A book for very young readers who are already ready to lead.
Babies have all the qualities necessary to be leaders of the free world.
Does Baby have what it takes to be the president of the United States of America? Baby knows how to take charge, command attention, and negotiate complex trades. Besides these professional qualifications, Baby is used to working in a play space shaped surprisingly like the oval office. With all of these credentials, Baby seems like the perfect fit for the highest office in the land. The illustrations in this board book feature racially and ethnically diverse examples of both babies and presidents, notably including women of color and at least one woman wearing hijab, and a brown, female-presenting child beams from the cover. (It is, however, disappointing that the very first potential president within the book is a white, male-presenting child rather than one of the more diverse babies featured in later pages). The cartoon illustrations are bright and cheerful, featuring bold blocks of color that are especially appealing to very young children. The clever parallels drawn between a baby’s relationship to the world and the president’s job are sure to delight adults reading the book aloud, although many are too sophisticated for children to understand. The final pages feature facts about the U.S. presidency that are interesting but more appropriate for readers who are slightly older than the typical board-book age.
A book for very young readers who are already ready to lead. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-31224-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ideal for any community where children count.
A difficult concept is simply and strikingly illustrated for the very youngest members of any community, with a counting exercise to boot.
From the opening invitation, “Living in community, / it's a lot of FUN! / Lets count the ways. / Lets start with ONE,” Nagaro shows an urban community that is multicultural, supportive, and happy—exactly like the neighborhoods that many families choose to live and raise their children in. Text on every other page rhymes unobtrusively. Unlike the vocabulary found in A Is for Activist (2013), this book’s is entirely age-appropriate (though some parents might not agree that picketing is a way to show “that we care”). In A Is for Activist, a cat was hidden on each page; this time, finding the duck is the game. Counting is almost peripheral to the message. On the page with “Seven bikes and scooters and helmets to share,” identifying toys in an artistic heap is confusing. There is only one helmet for five toys, unless you count the second helmet worn by the girl riding a scooter—but then there are eight items, not seven. Seven helmets and seven toys would have been clearer. That quibble aside, Nagara's graphic design skills are evident, with deep colors, interesting angles, and strong lines, in a mix of digital collage and ink.
Ideal for any community where children count. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60980-632-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Falters in its oversimplified portrayal of a complicated region and people.
Parallel storylines take readers through the lives of two young people on Sept. 11 in 2001 and 2019.
In the contemporary timeline, Reshmina is an Afghan girl living in foothills near the Pakistan border that are a battleground between the Taliban and U.S. armed forces. She is keen to improve her English while her twin brother, Pasoon, is inspired by the Taliban and wants to avenge their older sister, killed by an American bomb on her wedding day. Reshmina helps a wounded American soldier, making her village a Taliban target. In 2001, Brandon Chavez is spending the day with his father, who works at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World restaurant. Brandon is heading to the underground mall when a plane piloted by al-Qaida hits the tower, and his father is among those killed. The two storylines develop in parallel through alternating chapters. Gratz’s deeply moving writing paints vivid images of the loss and fear of those who lived through the trauma of 9/11. However, this nuance doesn’t extend to the Afghan characters; Reshmina and Pasoon feel one-dimensional. Descriptions of the Taliban’s Afghan victims and Reshmina's gentle father notwithstanding, references to all young men eventually joining the Taliban and Pasoon's zeal for their cause counteract this messaging. Explanations for the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan in the author’s note and in characters’ conversations too simplistically present the U.S. presence.
Falters in its oversimplified portrayal of a complicated region and people. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-24575-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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