A brightly illustrated tribute that brings more deserving names to light.
Olympic medalists and siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani compile profiles of notable Asian Americans.
The authors devote a concise paragraph to each person, describing their backgrounds, achievements, and lasting legacies. Several subjects share each spread, and the Shibutanis include politicians, artists, athletes, scientists, and more. They cover names that may be familiar to readers, such as musician Olivia Rodrigo, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri, activist Grace Lee Boggs, and Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress. What sets this collection apart is the inclusion of potentially lesser-known names: aviator Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, disability and social justice activist Stacey Park Milbern, Narinder Singh Kapany, considered to be “the father of fiber optics,” and Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the National Basketball Association. The entries are accompanied by vibrant, realistic portraits of the subjects set against richly hued backdrops. Though the book lacks a bibliography or further reading that might point curious youngsters toward other sources, many will be inspired to do their own research. The authors offer a solid balance of South Asian, Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Pacific Islander representation.
A brightly illustrated tribute that brings more deserving names to light. (authors' note) (Informational picture book/collective biography. 5-9)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593525463
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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