Review by New York Times Review
IN THE LAST YEAR my young daughters have asked, "Did you know Trump grabs people's private parts?" and "Did someone shoot Ariana Grande?" and "What is porn?" and "How far away is North Korea?" The year we just said farewell to was a bad one, whose passing certainly warrants four new picture books where love and fear meet in troubled times. I recently read the mighty Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Sower," a dystopian road novel of survival published 13 years before Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." Butler leaves me trembling. In 1993 her clear vision of an American landscape where Los Angeles is burning, drugs are epidemic, racism rages and guns do the loudest talking was eerily prescient. Since my parenting now involves casual apocalypse prepping, I read Butler's novel as a how-to guide. I paid searingly close attention to the contents of the Go Bag, the emergency disaster pack, of Butler's 18year-old narrator, Lauren. Spoiler alert: The dried fruit, extra shoes and water purification tablets all come in handy. But what most preserves Lauren on the bitter road is her mercy, compassion and love. So Butler was in my thoughts as I read these four magnificent new picture books. They are also how-tos: how to keep love present when fear is rampant, how to remember wonder and how to increase compassion in a flood of greed and danger. Matt de la Pena's simply titled "Love" collects life's small beauties - laughter and waves, trains in the distance, the sound of a parent's voice, the soft music from the cabdriver's radio. But it does so from a sometimes deeply sad or scary place. The joy of grandparents, dancing and family gatherings are not layered on neutral ground, rather, "Love" is courageously set in moments of alarm, distress and heartache. From these depths, de la Peña, whose picture book "Last Stop on Market Street" was awarded a Newbery Medal, indicates the path to kindness and peace. "On the night the fire alarm blares, you're pulled from sleep and whisked into the street, where a quiet old lady is pointing to the sky. 'Stars shine long after they flamed out,' she tells you, 'and the shine they shine with is love.' " Loren Long's illustrations for "Love," collaged and painted monoprints, corroborate a child's paradoxical, simultaneous confusion and clarity. A large family stands in the glow of the TV. Something horrific has happened, again. The adults are processing the bad event through the media and do not see that a child in pink pajamas has sneaked downstairs. "But when you ask what has happened, they answer with silence and shift between you and the screen." Here is fear, but here is also love. Elsewhere an older brother makes burned toast for his sibling while their father rides the early bus to work. In the toast's char, in the father's absence, we find love even in places that hurt. I am even more moved by these unseen acts of care - char, breadwinning - than all the flowers, laughing uncles and buskers de la Peña and Long (the Otis series, "Little Tree") also provide. Love that comes untested is perhaps not love strong enough for troubled times. This book looks into the darkness and still find stars twinkling overhead. "I Am Loved," a collection for children from the distinguished poet Nikki Giovanni, tackles, among other things, the idea of self-love and social justice. One poem asks us to look in the provided mirror and see all the bravery that came before, the hope, the sweat, the suffering that made us. "And for that alone I am loved." This ancestral pride is perfectly met in the book's illustrations, by the renowned Ashley Bryan, now 94 and still making indelible art. They are a world of exuberance and color, swirling portraits that show off a fluency with art drawn from multiple eras: 1960s psychedelia, Tibetan mandalas, American quilts, Madhubani paintings. Gorgeous. A clear favorite from Giovanni's collection is "Do the Rosa Parks," a rhythm song both joyful and catchy. I heard my 7year-olds singing it to one another days after we had read "I Am Loved." "Do the Rosa Parks / throw your hands in the air ... Do the Rosa Parks / tell them that's not fair." Playground empowerment gives me a lot of hope. "Dear Girl" is an epistolary picture book written by Amy Krause Rosenthal, the author of many books including "Friendshape" and "Uni the Unicorn," who died last year, and her daughter, Paris Rosenthal. Their book is a series of reminders I sorely wish we didn't still need. And yet. "Dear Girl, Keep that arm raised! You have smart things to say!" They also use the device of a mirror to discuss self-love. "Thank you, birthmark! Thank you, red hair!" "Dear Girl" mixes the joy of childhood - "Sometimes you just gotta stop and DANCE!" - with threads more troubling. "Dear Girl, If your instinct is telling you to say no, say no, you know?" Some may find a picture book that touches on consent disheartening, yet it seems abundantly necessary. Holly Hatam's simple, stark style and limited palette reflect the essential and basic nature of equality, conveying that "Dear Girl" can be any girl. She is drawn in black and white, perhaps in the hope that what is fuzzy - the gray area of sexism - will disappear if enough girls love themselves. And "Dear Girl" ends with love. You're starting to see a theme here, right? Scary times call for extra love. J. M. Barrie's epigraph to Oliver Jeffers's "Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth" says it best. "Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary?" Jeffers