A glowing tribute that will ignite young people everywhere.
The teenage granddaughter of two civil rights luminaries continues their legacy as she forges a path of her own.
King never met her grandparents, but she has been keenly aware of their achievements for as long as she can remember. Their ideals of freedom, equality, and love live on throughout the world. Bright, soft watercolors depict the author proclaiming her readiness to not only follow her grandparents’ worthy example but “to start a new revolution that values kindness, truth, equality, and service.” King voices the dreams of the current generation—ones that include a world free of gun violence, where schools are safe, and where no one goes hungry. With serene greens and blues, Tadgell depicts King and other, racially diverse young people considering issues such as climate change and the right to education. The author promises her grandparents that her generation will plant the seeds of change as they learn to advocate for themselves. Our young author’s words, hopeful and bright, breathe life into her peers and help them recognize the power they hold to effect everlasting change. Her words are a call to action addressed both to young people and their adults to help them start much-needed conversations. Tadgell’s illustrations bring the text to life with energetic, ethereal watercolors reminiscent of a child’s daydreams.
A glowing tribute that will ignite young people everywhere. (a word from Yolanda’s parents, artist's note, about Yolanda’s inspiration) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338753974
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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