A moving picture book about the resilience one can find in one’s cultural inheritance.
A renowned Indigenous dancer tells her story.
At 4 years old, author Thundercloud, of the Ho-Chunk Nation and Sandia Pueblo, received her first jingle dress—an intricate, hand-sewn garment worn by Indigenous dancers. When she performed for the first time at a powwow, her spirit soared. This feeling never left Thundercloud, and as she grew up, she began dancing in the Native “fancy shawl” tradition as well as in contemporary, jazz, tap, ballet, and modern styles. Despite her meteoric rise in numerous dance communities (which eventually led to her becoming an internationally renowned professional dancer), Thundercloud was a “shy” kid who “didn’t fit in.” She was perpetually “the only Indigenous girl in class,” no one pronounced her name—Wakąja haja pįįwįga, or “Beautiful Thunder Woman”—correctly, and the timid girl “never corrected them.” As Thundercloud reached adulthood, she found strength through her ancestral dance and the birth of her daughter. Empowered by her heritage, Thundercloud now corrects those who mispronounce her daughter Yelihwaha•wíhta’s name (“She Brings Good Energy”), lifting up “a language that still exists, and a culture that we still honor, despite many attempts to wipe it out forever.” Accompanied by Fuller’s evocative illustrations that fill pages with bright colors and dynamic figures, Thundercloud’s rousing story of an uncertain child who grows to take pride in her identity will resonate with readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A moving picture book about the resilience one can find in one’s cultural inheritance. (Picture-book autobiography. 5-10)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-09389-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
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 inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom.
A Black girl’s simple observation propels her into activism.
Woodard, who launched the More Than Peach Project—which arranges for classrooms and children in need to receive kits that include art supplies and boxes of multicultural crayons (crayons in a variety of skin tones)—relates the incident that sparked her journey. As the book begins, she is dropped off at school and notices that her family’s skin tone differs from that of her classmates. While it is clear that she is one of a few children of color at school, that difference isn’t really felt until her friends start asking for the “skin-color” crayon when they mean peach. She’s bothered that no one else seems to notice that skin comes in many colors, so she devises a unique way of bringing everyone’s attention to that fact. With support from her family and her school, she encourages her fellow classmates to rethink their language and starts an initiative to ensure that everyone’s skin tone is represented in each crayon box. Appealing, realistic artwork depicts Woodard’s experiences, while endpapers feature More Than Peach crayon boxes and childlike illustrations of kids of different ethnicities doing various activities. The story is stirring and will motivate budding activists. (This book was reviewed digitally; the review has been updated for factual accuracy.)
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom. (note from Woodard, information on Woodard’s journey into activism, instructions on starting a drive) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80927-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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