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RAVEN'S RIBBONS

Name: RAVEN'S RIBBONS
Author: Tasha Spillett
ISBN: 9780316422161

by Tasha Spillett ; illustrated by Daniel Ramirez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 14, 2025

Weaves Two-Spirit self-expression and collective belonging into a beautiful tribute to Indigenous heritage.

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A Cree boy longs for a ribbon skirt.

At lively round-dance ceremonies, young Raven and his grandmother sidestep to the “BOOM-BOOM” of the drummers. Raven loves watching the dancers as they swirl by in their ribbon skirts—regalia traditionally worn by Native women of many nations, symbolizing cultural pride and sacred resistance. Grandma sews ribbon skirts, each personally crafted for its wearer. When Raven asks her if a boy could wear one, she responds, “I’ve lived for a long time, Nosesim, and have never seen a boy in a ribbon skirt.” The next day, after long hours at her sewing machine, Raven’s grandmother presents the child with a skirt of his own. Readers will be moved as Grandma tells Raven, “I’ve lived for a long time, Nosesim, and I’m lucky to see beautiful things that I’ve never seen before.” Her matter-of-fact dialogue is spare, yet each word is steeped in affection for her grandson. Ramirez (Ojibwe), a Two-Spirit elder, brings Raven’s loving community to life through acrylic paintings that evoke a dreamlike warmth. In an author’s note, Spillett (Inninewak/Trinidadian) describes her introduction to round dances and Indigenous activism and expresses gratitude to her Two-Spirit relatives. Simple and tender, this picture book honors Native traditions as it makes space for all members of Indigenous communities to take part.

Weaves Two-Spirit self-expression and collective belonging into a beautiful tribute to Indigenous heritage. (illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025

ISBN: 9780316422161

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: today

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)