wrote this book as an address to his son. It's an explanation of our planet and a catalyst for curiosity to power responsibility. "Make sure you look after it, as it's all we've got," Jeffers writes. "Here We Are" plumbs the depths of wonder. A glorious illustration of the magnitude of the Milky Way does not escape Jeffers's tongue-in-cheek humor: He adds, "·Probably not to scale." It is a tour through the land, the sea, the sky, our bodies : dioramas of our wild diversity. As fans of his book "Stuck" already know, he is the master of capturing the joy in our differences. Readers might lose themselves in these pages, cataloging the magnificence of the blue man in the red fez, the tiny beekeeper, the green haired punk, the whirling dervish, the baboon's bare butt, the quiet queen, the hammerhead, the unquiet chorister, the earthworm. How on Earth do purple trees exist? Jeffers paints an abundance of rich, dynamic purples: skies, bodies, cities and sundresses. With purple he adds unity to our diversity as if to say, Lorde wasn't quite right. We are all royals. We get to live here on Earth. We get to share purple. In what language is there a word that means, "a picture book that makes adults cry while children's eyes remains dry"? You might cry as you read these books, raw with love and fear. Your children might look at you and think, hmm, weirdo. But, remember, to feel is courage. SAMANTHA HUNT'S most recent book is "The Dark Dark: Stories."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 21, 2018]
Review by Booklist Review
A mother-daughter team offers a love letter encouraging girls to accept and love themselves. They advise girls to be confident, to speak up, and to be curious and adaptable to anything. An eclectic double-page spread recommends making your room you, with the humorous reminder: And while you're at it, make your bed! Other messages: never lose your sense of wonder, seek out others like you and those unlike you, create traditions, color outside the lines, be brave, try new things. And in a delightful paean to joy: Sometimes you've just gotta stop . . . AND DANCE! The last page celebrates a mother's feelings for her daughter, reminding her that she is loved a section made especially touching by the fact that, for Amy Krouse Rosenthal, this is a posthumous publication. Artwork, in line drawings, photography, and texture, is joyful and whimsical, showing a personable little girl with shiny black hair pursuing her dreams with a wide range of expressive emotions. Sure to be a hit for mothers and daughters of all ages for its warm, supportive message. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Rosenthal, a superstar in life, has only increased since her heartbreaking death.--Gepson, Lolly Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rosenthal, who died last March, and her daughter, Paris, offer encouragement to girls through a series of short letters. Some of the advice and imagery is overly familiar ("Dear Girl, Don't ever lose your sense of wonder," finds the book's heroine standing in awe of a rainbow) but the missives are generally empathetic and up-to-the-minute. Readers are urged to branch out ("Find people like you. Find people unlike you"), and there's a nod to the pressures of growing up with social media: "Dear Girl, You won't be invited to every single party on the planet. (Which is really ok-can you imagine how exhausting that would be?)" Hatam keeps the mood light in drawings that combine line-drawn characters with collaged elements and color washes, though the focus on one girl with white skin and black hair relegates children of color to supporting roles. The authors are forthright in their intention to create a keepsake, noting, "Whenever you need an encouraging boost, remember you can turn to any page in this book." Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Literary. Illustrator's agent: Christy Ewers, Christina A. Tugeau Artist Agency. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This title from Rosenthal and her daughter Paris contains a series of short letters of affirmation and encouragement. Each missive reminds readers to be herself, be smart, be adventurous, sometimes cry, and always listen to your instincts. The mother-daughter connection is always loving and personal. "Make your room awesome. Make your room you. And while you're at it, make your bed! Hatam's mixed-media illustrations perfectly balance and illustrate the text. Watercolor, crayon, and collage are just some of the elements she uses, and her application could easily inspire a project partnering English and Art classes, or a library literary club. While this book is formatted and applicable to young readers it might find its most important audience in elementary-age girls. The text is encouraging and important and, if shared by the right adult, could have a powerful, lasting impact. VERDICT This picture book should have a permanent place on every empowering book display your library puts up. A must purchase.-Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Addressing the girl in the illustrations (and girls in general), this frankly purposeful book offers advice on a range of topics: "Don't ever lose your sense of wonder," "Listen to your brave side," etc. The messages encourage independence and self-confidence, with the reassurance that help is available if needed. Sprightly collage art and touches of humor in the text create an upbeat tone. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
