A luminous picture book that exudes joy as it celebrates the freedom to be the one and only you.
A kaleidoscopic tribute to fashionistas of all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages.
Clarke creates a runway of fashion-loving folks of various skin tones who rock their styles with verve and vitality alongside verse that rolls off the tongue and delights the ear. The characters’ lack of facial features invites readers to imagine who might be wearing each outfit (and how they feel) and suggests that anyone of any background can embrace their bodies as a canvas on which to write their own artistic story. When the narrator chimes: “Be your / BOLD-BIG-SELF, / brave in bright brilliant blue hair: deliciously different, dramatic and daring,” a brown-faced individual with textured, electric blue hair appears in silhouette. Some of the images clearly represent children, like a skirt made of flowers above a pair of brown legs with feet shod in frilly socks and ruby sequined Mary Janes. Others portray more seasoned individuals, like the two elderly, dark-skinned people using canes and wearing neckties, dress shirts, and fedoras with colors that echo the patterns in their clothes. Although the bold-colored backgrounds change from page to page, their singular color makes Clarke’s amazing, unique mixed-media collage illustrations of people—“CHIC-A-BOOM! CHIC-A-BAM!”—pop and announce their presence. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A luminous picture book that exudes joy as it celebrates the freedom to be the one and only you. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2377-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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