This otherwise successful series stumbles a bit in this outing.
The third offering in the Curious Sameer series from India invites readers to consider all the fun to be had during school vacations.
Sameer delights in giving Amma clues about the “special place” where he plans to spend his school vacation. From page to page, he constructs a childhood idyll, and his mother guesses various places that might embody the joys he describes. Finally, Amma repeats all of the wonderful things he mentions and asks him to tell her where this special place is. He reveals it to be “Grandma and Grandpa’s house, of course!” This lovely resolution is somewhat undermined by how out of place the English monikers feel in a story partially defined by its cultural specificity and seamless use of the term Amma and the name Sameer. Another, arguably more egregious, misstep occurs when Sameer describes a place where he can bring “puzzles, paint box, and drawing book.” Amma guesses that he is describing a summer camp, and the accompanying art shows children making art outside amid what seem like generic Plains Indian teepees. How these structures relate to a vision of summer camp is unclear—except perhaps through an unfortunate, tired reiteration of a stereotype of American Indians.
This otherwise successful series stumbles a bit in this outing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-8-181-90287-0
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Karadi Tales
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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