The earnest and thoughtful Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, has cast a wide net: she offers prayers for both young children and teens, for special occasions, for “Struggle and Strength,” and a small selection of traditional prayers like the Prayer of St Francis and selected psalms. While the slant is definitely Christian, there is a real effort toward inclusiveness, and the special-occasion prayers include ones for Hanukkah and Passover. Most are brief. While it is impossible to avoid self-consciousness in a collection like this, the language tends to be strong and simple, and might give children a path into prayer that could be difficult to find on their own. A prayer for protection begs to be delivered from “goblins . . . under the bed” as well as bullies and guns and “the low expectations of others”; another says, “Dear God, / I am so afraid of the dark. / Please bring morning soon.” Teen cries for guidance and respect end in questions rather than answers. Collier’s (Visiting Langston, p. 186, etc.) brilliant collage-and-watercolor images are set with vertical bands of color on the children’s faces. He writes that they represent blessings falling upon them. They also provide a unity of vision and an otherworldly effect of rainbow shadows. This may have some difficulty finding its audience, but the strength of author and illustrator will help draw them in. (preface, introduction) (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7868-0597-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.
Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.
Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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