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DREAMS OF FREEDOM

Name: DREAMS OF FREEDOM
Author: Amnesty International UK Section
ISBN: 978-1-84780-453-2

IN WORDS AND PICTURES

by Amnesty International UK Section ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2015

With proceeds going to Amnesty International, this album provides much food for thought for those children—and adults—who...

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Twenty artists from around the world illustrate many aspects of the concept of “freedom,” accompanying inspirational sayings from thinkers living and dead.

Illustrations range from the representational to the surreal in their interpretations. Mordicai Gerstein paints a black figure in a yellow dress emerging from a thicket of chains, brambles and nooses into a lush, green, bird-filled paradise to illustrate Harriet Tubman’s recollection of “cross[ing] that line.” Illustrating a quotation from Malala Yousafzai, 2014 Hans Christian Andersen winner Roger Mello, from Brazil, offers a brilliantly colored and patterned aerial view of a boat; in its prow, a long-haired figure sprawls, reading a book. Joining such familiar voices as the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Anne Frank are Mikhail Bakunin, a 19th-century Russian anarchist; Chief Standing Bear, a Ponca Indian who sued the U.S. Army and won; and two former prisoners of conscience, Armando Valladares, a Cuban artist, and Jack Mapanje, a Malawian poet. Barroux’s illustration of a pithy quote on freedom of expression from Ali Ferzat, a Syrian political cartoonist, gives potent visual meaning to “the power of the pen.” With an introduction by Michael Morpurgo, concluding thumbnail biographies of all the contributors, and endpapers displaying a serene, starry night sky from Peter Sís, it’s a handsome package indeed.

With proceeds going to Amnesty International, this album provides much food for thought for those children—and adults—who take the time to contemplate its pages. (Picture book. 5-12)

Pub Date: March 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-84780-453-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

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Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)