Both beautiful and deeply flawed, like its subject.
A pictorial interpretation of Bates’ “America the Beautiful.”
Few will question the aesthetic beauty of Minor’s paintings, which employ breathtaking realism to depict a diversity of landscapes in the continental U.S. Minor chooses sites ranging from the “purple mountain majesty” of Grand Teton National Park (first appearing on the front jacket) to a moving illustration for the line “Thine alabaster cities gleam / Undimmed by human tears!” that shows the Empire State Building illuminated in red, white, and blue with twin columns of light in the background. Throughout, Minor also varies his settings between the contemporary era and the past, selectively including people in some art. Unfortunately, herein lies a romanticizing of American history that is reliant on exclusion and erasure. The cover image of the Tetons is reused on the recto of an interior spread and expanded to a facing verso depicting three lone tepees, smoke rising from their tops. Such imagery risks relegating Indigenous people to the past and reinforces the myth of historically sparse Native populations—especially when juxtaposed with a scene of “pilgrim[s]” at Plimouth Plantation and another with a covered wagon moving through Nebraska. A spread with the figures on Mount Rushmore exalted as “heroes… / Who more than self their country loved / And mercy more than life” further whitewashes America’s history of settler colonialism and slavery.
Both beautiful and deeply flawed, like its subject. (biographical notes, sheet music, key, map) (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: March 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62354-121-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for.
An overview of the modern African-American holiday.
This book arrives at a time when black people in the United States have had intraracial—some serious, some snarky—conversations about Kwanzaa’s relevance nowadays, from its patchwork inspiration that flattens the cultural diversity of the African continent to a single festive story to, relatedly, the earnest blacker-than-thou pretentiousness surrounding it. Both the author and consultant Keith A. Mayes take great pains—and in painfully simplistic language—to provide a context that attempts to refute the internal arguments as much as it informs its intended audience. In fact, Mayes says in the endnotes that young people are Kwanzaa’s “largest audience and most important constituents” and further extends an invitation to all races and ages to join the winter celebration. However, his “young people represent the future” counterpoint—and the book itself—really responds to an echo of an argument, as black communities have moved the conversation out to listen to African communities who critique the holiday’s loose “African-ness” and deep American-ness and moved on to commemorate holidays that have a more historical base in black people’s experiences in the United States, such as Juneteenth. In this context, the explications of Kwanzaa’s principles and symbols and the smattering of accompanying activities feel out of touch.
A good-enough introduction to a contested festivity but one that’s not in step with the community it’s for. (resources, bibliography, glossary, afterword) (Nonfiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2849-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Amid inconsistencies of format and information, the illustrations end up giving the most clarity about this festival.
Diwali, the festival of lights, a five-day celebration that has many different forms, is celebrated in different ways across India and in many other countries.
This board book cursorily presents the different rituals associated with this celebration of the Hindu New Year, including getting the house ready to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; decorating the house with rangoli and diyas; and celebrating with family, friends, fireworks, and good food. The text is simple and gives only very basic information. “On the fifth and final day of Diwali, we celebrate brothers and sisters. The lifelong bond between siblings is special, and we honor that.” The illustrations show four different sets of siblings celebrating each other in different ways, none of which are mentioned in the text, making it difficult for younger readers to understand the complexity of the celebration. Sreenivasan’s illustrations are colorful, detailed, and authentic, and they carry the book. They feature happy and smiling dark-haired people with a range of skin tones, diverse in ethnicity and dress. In bright, vivid colors, intergenerational families and friends from different regions come alive, dressed up in their colorful best, celebrating and enjoying the festival together in different ways. The board format of this title does not match the age range and conceptual level of the text.
Amid inconsistencies of format and information, the illustrations end up giving the most clarity about this festival. (Board book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1990-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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