With its fun illustrations, this story may inspire young readers to try a little kindness.
A little girl’s small act of kindness energizes her town into doing the same—with a beautiful, cumulative impact.
After a terrible storm washes “thousands of sea stars” onto the beach, a brown-skinned child with three teal pigtails gets to work. One at a time, the child returns starfish to the ocean, despite the daunting number of stranded creatures. An elderly, White passerby notices her project, and asks, “What’s the point? You won’t be able to save them all.” The intrepid helper’s response sets the tone for the rest of the story: After plunking a single starfish back into the waves, she replies, “Of course I can’t save them all….But I saved that one, didn’t I?” This single show of generosity creates a chain reaction of freshly galvanized townspeople, encouraging one another to help out wherever they can—no matter how seemingly small the overall impact. Examples of these kindnesses include adopting a dog from a shelter full of strays in need of homes after the storm; cleaning up storm debris from a neighbor’s yard, though the storm trashed the entire block; and donating Tooth Fairy funds “to charity.” By the time the starfish-rescuing girl returns to the beach to take up her small mission again, she finds many of her neighbors already on the shore, saving sea stars and picking up litter. In a crowded market of picture books extolling random acts of kindness, illustrator Juanita’s charming images set this story apart. The details of each townsperson’s personality and identity sparkle on the pages, including disabled, Black, queer, and gender-nonconforming characters. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 20.3% of actual size.)
With its fun illustrations, this story may inspire young readers to try a little kindness. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4226-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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