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I'M GOING TO BE A PRINCESS

Amusing, informative, and relatable, for young readers and caregivers alike.

A Black mother and daughter discuss role models.

A young girl named Maya dreams of being a princess, much to the consternation of her mother, who shares examples of amazing Black women through history to coax her daughter away from what she sees as a stereotypically feminine desire. Wouldn’t Maya rather be a doctor, like Alexa Canady? Or a dancer, like Misty Copeland? Or a rocket scientist, like Annie Easley? As the two walk home from school, Mom offers more examples of women whom she hopes Maya will emulate. Though these women are fantastic, Maya is steadfast about wanting to be a princess. And at the end of the story, she tells her mother she wants to be just like Princess Amina, a warrior princess who, centuries ago, ruled the Zazzau Kingdom in West Africa—a fearless leader, she was devoted to her people and worked tirelessly for them. This satisfying conclusion flips the narrative and upends assumptions about who a princess is and what she might look like; caregivers of princess-obsessed kids may chuckle at the reveal. The text is conversational, accompanied by lively illustrations that set a light, fun tone. The book strikes a good balance, including subjects that readers may not be familiar with as well as better-known names. Backmatter offers more information about the women featured in the book.

Amusing, informative, and relatable, for young readers and caregivers alike. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9798887770345

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023

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GIRLS ON THE RISE

Enthusiastic and direct, this paean has a lovely ring to it.

Former National Youth Poet Laureate Gorman invites girls to raise their voices and make a difference.

“Today, we finally have a say,” proclaims the first-person plural narration as three girls (one presents Black, another is brown-skinned, and the third is light-skinned) pass one another marshmallows on a stick around a campfire. In Wise’s textured, almost three-dimensional illustrations, the trio traverse fantastical, often abstract landscapes, playing, demonstrating, eating, and even flying, while confident rhymes sing their praises and celebrate collective female victories. The phrase “LIBERATION. FREEDOM. RESPECT” appears on a protest sign that bookends their journey. Simple and accessible, the rhythmic visual storytelling presents an optimistic vision of young people working toward a better world. Sometimes family members or other diverse comrades surround the girls, emphasizing that power comes from community. Gorman is careful to specify that “some of us go by she / And some of us go by they.” She affirms, too, that each person is “a different shape and size,” though the art doesn’t show much variation in body type. Characters also vary in ability. Real-life figures emerge as the girls dream of past luminaries such as author Octavia Butler and activist Marsha P. Johnson, along with present-day role models including poet and journalist Plestia Alaqad and athlete Sha’carri Richardson; silhouettes stand in for heroines as yet unknown. Imagining that “we are where change is going” is hopeful indeed.

Enthusiastic and direct, this paean has a lovely ring to it. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025

ISBN: 9780593624180

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024

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FIND MOMO EVERYWHERE

From the Find Momo series , Vol. 7

A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.

Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.

Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.

A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781683693864

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Quirk Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

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