Despite vibrant visuals, this tale fails to capture the essence of either its child protagonist or its rich urban setting.
An ode to two Harlems.
Datcher attempts to celebrate both the year his daughter Harlem turned 4 and “the magical fourth year of the 1900s,” when Philip A. Payton Jr. founded the Afro-American Realty Company—an act that would make housing more readily available to African Americans moving north during the Great Migration. In Part 1, a Black father narrates, offering a poetic tribute to his confident, creative daughter, Harlem. As the two stroll through the neighborhood she was named for, the narrator mentions historical events and works of art such as John Coltrane’s album A Love Supreme. Father and daughter never appear in Part 2 as readers learn more about Payton and the history of Harlem. While all readers, regardless of their knowledge of Harlem, will be able to enjoy Morrison’s lively, graffiti-inspired illustrations, the same cannot be said of Datcher’s text, which tries to cover too much ground and uses language and phrasing that most children won’t understand. A reference to how the “government / sought to cage Black Panther Afeni Shakur” doesn’t elaborate on who Shakur was and will leave young readers confused, as will the highly academic backmatter that expands on the topics mentioned in the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Despite vibrant visuals, this tale fails to capture the essence of either its child protagonist or its rich urban setting. (historical notes, bibliography) (Picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593429334
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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