An attempt at conveying the power of story, dampened by a simplistic depiction of a Latine community.
In this tale translated from Spanish, visits from a bookmobile transform a Honduran neighborhood.
Villa Nueva is a place where “happy stories mix with sad ones.” Young Luis likes to lift his family’s spirits by sharing happy ones. On Mondays, the bookmobile’s arrival at school gives him the chance to replenish his well. Read-alouds, puppet shows, and the books the children choose for silent reading enable Luis and his classmates to “carry a glimmer of happiness back to their homes.” Backmatter explains that the story is inspired by the work of JustWorld International, a nonprofit that partners with the local organization Asociación Compartir. Co-author Rodríguez, a writer, educator, and musician from Trojes, El Paraíso, Honduras, who appears in the book, works with the real-life bookmobile. Though the community is initially described as a blend of happy and sad tales, it’s visually depicted as a depressing place where everyone looks downcast. Monochromatic blues and grays dominate, and rich hues appear only when Luis tells a story and when the bookmobile arrives, suggesting less the uplifting potential of a good story than that these people’s lives would be pure misery if it weren’t for the help of people outside the community. While the art is lush and textured and the story engaging, they can’t make up for this flattening portrayal. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An attempt at conveying the power of story, dampened by a simplistic depiction of a Latine community. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780802856166
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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