A profile of the Queen of Country Music that conveys the spirit and spunk of a little girl with a big vision.
A poor country girl’s journey from pounding out rhythms on pots and pans to achieving global music stardom.
McGrath re-creates the flavor of Parton’s childhood “deep in a holler of the Great Smoky Mountains” with well-chosen details, such as a reference to a “handmade corncob doll” that was the subject of young Dolly’s first song. The narrative portrays Parton’s musical development, from singing to farm animals and juggling songwriting with corn hoeing to listening to country music on the radio with her family. It relates a well-known incident from Parton’s childhood—she was mocked by classmates for wearing a patchwork coat—and her famous 1971 ballad inspired by the experience. Surrey’s warm gouache spreads capture the blond, blue-eyed songstress’s cheerful nature, often depicting her smiling radiantly against backgrounds of butterflies and sparkling stars. Readers learn that it was her uncle who initially helped her achieve her dream, first shepherding her to an on-air variety show performance and later driving her to Nashville, where, after many rejections, Johnny Cash welcomed the young singer into the world of the Grand Old Opry country music show. The final illustration of the dazzling, successful performer poised in front of a microphone is a poignant contrast to the opening illustration of a young barefoot Dolly on the front porch of her humble childhood home, belting into a broom. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A profile of the Queen of Country Music that conveys the spirit and spunk of a little girl with a big vision. (further reading, quotes, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: June 7, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32452-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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
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