A lovely, gently existential exploration.
A picture-book musing about growing up.
The innovative cover and frontmatter design with die cuts shaped like a crawling baby, a young child, and an older child will immediately catch readers’ eyes. The rhyming text endeavors to speak in universals about growth and development, and this effort is aided by depictions of diverse people with different skin colors and hair textures and colors at various life stages (though there’s little variation in body type and no inclusion of visible disability). Earlier stages are presented with babies, toddlers, and children engaged in concrete activities that signify their varied, increasing degrees of independence. Later scenes veer toward the metaphorical to represent adolescent, adult, and aged people’s respective states of being. For example, babies are depicted directly engaging with the natural world: “They stretch to feed the hungry ducks with food clutched in their hands— / with each and every passing day, their tiny world expands.” On the other hand, “Stranded on an island is a wild and restless teen— / unsure of their direction or what their future means.” The accompanying art depicts the teen on an island, which ushers in symbolic understanding since it strains credulity to take the scene as a literal, universal adolescent experience. Throughout, the illustrations are defined by a soft visual texture and subdued color palette that visually evokes the gentle text’s affirming tone.
A lovely, gently existential exploration. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68010-117-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 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
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