A better-than-most addition to the Helen Keller children’s book canon.
Helen Keller’s life and achievements are recounted in rhyme.
Most people know the story of Keller learning the word water, but many don’t know about the life of activism she led after that. Pincus tells us about all the things Keller was—deaf-blind, yes, but also an author, activist, friend, and dog lover, among many other things. The didactic and earnest text is accompanied by chunky, colorful illustrations that offer more details for readers to find. Younger children can stick to the sometimes-awkward couplets (rhyming Helen with retellin’), while those who want to know more can read the explanatory paragraphs (rendered in a small font) on each page, and those who are really curious can read the additional information at the back of the book. It is difficult to bring a fresh perspective to Keller’s story, and the effort made here surpasses many others. In the backmatter, Pincus refers to Keller’s being a member of the Socialist Party, and there is an attempt to acknowledge the elephant in the room of Keller’s belief in eugenics (described too gently as “some theories now disregarded”). However, her friendship with Alexander Graham Bell (who argued that deaf people shouldn’t marry each other for fear of passing on deafness) is presented without comment, and her method of communication is described as “signing,” which is only technically true and implies a closer relationship to Deaf culture than she had. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A better-than-most addition to the Helen Keller children’s book canon. (author's note) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: April 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1151-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom.
A Black girl’s simple observation propels her into activism.
Woodard, who launched the More Than Peach Project—which arranges for classrooms and children in need to receive kits that include art supplies and boxes of multicultural crayons (crayons in a variety of skin tones)—relates the incident that sparked her journey. As the book begins, she is dropped off at school and notices that her family’s skin tone differs from that of her classmates. While it is clear that she is one of a few children of color at school, that difference isn’t really felt until her friends start asking for the “skin-color” crayon when they mean peach. She’s bothered that no one else seems to notice that skin comes in many colors, so she devises a unique way of bringing everyone’s attention to that fact. With support from her family and her school, she encourages her fellow classmates to rethink their language and starts an initiative to ensure that everyone’s skin tone is represented in each crayon box. Appealing, realistic artwork depicts Woodard’s experiences, while endpapers feature More Than Peach crayon boxes and childlike illustrations of kids of different ethnicities doing various activities. The story is stirring and will motivate budding activists. (This book was reviewed digitally; the review has been updated for factual accuracy.)
An inspirational look at one girl’s quest to make sure that all skin tones are visible and available in the classroom. (note from Woodard, information on Woodard’s journey into activism, instructions on starting a drive) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-80927-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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