A beautifully layered story just as rich as the history it represents.
A joyful ode to freedom from the perspective of a park in Houston, Texas.
Emancipation Park was built on land purchased in 1872, to commemorate the holiday that would become known as Juneteenth; in 1918, it was made into a municipal park. Here, residents of the city’s Third Ward could celebrate the freedom of their ancestors. As the book opens, we see people—predominantly Black and brown—enjoying a summer day. Readers are then transported to June 19, 1865, when the enslaved people of Galveston found out that, two years earlier, Abraham Lincoln had ended slavery by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Later, the park in Houston was built to honor that triumphant day. From then on, it became a community gathering spot, where people played, held concerts, and hosted sporting events. When Jim Crow and segregation laws proliferated, the park also housed the only pool that allowed African Americans. Eventually, the park fell into disrepair until it was rededicated in 2017 and given new life. Most spreads open with a reason the park was built: “They built me to celebrate.” “They built me to play.” Ellis writes in spirited, succinct verse. Mohammed’s bold, active illustrations give rise to powerfully poignant words. Butterflies and plant life can be seen throughout; as the park goes through its life cycle, so, too, do those elements.
A beautifully layered story just as rich as the history it represents. (background information about Emancipation Park) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9780063286054
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for.
An overview of the modern African-American holiday.
This book arrives at a time when black people in the United States have had intraracial—some serious, some snarky—conversations about Kwanzaa’s relevance nowadays, from its patchwork inspiration that flattens the cultural diversity of the African continent to a single festive story to, relatedly, the earnest blacker-than-thou pretentiousness surrounding it. Both the author and consultant Keith A. Mayes take great pains—and in painfully simplistic language—to provide a context that attempts to refute the internal arguments as much as it informs its intended audience. In fact, Mayes says in the endnotes that young people are Kwanzaa’s “largest audience and most important constituents” and further extends an invitation to all races and ages to join the winter celebration. However, his “young people represent the future” counterpoint—and the book itself—really responds to an echo of an argument, as black communities have moved the conversation out to listen to African communities who critique the holiday’s loose “African-ness” and deep American-ness and moved on to commemorate holidays that have a more historical base in black people’s experiences in the United States, such as Juneteenth. In this context, the explications of Kwanzaa’s principles and symbols and the smattering of accompanying activities feel out of touch.
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for. (resources, bibliography, glossary, afterword) (Nonfiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2849-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Pass.
The traditions and history of one of Mexico’s most important holidays are introduced in this latest of Eliot’s Celebrate the World series.
From setting up the flower-festooned altars to decorating the calaveras, the preparations depicted involve entire communities over several weeks. Characters in cowboy hats, sombreros, and baseball caps place the final touches on skeletons in full lucha libre regalia or spangled mariachi outfits. However, instead of accurately using Mexico’s name for the holiday, Día de Muertos, Eliot uses the English back-translation, “Día de los Muertos,” as is common in the U.S. even though the story evidently takes place in Mexico. Also, aside from stating that the celebration “is an ancient tradition,” there is no mention of its Indigenous, pre-European/Christian roots nor does the book actively distinguish between Día de Muertos and Halloween. The first-person narration vacillates between child and adult perspectives. “We do all this to celebrate the beauty of life and death rather than mourn it.” Gutierrez’s mixed-media illustrations are convulsive, crowded panes of frenetic activity. Exaggerated facial features border on stereotypical caricatures—snouts and bug eyes abound. Contributing to the crowded page design is the unfortunate choice of board rather than picture-book format. Consequently, the initial perception is that this series is geared toward toddlers, when it is the school-age child who would most benefit from the information in this book.
Pass. (Board book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1515-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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