An optimistic tale of eco-activism that’s sure to buoy little ones worried about the state of the planet.
A young girl convinces her community to be more eco-conscious.
One Friday morning, Miss Rao tells Sona Sharma and her classmates about pollution and climate change. Inspired, Sona embarks on a mission to protect the planet. At first, her enthusiasm leads to some not-so-great ideas, including hiding her baby sister’s diapers and switching off the electricity in her house. Eventually, she settles on a more achievable goal: banning artificial powders from the upcoming neighborhood kolam competition. Going through with her idea, however, may anger her maternal grandmother, who wins the competition every year using these colorful pollutants. Sona seeks advice from her paternal grandfather, who judges the contest. Can Sona find a way to help the planet without alienating her family? Set in India, this tale shines with its protagonist’s sincerity and makes a complex, daunting topic feel accessible to a young audience. Sona’s relationships with various family members help move the plot forward; her conversations with her toy elephant are especially charming. Black-and-white illustrations peppered throughout break up the action. Though the book doesn’t speak to the importance of systemic action in combating climate change, it will nevertheless give climate-anxious children a much-needed sense of control.
An optimistic tale of eco-activism that’s sure to buoy little ones worried about the state of the planet. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781536231960
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
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
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
SEEN & HEARD
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