A heartbreakingly necessary work.
In this rhyming picture book, black parents tell their sons how to behave if approached by a police officer.
A young black child is distressed by the news that police have shot another man. “They say he had a little girl, / Bet she misses him a lot,” says the worried boy. His brother is upset, too, about other shootings: “One boy was eating skittles. / Dad, I like to eat them too!” The boys’ father decides it’s time for “THE TALK”—one that will be sadly familiar to many parents of color. To be safe around police, the parents say, one must remember the acronym “ALIVE”: “ALWAYS USE YOUR MANNERS!,” “LISTEN AND COMPLY!,” “Stay IN CONTROL of your emotions!,” “VISIBLE hands at ALL times!,” and “EXPLAIN any movement!” The parents remind their sons that, although it’s natural to be angry and sad, it’s not right to blame all officers for the behavior of some. In her debut book, Gragg (Daddy, Did You Hear the News?, 2018) offers straightforward, useful, and easily remembered guidelines, though the fact that they’re needed is wrenching. Nearly all picture books about police only emphasize their trustworthiness, so Gragg fills a crucial gap in the literature while depicting remarkably evenhanded emotions. Holt’s illustrations depict the loving family well and show diverse characters, including a black officer.
A heartbreakingly necessary work.Pub Date: April 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5423-3253-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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