A serial thief faces his choice of consequence.
Holland has a mother, a father, and two younger brothers; they all have gray skin and pink cheeks. Holland wears a fitted suit jacket; his jacket, tie, and collar are a collaged-in black-and-white photo, while his pants and feet are digitally rendered, making a visually entrancing combination. Holland’s problem is that he steals things—repeatedly. After his 37th apprehension, a police officer presents this choice: “either you go to jail or you join the army.” The following page repeats the options in hand-printed all-caps, and later the narration offers the decision—complete with check boxes—as a choice to readers: “what would you do if you were Holland? Would you go to jail, or join the army?” Whether the army’s meant as punishment or prevention, Holland chooses it and his life improves. Barely a military detail appears—just his new army uniform, a new faraway location, and the subtle presence of two rifles forming an easel for the paintings he learns to make as a substitute for stealing things. There are no military personnel, buildings, training, or tasks. Holland’s avuncular status—Lawson bases this story on his own uncle’s life—touches only the story’s title. Nelson highlights black and white, integrating tantalizing bits of found photography and ink drawings into digital illustration.
Austere and quirky, with lots of room for conversations. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-929-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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A deliciously sweet reminder to try one’s unique best.
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This smart cookie wasn’t alwaysa smart cookie.
At the corner of Sweet Street stands a bakery, which a whole range of buns and cakes and treats calls home, including a small cookie who “didn’t feel comfortable speaking up or sharing” any ideas once upon a time. During the early days of gingerbread school, this cookie (with sprinkles on its top half, above its wide eyes and tiny, smiling mouth) never got the best grades, didn’t raise a hand to answer questions, and almost always finished most tests last, despite all best efforts. As a result, the cookie would worry away the nights inside of a cookie jar. Then one day, kind Ms. Biscotti assigns some homework that asks everyone “to create something completely original.” What to do? The cookie’s first attempts (baking, building a birdhouse, sculpting) fail, but an idea strikes soon enough. “A poem!” Titling its opus “My Crumby Days,” the budding cookie poet writes and writes until done. “AHA!” When the time arrives to share the poem with the class, this cookie learns that there’s more than one way to be smart. John and Oswald’s latest installment in the hilarious Food Group series continues to provide plenty of belly laughs (thanks to puns galore!) and mini buns of wisdom in a wholly effervescent package. Oswald’s artwork retains its playful, colorful creative streak. Although slightly less effective than its predecessors due to its rather broad message, this one’s nonetheless an excellent addition to the menu.(This book was reviewed digitally.)
A deliciously sweet reminder to try one’s unique best. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-304540-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A must-have book about the power of one’s voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself.
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School-age children encounter and overcome feelings of difference from their peers in the latest picture book from Woodson.
This nonlinear story centers on Angelina, with big curly hair and brown skin, as she begins the school year with a class share-out of summer travels. Text and illustrations effectively work together to convey her feelings of otherness as she reflects on her own summer spent at home: “What good is this / when others were flying,” she ponders while leaning out her city window forlornly watching birds fly past to seemingly faraway places. López’s incorporation of a ruler for a door, table, and tree into the illustrations creatively extends the metaphor of measuring up to others. Three other children—Rigoberto, a recent immigrant from Venezuela; a presumably Korean girl with her “too strange” lunch of kimchi, meat, and rice; and a lonely white boy in what seems to be a suburb—experience more-direct teasing for their outsider status. A bright jewel-toned palette and clever details, including a literal reflection of a better future, reveal hope and pride in spite of the taunting. This reassuring, lyrical book feels like a big hug from a wise aunt as she imparts the wisdom of the world in order to calm trepidatious young children: One of these things is not like the other, and that is actually what makes all the difference.
A must-have book about the power of one’s voice and the friendships that emerge when you are yourself. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-24653-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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