A well-curated collection of Asian American and Pacific Islander heroes.
An illustrated compendium of extraordinary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The book pairs stylized portraits of each of the individuals featured with short paragraphs about their lives. Ranging from relatively lesser-known historical figures like Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese immigrant to the United States whose fight for citizenship set a precedent for over 100 years of future immigration law, and moving on to modern celebrities like wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and actor, writer, and producer Mindy Kaling, the collection includes a variety of Asian American and Pacific Islanders who influenced American history, politics, music, sports, and popular culture. This variety is not just limited to career choices; the book also features disabled individuals like activist Alice Wong and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, biracial individuals like Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris, and individuals from ethnic groups that are often overlooked in American history, including Bangladeshis, Thailanders, Filipinos, Marshall Islanders, and Native Hawaiians. (The text does not specify whether anyone featured identifies as queer or trans.) Throughout, the prose is clear, concise, and well crafted, incorporating details that will enthrall young readers. Since there is no introduction providing context, the jump right into descriptions feels slightly abrupt. Overall, though, the book is a thoughtful and comprehensive survey of the ways in which Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped, and will continue to shape, the United States. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A well-curated collection of Asian American and Pacific Islander heroes. (Picture-book collective biography. 6-10)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-52543-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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