A fun St. Patrick’s Day read-aloud.
Symbols of Ireland lead a jaunty tour through the ABCs.
Simple scenes with a surfeit of green shades populate this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink list about the “Day When Everyone Is Irish.” Saunders starts with the Apostle of Ireland (“another name for the real St. Patrick”) and ends on “zoom, which is what you’ll have to do if you want to catch a leprechaun.” In straightforward matching illustrations, racially diverse characters celebrate alongside light-skinned, red-headed leprechauns. (A breakout box states, “There are no female leprechauns.”) The exact number of leprechauns is unspecified, which might frustrate readers trying to meet the challenge to “find them all.” Joke enthusiasts will find some minor hits here (“What is a leprechaun’s favorite type of music? Shamrock ’n’ roll” and “What is a leprechaun’s favorite part of the house?” “The paddy-o”). The cheerful introductory text features plenty of exclamation points and even a few words in Gaeilge. Mixing fact and fiction, the text asserts that tiny Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, “is the only place leprechauns can be found outside of Ireland.” Saunders briefly touches on history, with a quick look at the Irish struggle for independence.
A fun St. Patrick’s Day read-aloud. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781464217999
Page Count: 40
Publisher: duopress/Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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
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