Will inspire a closer look at America’s rich history—and the myriad experiences of Americans.
What makes someone American?
A classroom of children from a wide variety of backgrounds ponder the characteristics and qualities of the American identity. Is it a matter of where you live? What you look like? Or perhaps the traditions you follow? “I think being an American is something more,” one child contends. The others share their own beliefs and family experiences—one student is the grandchild of Japanese Americans who were unjustly imprisoned during World War II; another child and their family members are Somali refugees; a light-skinned child attends Pride each year with their fathers. Each page reveals the many ways in which their families have shaped America—and continue to do so—as they share the values they hold dear. Khiani attempts to capture each meaningful experience succinctly. Still, younger readers may feel left behind during the story’s more complex moments, such as a discussion of the impact of redlining on Black Americans. Freeman’s stunning illustrations drive the story home, with layered images depicting past and present on each page interwoven with the American flag, adding texture, depth, and color. The resulting patchwork effect reinforces the power of both diversity and shared beliefs in breathing life and strength into the American identity. Extensive backmatter provides further context and guidance for additional research. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will inspire a closer look at America’s rich history—and the myriad experiences of Americans. (author’s note, map, migration factors, additional information about the various cultures mentioned, further reading, selected bibliography) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780593464724
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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