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WELCOME TO THE CYPHER

Name: WELCOME TO THE CYPHER
Author: Khodi Dill
ISBN: 978-1-77321-563-1

by Khodi Dill ; illustrated by Awuradwoa Afful ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2021

Good for the children of a rising hip-hop generation.

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Join the cypher in this exploration of the poetic power of hip-hop for young readers.

Cyphers are foundational to hip-hop culture, speaking to the ritual practice of rappers, beatboxers, or break dancers gathering in a circle, allowing each participant to take a turn in the spotlight. It’s meant to be a protected space to experiment and improvise within a friendly, supportive group. Dill, who’s also an anti-racist educator, debuts as a children’s author by showcasing the character-building possibilities of the cypher. A white-haired Black male hip-hop elder narrates throughout, highlighting how hip-hop has now grown across multiple generations: “Welcome to the cypher! / Now huddle up nice and snug / You feel that circle around you? / Well, that’s a hip-hop hug!” There’s certainly a teacher at work here, mobilizing a relatively sanitized understanding of hip-hop that avoids some of the troublesome content choices that can make mainstream rap a minefield for young children. The boombox, the microphone, and the vinyl record are some of the key motifs as Afful’s animation-influenced illustrations take readers across the urban landscape, displaying young people across genders and skin tones finding their place within the hip-hop scene. Altogether, it exemplifies much of the same rhyme schemes and patterns found in most records, serving as a fun read-aloud and a safe introduction to hip-hop as a pathway to healthy child development.

Good for the children of a rising hip-hop generation. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77321-563-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Annick Press

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
STAY UP
by Khodi Dill ; illustrated by Stylo Starr

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLACK LIVES MATTER
by Khodi Dill ; illustrated by Chelsea Charles

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)