Stirring and impactful.
Love of sports and unwavering faith play starring roles in this true story.
Abdul-Qaadir, a Black athlete and the first Muslim woman to play NCAA Division I basketball while wearing a hijab, shows talent in childhood, dunking the ball in a child-sized hoop at age 3 and playing against boys at 12. Her grandmother is her biggest cheerleader; her mother reminds her to choose her battles. In high school, she’s a star player—but in a playoff game, a referee says she can’t play in her hijab. Her teammates back her up, and she plays, becoming the all-time lead scorer in Massachusetts state history. Abdul-Qaadir plays college basketball and is recognized by President Barack Obama for her accomplishments. She’s ready to play professionally when “it happens again”: She is told she can’t play wearing her hijab. She must choose, and she chooses her faith. By the time Abdul-Qaadir and supporters help convince the International Basketball Federation to change the rules, it’s too late for her own athletic career but not for other girls’. Lingering on key moments, the well-paced, crisp verse highlights Abdul-Qaadir’s strength of character, emphasizing that despite the injustices she faced, she triumphed by living by her principles. Ahmed’s playful images of an active Muslim girl dispel stereotypes with joyful representation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Stirring and impactful. (more information on Abdul-Qaadir, questions, references) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781525310034
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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