Compelling, delicate, and spare, this book brings both artist and garden to life.
Rosenstock weaves the story of folk artist Nek Chand Saini and the magnificent secret garden he built in Chandigarh, India.
Now spread over 40 acres and open to the public since 1976, Nek Chand’s Rock Garden is a world of palaces, temples, and villages, showcasing over 5,000 creative sculptures of people, animals, and whimsical creatures, all made from discarded industrial items and household articles. The spare, lyrical text brings forth the stories that Nek Chand grew up with and evokes the village that stayed with him long after he and his family had to flee during the Partition of India in 1947, “walking for twenty-four days across the new border into India. Nek carried only village stories in his broken heart.” When his garden, built illegally on government ground, was discovered and threatened with destruction, the people of Chandigarh rallied, preserving both his job and the garden. Nivola’s delicate and detailed watercolor-and-gouache illustrations feature people with dark hair and skin of different shades of brown. They show authentic snippets of pre-Partition village life as well as the surreal landscape he built; these are complemented by a double gatefold of photos of the actual garden. There is no glossary, but most of the few Punjabi words in the text are easily assumed from the context. Readers may wish for maps of India and the garden.
Compelling, delicate, and spare, this book brings both artist and garden to life. (bibliography, author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7475-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom.
A Black girl’s simple observation propels her into activism.
Woodard, who launched the More Than Peach Project—which arranges for classrooms and children in need to receive kits that include art supplies and boxes of multicultural crayons (crayons in a variety of skin tones)—relates the incident that sparked her journey. As the book begins, she is dropped off at school and notices that her family’s skin tone differs from that of her classmates. While it is clear that she is one of a few children of color at school, that difference isn’t really felt until her friends start asking for the “skin-color” crayon when they mean peach. She’s bothered that no one else seems to notice that skin comes in many colors, so she devises a unique way of bringing everyone’s attention to that fact. With support from her family and her school, she encourages her fellow classmates to rethink their language and starts an initiative to ensure that everyone’s skin tone is represented in each crayon box. Appealing, realistic artwork depicts Woodard’s experiences, while endpapers feature More Than Peach crayon boxes and childlike illustrations of kids of different ethnicities doing various activities. The story is stirring and will motivate budding activists. (This book was reviewed digitally; the review has been updated for factual accuracy.)
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom. (note from Woodard, information on Woodard’s journey into activism, instructions on starting a drive) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80927-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
