Encouraging but simplistic, the book strives to offer dignity, agency, and hope for a new generation of black youth but...
Pastor, professor, and activist Waters draws on intimate family experiences in this attempt to answer many of the critical questions that have arisen over the past decade. Violence seems to be everywhere Jeremiah looks. On the computer is the story of Trayvon Martin; on the television, Michael Brown. In the paper is the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church. One night, the gunshots even ring outside Jeremiah’s home as the family gathers together. All the while, Jeremiah accumulates these experiences until he finally exclaims: “I’m tired of people hurting each other! I’m tired of people shooting each other!” His parents recognize his deep frustration and encourage him to channel the energy, as they do, into actions that combine to create new realities: voting, marching, praying, organizing, and educating. For them, all these strategies show that change is possible and will come one day if we commit to them en masse. However, Waters conflates police violence, white-supremacist violence, and neighborhood violence into one simplified linear narrative. Although they all affect communities like Jeremiah’s, they demand different remedies, a critical understanding that’s not made explicit for young readers. Morris’ simple, heartfelt illustrations reflect the book’s emotions.
Encouraging but simplistic, the book strives to offer dignity, agency, and hope for a new generation of black youth but doesn’t quite manage. (author’s note, discussion guide) (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947888-08-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flyaway Books
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
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
A nice and timely depiction of an immigrant child experience.
Speaking up is hard when you’re shy, and it can be even harder if you’ve got two languages in your head.
Third-grader Estrella “Stella” Díaz, is a shy, Mexican-American girl who draws pictures and loves fish, and she lives in Chicago with her mother and older brother, Nick. Jenny, Stella’s best friend, isn’t in her class this year, and Stella feels lonely—especially when she sees that Vietnamese-American Jenny is making new friends. When a new student, Stanley Mason, arrives in her class, Stella introduces herself in Spanish to the white former Texan without realizing it and becomes embarrassed. Surely Stanley won’t want to befriend her after that—but he seems to anyway. Stella often confuses the pronunciation between English and Spanish sounds and takes speech classes. As an immigrant with a green card—a “legal alien,” according to her teacher—Stella feels that she doesn’t fully belong to either American culture or Mexican culture, and this is nicely reflected in her not being fully comfortable in either language, an experience familiar to many immigrant and first-generation children. This early-middle-grade book features italicized Spanish words and phrases with direct translations right after. There is a small subplot about bullying from Stella’s classmate, and readers will cheer as they see how, with the help of her friends and family, Stella overcomes her shyness and gives a presentation on Jacques Cousteau. Dominguez’s friendly black-and-white drawings grace most pages.
A nice and timely depiction of an immigrant child experience. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-858-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
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