A wistful snapshot of a young artist and his family.
When his older brother, Nico, joins the Army, Luis picks up a paintbrush.
At first, Luis tries to join his brother. “Can I go too?” he asks. “To see the world?” He tries to hide inside Nico’s duffel, but Mami catches him in the act, voicing their shared grief in a simple turn of phrase: “Good-byes are sour like lemons.” Wearing his brother’s giant boots, Luis steps outside and paints on the alleyway wall. Soon morning comes, and Nico leaves home. Farish’s restrained story moves at a slow pace, giving readers ample space to grasp the depths of Luis’ sorrow. Seasons come and go, and Luis wonders whether Nico will ever return. Meanwhile, his alleyway art expands. A river curls from wall to wall, and a young boy rides his bicycle beside tall mountains in a distant land: a composite of images from Luis’ neighborhood and pictures he receives from his brother. Neighbors soon start painting, too. Dominguez’s illustrations border on realism, with just a hint of dreamy surrealism. Figures are juxtaposed against one another at evocative angles, as vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows mix with muted blues and purples. “Still, Luis can’t forget what Mami said, that some people don’t come back for the baseball or the flan.” Thankfully, the ending proves her wrong. Luis and his family are light-skinned Latinos, and their Lawrence, Massachusetts, neighborhood is realistically multiethnic.
A wistful snapshot of a young artist and his family. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-5796-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
A strong second outing for Dillard and J.D.
Breakout kid barber J.D. embraces a summer of opportunity.
Readers met J.D. Jones just as he took his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, by storm, winning himself community acclaim and a chair at the revered Hart and Sons barbershop in series opener J.D. and the Great Barber Battle(2021). What’s next for the haircut prodigy? School’s just getting out, and there’s so much life happening outside—if only one can escape home learning with the grandparents. J.D.’s sister, Vanessa, brings along multitalented mutual friend Jessyka to share an ambitious challenge: “Let’s start a YouTube channel!” Can they get millions of views and wow the whole world? They are already amazing at haircuts and hairstyles—all they need is to learn how to make a great YouTube video. The story models strategies for scripting short videos reflecting the templates of viral YouTube hair tutorials, inviting readers to not only see the journey of the characters, but maybe also practice these skills at home. This book is bound to educate all about some of the most storied and cherished traditions within the Black community. Bringing in Vanessa is a great touch to extend the series across gender, and hopefully she’ll get a chance to lead her own adventures. This book blends skill-building, entrepreneurship, and strong family values to give young Black children visions of what’s possible when they follow their passions and embrace their community.
A strong second outing for Dillard and J.D. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11155-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Long-winded but uplifting nonetheless.
Comedian, singer, and YouTube star Rainbow urges readers not to let others dim their light.
Young Randy Rainbow lives life out loud. While his classmates wear “dull blue jeans and drab T-shirts,” he sports “brightly colored three-piece suits and sparkly bow ties,” paints his nails, and listens to Broadway albums. After being called a “weirdo” at school, he tries to tamp down his sparkly side. While helping his grandmother sort through some of her old belongings, he stumbles across a pair of magical cat-eye glasses that, according to Nanny, allow whoever puts them on to “be anything and anywhere [they] want.” After rocking the glasses at school and a number of other locations, Randy becomes popular and confident, but when he breaks them on the way to a birthday party, he’s despondent. Nanny reveals that the glasses never had any powers; the magic was in Randy all along. While the message about being true to oneself is an important one, the unevenly paced, wordy text often tells more than it shows. At times it feels as though the author’s trying to pad out a somewhat thin story; multiple examples of Randy sporting his new specs in a variety of scenarios drag quite a bit. Swirls of pink feature prominently in MacGibbon’s cartoon illustrations. Randy and Nanny are pale-skinned; hints in the text suggest that they may be Jewish.
Long-winded but uplifting nonetheless. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781250900777
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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