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| ALA Notable Books for Children |  | | Art This Way
by Tamara Shopsin
Kirkus Take a peek at art from a variety of different literal and metaphorical angles.Veritably daring readers to look at art in a fresh new way, this innovatively designed board book features a variety of foldouts, flaps, and die cuts. From its disorienting upside-down first page, the authors use the medium to its best advantage. Never gimmicky, the format enhances readers' understanding of the art. A Lichtenstein pop-art page superbly uses a die cut as a frame to draw eyes to the half-toning that makes the piece work, and lifting a flap "Up" reveals a hanging Calder mobile. This is one of the rare board books that speaks to many ages: A long, colorful foldout of Warhol flower variants would be ideal for a baby to gaze at during tummy time. A Cindy Sherman-inspired shiny mirrored page with black glasses will attract toddlers' eyes, but knowing it works as a disguise will intrigue preschool readers. All of the carefully curated and concisely explained pieces of art are from the Whitney collection. They include sculpture, prints, mobiles, and photography, and male and female artists are showcased equally. The selections, which also include a street-art photograph of children playing with sidewalk chalk and an intriguing sculpture of a woman alongside her small dog, have broad child appeal. Art appreciation with an ingenious twist. (Board book. 6 mos.-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. |
| Caldecott Medal Winners |  | | The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
School Library Journal
: Gr 3–6—Brian Selznick's atmospheric story (Scholastic, 2007) is set in Paris in 1931. Hugo Cabret is an orphan; his father, a clockmaker, has recently died in a fire and the boy lives with his alcoholic Uncle Claude, working as his apprentice clock keeper in a bustling train station. When Hugo's uncle fails to return after a three-day absence, the boy decides it's his chance to escape the man's harsh treatment. But Hugo has nowhere to go and, after wandering the city, returns to his uncle's rooms determined to fix a mechanical figure—an automaton—that his father was restoring when he died. Hugo is convinced it will "save his life"—the figure holds a pen, and the boy believes that if he can get it working again, it will deliver a message from his father. This is just the bare outline of this multilayered story, inspired by and with references to early (French) cinema and filmmaker George Méliès, magic and magicians, and mechanical objects. Jeff Woodman's reading of the descriptive passages effectively sets the story's suspenseful tone. The book's many pages of pictorial narrative translate in the audio version into sound sequences that successfully employ the techniques of old radio plays (train whistles, footsteps reverberating through station passages, etc.). The accompanying DVD, hosted by Selznick and packed with information and images from the book, will enrich the listening experience.— Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions Inc. Terms
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| New York Times Bestsellers |  | | Matriarch
by Tina Knowles with Kevin Carr O'Leary
Kirkus To be young, gifted, and Black; to raise a musical prodigy; to be a force for good: Beyoncé’s mother tells her story. Knowles, born Celestine Ann Beyoncé, known as Badass Tenie B in her youth, begins her immersive and inspiring memoir with her childhood on Galveston Island, the youngest child of Creole longshoreman Lumis Beyuince and his wife, Agnes Derouen, a brilliant seamstress. She and her six siblings each have different spellings of their last name, but as her mother explained, when she tried to correct the registrar she was told to be happy that she was even getting a birth certificate, a relatively new development for Black people. This is one of the lesser indignities inflicted by systemic racism on what could have been an idyllic seaside childhood in the 1950s and ’60s—instead, police officers almost killed her handsome high school football player brother and went on to target the family. The storytelling style established in this portion of the book is first class: One can both hear Tina’s real voice and imagine that O’Leary, her credited collaborator, knew a thing or two about what makes a great memoir. A story about being forced by the nuns at her draconian Catholic school to give up her beautiful handmade white dress and her role in a ceremony to another little girl becomes the genesis of one of the central tenets of her life and of the moral code she sought to transmit to her children, Beyoncé, Solange, and “bonus daughter” Kelly Rowland (whom she co-parented with Rowland’s biological mom). Fascinating subplots abound: her own early musical career; her rollercoaster history with her first husband, Mathew Knowles; her relationship with her gay nephew and best friend Johnny (son of her much-older sister Selena), with whom she honed her craft as a clothing designer and stylist; how her shy little daughter revealed her leviathan talents and became an iconic star; and the ongoing operation of racism, for example in the record company’s blundering treatment of Destiny’s Child. A great story of a singular American life. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. |
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