If readers aren’t math-curious at the start, they will be by the end.
A young child explains a love of math and how it shapes the world.
Finding one’s passion is no easy feat, even (perhaps especially) when surrounded by everyone else’s. Dad loves to paint, Mom thrills at entomology, and a brother excels at music, but none of those quite fit. Neither does acting or dancing or cooking or singing or sports—all worthy activities but none of them the stuff of passion for the determined narrator. When everything has been tried, the protagonist is left with the simple truth—the one thing this child likes the most is math. Tanco unhurriedly unspools the protagonist’s passion as the text (occasionally punctuated with new vocabulary) notes how thoroughly the world is immersed in math, whether it’s in the form of geometric shapes on the playground, group problems at the dinner table, or paper-airplane trajectories. With each page turn, the lens and framework of math as a way to see the world takes shape. Without softening or hiding basic (but still complex) mathematical concepts, Tanco’s open, loose-lined illustrations offer visual dimension and definition, bridging, for instance, the unfamiliar concept of concentric circles with the everyday occurrence of water ripples. Further information can be found in a visual glossary. The narrator has light brown skin and a mass of brown, kinky curls; Mom has a similar look, and Dad presents white.
If readers aren’t math-curious at the start, they will be by the end. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6575-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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