A beautiful introduction to the people, history, and geography of Cameroon.
Two American girls travel through various regions of Cameroon in this illustrated kids’ book.
London is 12 and Sydney is 9, and both girls wear brown coveralls and have brown skin and black braids decorated with gold beads. There’s little story here, but the book does include a vast wealth of information about the places the girls visit in Cameroon, including aspects of its culture, history, and geography. The pair begin their travels in Douala, known for its music and dance, and where famed musician Manu Dibango wrote much-sampled music and lyrics. Readers are told that the southwest coast, Debundscha, is one of the rainiest places on Earth, and home to Mt. Fako. In Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital city, London and Sydney visit the 1970s monument that commemorates the unifying of British and French Cameroon; then the pair watch a soccer game at Olembe Stadium. They also travel east to Bertoua, the largest but least populated region of the country, and learn how people of many faiths live together in Cameroon, where interfaith marriage is common. The girls visit Lake Chad and the Mandara Mountains, as well as Waza National Park; Mindja’s detailed, full-color cartoon illustrations include elephants, giraffes, lions, and marabou storks. London and Sydney also meet the traditionally nomadic Wodaabe people, whose “rich culture [is] centered around music, dancing, tattoos, face-painting, elaborate dressing and jewelry.” London and Sydney visit a mosque, a beach, and Foumban Royal Palace, then go to a traditional wedding. At the end of the book, the authors include several informative pages featuring examples of traditional Cameroonian food, and the illustrations make every dish, from sanga to grilled plums to soya, look mouthwatering. Almost every page includes full-page images of the two main characters, landscapes, animals, as well as portraits of famous Cameroonians—a feature that adds detail and color to the wholly informative text.
A beautiful introduction to the people, history, and geography of Cameroon.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2023
ISBN: 979-8988858539
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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