A singular basketball obsessive’s voice in richly creative verse.
All-star–caliber poems inspired by all-star NBA players.
With varied rhyme schemes, rhythmic structures, and forms wrapped around high-energy art, Smith’s newest addition to his b-ball–celebrating poetry collections is a solid refresher on some of the who’s who of today’s NBA. The poems are thoughtful and cleverly representative of the on-court production of 12 outstanding players from Anthony Davis to Russell Westbrook. In Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, Smith sees sizable power, which he uses an acrostic poem to translate into large text and a bold, clear statement of Embiid’s dominance: “Juggernaut / Of / Extreme / Length.” To celebrate Kevin Durant’s smooth athleticism, Smith pivots to jazz rhythms: “KD B-ball / he ball / all the time. / KD do it all / with the ball / all the time.” Striking black-and-white photos from a variety of sources are touched up with fluorescent scribbles, adding energy. As with any field with as many die-hard fans as professional basketball, there is certainly room for debate about insulting omissions and questionable inclusions, but with concluding notes provided in the endmatter, readers get transparent and instructional insight into both poetics and athleticism.
A singular basketball obsessive’s voice in richly creative verse. (Picture book/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1035-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
Readers can count on plenty of chuckles along with a mild challenge or two.
Rollicking verses on “numerous” topics.
Returning to the theme of her Mathematickles! (2003), illustrated by Steven Salerno, Franco gathers mostly new ruminations with references to numbers or arithmetical operations. “Do numerals get out of sorts? / Do fractions get along? / Do equal signs complain and gripe / when kids get problems wrong?” Along with universal complaints, such as why 16 dirty socks go into a washing machine but only 12 clean ones come out or why there are “three months of summer / but nine months of school!" (“It must have been grown-ups / who made up / that rule!”), the poet offers a series of numerical palindromes, a phone number guessing game, a two-voice poem for performative sorts, and, to round off the set, a cozy catalog of countable routines: “It’s knowing when night falls / and darkens my bedroom, / my pup sleeps just two feet from me. / That watching the stars flicker / in the velvety sky / is my glimpse of infinity!” Tey takes each entry and runs with it, adding comically surreal scenes of appropriately frantic or settled mood, generally featuring a diverse group of children joined by grotesques that look like refugees from Hieronymous Bosch paintings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Readers can count on plenty of chuckles along with a mild challenge or two. (Poetry/mathematical picture book. 8-11)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0116-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An apt choice for collections that already have stronger alternatives, such as R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012).
A memoir of the first 14 years in the life of Australian Robert Hoge, born with stunted legs and a tumor in the middle of his face.
In 1972, Robert is born, the youngest of five children, with fishlike eyes on the sides of his face, a massive lump in place of his nose, and malformed legs. As baby Robert is otherwise healthy, the doctors convince his parents to approve the first of many surgeries to reduce his facial difference. One leg is also amputated, and Robert comes home to his everyday white, working-class family. There's no particular theme to the tale of Robert's next decade and a half: he experiences school and teasing, attempts to participate in sports, and is shot down by a girl. Vignette-driven choppiness and the lack of an overarching narrative would make the likeliest audience be those who seek disability stories. However, young Robert's ongoing quest to identify as "normal"—a quest that remains unchanged until a sudden turnaround on the penultimate page—risks alienating readers comfortable with their disabilities. Brief lyrical moments ("as compulsory as soggy tomato sandwiches at snack time") appeal but are overwhelmed by the dry, distant prose dominating this autobiography.
An apt choice for collections that already have stronger alternatives, such as R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012). (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-425-28775-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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