Hilarious and sweet, with a gentle, affirming moral.
Eliza is appalled to discover that she is a thief; can she ever redeem herself?
It all starts when Eliza—Line Leader, Caring Friend, Captain of the Worm Rescue Team—swipes a sparkly stone from the table in her classroom. It wasn’t her fault. The stone made her do it. But as soon as it’s hers, Eliza becomes a thief. Her reflection looks back at her through a bandit’s mask, and the stone, wearing devilish horns and a pointy tail, oppresses her all day. As the entire class searches for the stone, Eliza agonizes about putting it back. What if someone sees? She goes home and asks the adults in her life if they have ever stolen anything. Her father hasn’t, but nearly everyone else admits to having stolen something. Still, Eliza goes to bed in tears, thinking of her disappointed classmates. The next day, she returns the stone to Ms. Delano. And rather than judge her harshly, Ms. Delano calls her…“BRAVE?” Eliza realizes that “nobody is just a thief. Everyone is a lot of things!” This humorous story speaks to anyone who has made a regrettable mistake, rounding it out with a gently ironic surprise final spread. The playful illustrations feature textured shading and expressive lines highlighting Eliza’s active imagination. Eliza and her family present as white; Ms. Delano has brown skin, and Eliza’s classmates are multiracial.
Hilarious and sweet, with a gentle, affirming moral. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4289-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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