Inspirational if a little airbrushed.
Who says you need to be a grown-up to help make a change in the world? There are kids around the world making a difference, right now!
Paul profiles children notable for their bravery, leadership, intelligence, commitment to creatively solving problems, and willingness to speak to matters facing the world—especially on behalf of other children. Readers will be inspired by the blend of familiar kid activists such as Jazz Jennings, Greta Thunberg, and Malala Yousafzai with lesser-known young people like scientist Angela Zhang and community worker Jonas Corona. Also included is a two-page spread featuring 18 young people who are committed to helping animals. The profiles are short and conveyed in free-verse odes paired with prose paragraphs of facts, together briefly outlining the young person’s challenge and resolution on a full-bleed, double-page spread. Jackson’s dreamy, doe-eyed illustrations embody the optimism and hope of each profiled youngster but also often fail to convey their ferocity. Greta Thunberg sits next to a sunflower looking into the middle distance rather than facing down the U.N. General Assembly, for instance. The backmatter includes a section headed “You Can Speak Up Too! Actions Make a Difference” that answers questions about ways young people can lend their voices and efforts to help others. There’s also an author’s note, glossary, and bibliography with quote sources. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Inspirational if a little airbrushed. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-13732-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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