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I, TOO, SING AMERICA

Name: I, TOO, SING AMERICA
Author: Langston Hughes
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1270-1

by Langston Hughes ; illustrated by Katie Crumpton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 28, 2021

A well-intentioned attempt to pass on poetic wisdom of historical and enduring significance to beginner readers.

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“I, Too,” one of preeminent African American poet and intellectual Langston Hughes’ most influential literary works, is reinstantiated and reinterpreted transhistorically in this board-book adaptation of the 1926 poem.

The text reproduces the lines of the poem verbatim while Crumpton’s vivid, saturated, digital illustrations present contemporary scenes of a young Black boy’s life. The boy, who oozes confidence, cheerfulness, and optimism, is shown introducing readers to his neighborhood and his loving nuclear family. As he grows older, he attends Joe Biden's inauguration (Biden is not shown in the artwork), where he watches Amanda Gorman deliver the inaugural poem; attends an anti-racist protest with his parents and siblings; excels academically; and graduates from college. At the book’s closing, the boy has grown into a happy, fulfilled man living in a pleasant suburban neighborhood with a nuclear family of his own. Although Langston’s well-known lines are simple, they are well modulated, expressing various shades of meaning and emotion; unfortunately, this book, with its relentlessly upbeat visuals, feels incongruously one-note. While not particularly dynamic, the artwork offers an uplifting portrait of racial and societal progress and includes characters of various races.

A well-intentioned attempt to pass on poetic wisdom of historical and enduring significance to beginner readers. (Board book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-4998-1270-1

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Little Bee Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
AN EARTH SONG
by Langston Hughes ; illustrated by Tequitia Andrews

- BOOK REVIEW
THAT IS MY DREAM!
by Langston Hughes ; illustrated by Daniel Miyares

- BOOK REVIEW
SAIL AWAY
by Langston Hughes ; illustrated by Ashley Bryan

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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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)