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Dazzling Travis : a story about being confident & original / by Hannah Carmona Dias ; illustrated by Brenda Figueroa.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Dearborn Heights, Michigan : Cardinal Rule Press, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Edition: First editionDescription: 26 unnumbered pages : colour illustrations ; 29 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780997608564
  • 0997608560
  • 9780997608571
  • 0997608579
Subject(s): Genre/Form: LOC classification:
  • PZ8.3.D533 Daz 2019
Summary: "When some of the kids on the playground begin to pick on Travis, he decides to challenge the social norm and be his true self." -- (Source of summary not specified)
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Childrens Picture Books Davis (Central) Library Children's Picture Books Children's Picture Books DIAS Checked out 04/04/2024 T00812936
Childrens Picture Books Mobile Library Children's Picture Books Children's Picture Books DIAS Checked out 16/04/2024 T00812935
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

You're a boy! ' the kids exclaim. 'You can't play with a doll. ' But Travis has lots of confidence and little regard for social norms. There are so many things to like in the world. Why should there be limits that keep him from enjoying those things? 'I am who I am! There's no boy or girl line. In sports or in dress-up, I'll sparkle and shine. ' Dresses and armour one day, ballet and basketball the next. Travis sets no limits on what he enjoys doing. But when some of the kids on the playground begin to pick on him, will Travis dull his shine or decide to truly dazzle? Complete with colourful illustrations and bold comebacks, this empowering story encourages kids of any gender to challenge the social norm and reveal their true selves. Dazzling Travis by Hannah Carmona Dias carries the key message of gender stereotypes and being different supported by the many advocates of positive parenting solutions. This book will perfectly round out your home or school library among other stories th

"When some of the kids on the playground begin to pick on Travis, he decides to challenge the social norm and be his true self." -- (Source of summary not specified)

Ages 4-10.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In cheery rhymes, Dias introduces Travis, a boy who likes dressing as a knight as much as dancing ballet: "Dresses and armor:/ Pink, black, or green./ I pretend I'm a knight,/ A king or a queen." But while he's confident, kids on the playground antagonize him about playing with a doll. Travis responds boldly: "I am who I am!/ There's no boy and girl line./ In sports or in dress-up,/ I'll sparkle and shine." Like Travis, his friends' personalities shine through their nongendered clothing and the toys they choose (one boy wears fairy wings; two girls play with a fire truck and a robot). While the characters show individuality in their clothing choices, Figueroa's artwork can feel stiff. Dias offers little nuance in favor of a straightforward message about embracing individuality, defying stereotypes, and standing up against bullies. Back matter includes brief, seemingly arbitrarily chosen biographies of Fernando Bujones, Langston Hughes, and Elizabeth Stride-a supplement too insubstantial to meaningfully enhance the story. Ages 5-7. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

This celebration of living one's best life features the first-person voice of Travis, a boy of color with a lot of flair: Colorful denim / And glitter galore / Are some of my favorites / To play in, explore. / Dresses and armor: / Pink, black, or green. / I pretend I'm a knight, / A king or a queen. He likes ballet and basketball, shopping and building robots, and when kids on the playground bully him and his supportive group of friends, they stand up for themselves and change some minds. The pencil and digitally colored cartoon illustrations of the diverse group of kids are stronger than the well-intentioned but pedestrian rhymes, yet, overall, the book succeeds in communicating the message promised in the subtitle. It also includes short introductions to several trailblazers, like Coco Chanel and Langston Hughes, and questions to guide assisting grown-ups, including, Ask your child, ' What do you think it would be like if we were all the same?' --Andrew Medlar Copyright 2019 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A rhyming story about being yourself.Travis likes basketball, dress-up, and ballet. In wooden, unnecessary rhymes, he comes across bullies, both boys and girls: "Sometimes my classmates, / When on the playground / Like staring and judging / And cutting me down." Confident Travis stands up to his gender-policing peers, declaring "I am who I am! / There's no boy and girl line. / In sports or in dress-up, / I'll sparkle and shine. // The toys that we play with, / Or clothes that we wear, / express who we are / And our natural flair." Illustrations directly mirror the text in blocky, flat graphics. The hammer-headed message, that kids should express themselves regardless of gender stereotypes, is fine. Excruciating verse, with rhymes both wrenched and forced, detracts significantly from the already-uninspired story. At one point Travis, a black child with short, natural hair, confusingly says "I swish back my hair"; in the backmatter readers learn that the author was inspired by a former student, a white boy with much more swishable hair. The haphazard selection of other inspirations includes Coco Chanel and Langston Hughes. "Just like Travis, these people struggled against the opinions of others, but they persevered and soon dazzled in their own ways," an anodyne way to refer to misogyny, racism, and homophobia. Gender and stereotyping are popular themes for picture books; readers are blessed with the opportunity to choose almost any other. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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