Fails to do justice to a master spinner of tales.
A tribute to Appalachian storytelling legend Ray Hicks.
Hicks came from an impoverished family in the Blue Ridge Mountains and loved listening to his grandfather’s traditional Jack tales. Growing up steeped in a culture of oral storytelling and folk music, Hicks eagerly shared the stories that meant so much to him with schoolmates, the people he worked with, his own children, and, eventually, wider audiences at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. His talents made him a renowned and treasured teller during his lifetime, recognized for his achievements by then–Vice President George H.W. Bush, but he was happiest with his familiar rural life and content living in the place he knew best. Hicks is most worthy of a biographical treatment for young readers, but the main body of this work is devoid of the context that would pique readers' interest, given the lack of tension in the plot. Those who read the author's note will learn where he lived (North Carolina), when (1922-2003), and that the Jack tales he told—like his distinctive regional dialect—were part of his family’s cultural heritage extending back to the British Isles. The bright, gently surreal, dioramalike illustrations feel sterile and do not convey the rich texture of the mountain setting or life of a man who was deeply attuned to the natural world around him. With the exception of Hicks’ racially diverse Jonesborough audience, they depict an all-White cast. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22.8-inch double-page spreads viewed at 46.9% of actual size.)
Fails to do justice to a master spinner of tales. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6966-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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 inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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