another hedgehog, something Hedgehog is not entirely comfortable with. Meanwhile, Beaver and Annika Mae (a tan-skinned human girl) are building a Friend Fort. Upon learning of the dopplegänger, Beaver stops his work and takes Hedgehog and her animal friends down the river to find the hedgehog. They discover the Hedge Hideaway, where hedgehogs go to hibernate. Should Hedgehog give up her fun winter plans and hibernate among her own kind? She soon realizes it’s not those who look like us on the outside but those who feel like family on the inside who matter most. Laced with a lovely yet never heavy-handed message, Castillo’s follow-up to Our Friend Hedgehog (2020) is as charming as the first title.The cast of characters is delightful, especially Mole, who refers to her pals by using the word friend in different languages. The changing palette draws readers into the seasons—autumnal colors and hints of chilly breezes soon give way to the beauty of snow flurries and, of course, snowhogs.
An endearing and heartwarming journey to define family and self that will resonate deeply. (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6674-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
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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