Review by New York Times Review
With certain children (they know who they are), what to wear is not a decision that includes parental input. Jameson is one of these; everyone's given up trying to come between him and his green pants. But when he's asked to be in a wedding, it's wear black pants - or miss out. Kraegel ("King Arthur's Very Great Grandson") again spins a heartwarming tale attuned to the emotional highs and lows of childhood and the amazing elasticity of family love. His watercolor and charcoal art is as warm and witty as the story itself. PETE WITH NO PANTS Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. 40 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 7) Watkins's last book, "Rude Cakes," made a mischievous case for good manners. This one is a zany brief for the opposite - in particular, the joy of not getting dressed at all. Pete is an elephant, gray, big and happily naked. As he frolics with animal friends, he decides he's a boulder, then a squirrel. Into his reveries comes the inevitable moment of truth: Mom, in a pink dress, holding his pants. There's huge fun in watching Watkins work out the mother-and-son pas de deux, filling the pages with loopy tidbits and an exhilarating final surprise. PRISCILLA GORILLA By Barbara Bottner. Illustrated by Michael Emberley. 32 pp. Caitlyn Dlouhy/ Atheneum. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7) Are gorillas troublemakers, or peacemakers? That's the question facing 6-year-old Priscilla in this charming look at the pleasures and perils of bad behavior. Our primate-smitten heroine wears gorilla pajamas for a school project, then won't take them off. "What I really love about gorillas is that nobody bothers them," she says. Stints in the "Thinking Corner" don't persuade her; soon the whole class is pajama-clad and unruly. To the rescue are patient parents and a teacher who helps her discover gorillas' cooperative nature. OLIVIA THE SPY Written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. 40 pp. Caitlyn Dlouhy/ Atheneum. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) It's been five years since the last Olivia book, and time has not mellowed the beloved rascal pig. This time she's up to espionage, after some messy household adventures push her parents to the edge. Overhearing the word "institution," she thinks she's offto prison and resorts to spying to learn more about her fate. (Actually it's the ballet.) The story is too rushed-a whole beat seems missing-but it hardly matters when the company is this entertaining, and Falconer's ingenious mixed-media art is as mood-lifting as ever. RULERS OF THE PLAYGROUND Written and illustrated by Joseph Kuefler. 48 pp. Balzer & Bray/ HarperCollins. $17.considers the rise of Asia as a whole, including the growing clout of India and the continuing importance of Japan, a nation that is not currently rising but remains wealthy, technologically sophisticated and economically linked to all continents. Rachman also explores the decreasing ability of Americans and Europeans to shape to their liking outcomes around the world. Relentlessly fair, he resists blaming Asia's successes for Western problems and recognizes the West's selfinflicted wounds. Rachman's wisdom about global history precludes cartoonish characterizations of "East" versus "West." Western nations spent more blood and treasure fighting one another, especially in two massive world wars, than they did colluding to dominate others. Similarly, mistrust among Asian states today outstrips mistrust among them and the United States or Europe. Nor do political ideas provide a clear border between East and West. Europe has had more than its share of authoritarian regimes, so it is a stretch to consider the recent rise of illiberal nationalism in Europe as somehow a move "eastward." Mainland Chinese propagandists rail against the "Western values" of multiparty democracy, a free press and independent courts, but some of the nation's largest and most successful Asian neighbors - South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and India - are no less Eastern for enjoying all of those institutions. No one, including Rachman, really knows how to categorize Russia. Moscow has tried with limited success to cobble together a Eurasian union with former Soviet republics in Central Asia, but it sees itself as the European part of such a union. Russia's recent diplomatic lean toward China has more to do with energy markets and the two authoritarian regimes' shared aversion to American support for color revolutions and regime change than it does with either realpolitik alliance formation or Sino-Russian cultural affinity. Changes within the East itself are as important to Rachman's analysis of war and peace as the global shiftof power eastward. The prospect of a Sino-American war provides the most likely scenario for a direct conflict between Rachman's rising East and declining West, but it is harder to imagine such a conflict occurring without a prior clash between China and one of its neighbors. The good news ends there. China's growing offshore military and civilian presence in the maritime sphere has exacerbated tensions over longstanding sovereignty disputes with its Asian neighbors, including American allies and security partners. The Obama administration's self-styled "pivot to Asia" ensured that American forces and diplomats remained actively involved in addressing these regional tensions. Rachman gets the big picture in Asia right, but he sometimes gets important details wrong. For example, China's recent military modernization means forward-deployed American forces and bases in the region are vulnerable to attack in ways they were not during the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1995-96. It is incorrect and somewhat dangerous, however, for him to argue that Beijing "backed off" after the Clinton administration sent two aircraftcarrier battle groups toward Taiwan in early 1996. Beijing apparently had no plan to escalate anyway. Nationalism is indeed an important part of the Chinese Communist Party's domestic legitimacy that influences Beijing's foreign policies, but that phenomenon long predates the brutal crackdown on protesters on June 4, 1989. Beijing and Washington have worked out peaceful methods to handle their difference over Taiwan since 1972, but the United States never formally accepted Beijing's One China policy, as Rachman states. Instead Washington adheres to its own version, with intentional ambiguity in regard to Taiwan's legal status in relation to mainland China. Like many, Rachman sometimes seems hamstrung by historical knowledge. In 1914 an archduke's murder in Sarajevo caused economically interdependent states in Europe to fight a giant war of survival, so why can't disputes over Asian rocks, reefs and artificial islands create a massive conflagration today? This is a good question, but many differences exist between these two worlds. There are no tightly knit alliance blocks in contemporary East Asia. Today all great powers have either nuclear weapons or nuclear-armed allies, a deterrent to massive conventional escalation. Perhaps most important, globalization in the past few decades has produced fundamentally different and deeper economic interdependence than in the past. The massive investment flows