Rather than celebrating diversity, this well-intentioned object lesson underscores the importance of kindness.
Johnny is having trouble accepting a new classmate, Gabe, who is from Brazil and doesn’t speak English.
He dislikes that Gabe is a “crybaby” and makes fun of the fact that “he’s not like us. He can’t even order lunch.” However, the rest of the classmates gradually welcome Gabe to their lunch table and include him on their soccer team while Johnny feels jealous and excluded. One day Gabe teaches Johnny a particularly difficult soccer move, and Johnny realizes that learning another language can be as frustrating as learning a new skill. He befriends Gabe by sharing a carton of chocolate milk, Gabe’s favorite. By focusing her lens on Johnny, Dismondy misses an opportunity to show what it’s like to try fitting into a foreign environment with different cultural and linguistic expectations. Disappointingly, Johnny’s toxic masculinity is not meaningfully interrogated either. Practical modeling of ELL principles are largely absent from the text, though backmatter presents a note for adults. With the exception of “leite” (milk), the Portuguese vocabulary consists of words shared both in Spanish and Portuguese, which is likely to create confusion as to Gabe’s country of origin. Were it not for Farrell’s visual clues—a map charting Gabe’s journey to the U.S. Midwest and Gabe’s soccer jersey—readers might well assume Gabe is from a Spanish-speaking country.
Rather than celebrating diversity, this well-intentioned object lesson underscores the importance of kindness. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-733-0359-6-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cardinal Rule Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
