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
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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