This fun, powerful, and empowering tale belongs on every shelf.
A girl arrives at the barbershop with hair everywhere and leaves with the freshest fade.
The adventure starts when the narrator walks into the barbershop, where Black folks are working, styling, sitting, and talking. The child sits and asks for “THE FRESHEST FADE UP ON THE BLOCK!” Instead of getting right to it, the hairdresser suggests other options—a trim, an Afro, cornrows— and cuts bit by bit. As the girl’s hair slowly gets shorter, other patrons suggest different options, like spikes, twists, or locs. Time passes as the suggestions keep pouring in, and the hairdresser and the child’s mother become visibly distressed. Finally, it all comes to an end when the child’s hair is short enough for her to say, “Just line me up.” The rhyming text is great fun to read, with perfect rhythm and style, though at times it can be slightly difficult to tell who is talking. The call and response detailing myriad creative Black hairstyles is both a humorous romp and a glorious celebration of Black beauty. The gentle message of a girl choosing her own look despite others’ attachment to her long hair is neither lost nor overdone. Thomas’ illustrations attend to every detail and exude energy, community, and warmth as they cycle through interesting characters and the narrator’s many different looks en route to her chosen fade. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This fun, powerful, and empowering tale belongs on every shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38708-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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