An exuberant introduction to a musician and creative genius that young readers probably have not heard of before.
Young Lester Polsfuss’ piano teacher sent a note home to Lester’s mother saying, “Your boy, Lester, will never learn music, so save your money. Please don’t send him for any more lessons.” Lester proved her wrong and grew up to become Les Paul, “guitar genius.”
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” Lester’s mother told him. So Lester put his mind to creating things: a radio, a recording device, a mic and a speaker, and a solid-body electric guitar that forever changed popular music. Along the way, Lester also created personae—Red Hot Red, Rhubarb Red, the Wizard of Waukesha. As Les Paul, the white man played to diverse crowds with some of the greatest musicians of the era: Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Christian—all sharing a page in Helquist’s illustration as they sometimes shared a stage. The illustrations evoke the musicians’ energy with wild flames of sound erupting from speakers and a frequently repeated, sometimes-overdone multicolored circle motif reminiscent of Bryan Collier’s circles in John’s Secret Dreams (2004). Tomsic effectively explains Les Paul’s complex technical achievements, focusing on just a few that make sense for her audience. Her author’s note goes into more depth.
An exuberant introduction to a musician and creative genius that young readers probably have not heard of before. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5919-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom.
A Black girl’s simple observation propels her into activism.
Woodard, who launched the More Than Peach Project—which arranges for classrooms and children in need to receive kits that include art supplies and boxes of multicultural crayons (crayons in a variety of skin tones)—relates the incident that sparked her journey. As the book begins, she is dropped off at school and notices that her family’s skin tone differs from that of her classmates. While it is clear that she is one of a few children of color at school, that difference isn’t really felt until her friends start asking for the “skin-color” crayon when they mean peach. She’s bothered that no one else seems to notice that skin comes in many colors, so she devises a unique way of bringing everyone’s attention to that fact. With support from her family and her school, she encourages her fellow classmates to rethink their language and starts an initiative to ensure that everyone’s skin tone is represented in each crayon box. Appealing, realistic artwork depicts Woodard’s experiences, while endpapers feature More Than Peach crayon boxes and childlike illustrations of kids of different ethnicities doing various activities. The story is stirring and will motivate budding activists. (This book was reviewed digitally; the review has been updated for factual accuracy.)
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom. (note from Woodard, information on Woodard’s journey into activism, instructions on starting a drive) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80927-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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