between the industrial economies, the rise of intra-industry trade and the creation of complex transnational production chains are all forces for peace today that were missing in 1914 Europe. Rachman's "Easternization" process matters, but so far mainly as a subset of the larger process of globalization that enabled it in the first place. The growing pains of the East pose threats of instability to a highly integrated global system, not directly to the West itself. No Asian actor can currently project military power other than ballistic missiles and cyber volleys very far from home. Serious East-West military clashes, then, would have to occur in the East. Unfortunately, Rachman is correct that Western comfort stops there. Asia is now a vital organ in the globalized system on which we all depend; challenges to Asian stability are real, and Western actors have less wherewithal than in the past to contribute actively to maintaining stability there. "Easternization" has implications not only for war and peace but also for global governance. Institutions created after World War II have not adjusted smoothly to eastward shifts in power, nor have they kept up with the global demand for cooperation to counter climate change, financial instability, underdevelopment and nuclear proliferation. China has recently taken the lead to fill some of those institutional holes with cooperative ventures like the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Beyond the region, Asian states' growing trade and financial relations with Africa and Latin America are generally positive developments. They come, however, with few strings attached and can thereby undercut recent American and European efforts to condition development aid on improvements in governance. Rachman's book concludes with some optimism about the West's continuing influence. The integrated global economy gives enormous power advantages to institutionally sound governments in the United States and the European Union. China's insecure single-party state is politically unwilling and structurally unable to replace the American dollar as the world's reserve currency or Western Europe as a global banking center. Moreover, as long as leaders in the East need growth to stay in power, they should be reluctant to weaken ties to a highly integrated global marketplace. We should then expect considerably less great power conflict during 21st-century easternization than there was in the very bloody 20th century of Western dominance. Gideon Rachman explores our decreasing ability to shape outcomes around the world. THOMAS J. CHRISTENSEN is a professor of world politics at Princeton and former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. His most recent book is "The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [May 5, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
Whether dunking, diving, and especially dancing, brown-skinned Jameson feels invincible when he wears his green pants. His parents try to coax Jameson to wear different colored ones, but Jameson finds sneaky ways to make sure his closet is only stocked with trousers in his favorite color. When his cousin's fiancée asks him to be in her wedding party, Jameson is thrilled to say yes, even when it means standing still and being on his best behavior. That is, until his mom tells him he'll have to wear a black tuxedo, pants and all. He doesn't decide whether to give up wearing his green pants until he's on the steps of the church on the day of the wedding, but he comes up with a plan that keeps everyone happy. Kraegel's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations make great work of Jameson's poignant, meaningful facial expressions, which augment the joys and frustrations in the text. That Jameson is allowed to make his own decision is particularly empowering. Any kid with a favorite object will likely be charmed by Kraegel's positive message here.--Lock, Anita Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Jameson feels awesome when he wears his green pants. He can dunk a basketball like an NBA player, dive like an Olympic athlete, and dance like Michael Jackson. Jameson is like a superhero when his attire includes his green pants. And he doesn't own any pants that aren't green. People try to give him different colored pants, but Jameson has creative ways of getting rid of them. Some of the offending trousers can be found high up in the trees, while others are worn by neighborhood dogs. One day, the boy is in a difficult predicament. His cousin has asked him to be the ring bearer in his wedding, and Jameson is thrilled. Then he learns he must wear a tuxedo with black pants for the wedding. He struggles to make a tough decision. Could he be in the wedding and wear green pants? Jameson's mother is very patient and lets him know that it is his choice to make. This is a delightful book for all children who love to express themselves and for those who want to be who they are. The pictures are done in watercolor and pencil and have a soft and appealing appearance. The illustrations of Jameson are superb at depicting what the character is feeling-from anxiety over making a difficult decision to the elation he feels when wearing his favorite pants. VERDICT A fun read-aloud, perfect for storytimes, and a great addition to most collections.-Barbara Spiri, Southborough Library, MA © 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
An energetic brown-skinned boy, Jameson, only likes to wear his green pants ("he could do anything" in them). When he's asked to be in his cousin's wedding, he struggles with the prospect of wearing a black tuxedo. Individualistic Jameson's realistically childlike decision-making adds suspense to the family-centric story, and pencil and watercolor illustrations lend extra dimension with their telling details and intricate pattern work. (c) Copyright 2018. 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.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A little boy has a big decision to make when asked to be in his cousin's wedding. In a story in which all key characters are depicted as people of color with brown skin and varied hair textures, Jameson is a brown boy who loves his green pants. He wears them daily and resists others' attempts to get him to wear pants of different colors. Softly textured watercolor-and-pencil illustrations inject humor into his resistance by showing Jameson throwing pants of various hues out the window, depicting a dog with red pants on its hind legs, and showing a pair of blue pants flying atop a flag pole. But Jameson's devotion to his green pants (which make him feel that he "could do anything") creates conflict when his cousin's fiancee, Jo, whom Jameson adores, asks him to be in their wedding. He agrees but is aghast when his mother explains he must wear a tuxedo with black pants. He agonizes over the decision until the wedding day, when he sees Jo at the church, and his devotion to her overrides his attachment to green pants. It's a glorious day with a satisfying ending that shows Jameson stripping off his black tuxedo pants to reveal green ones before he tears up the dance floor. Kraegel's text displays deep respect for both children's quirks and their right to those quirks, Jameson's mother over and over reinforcing for him that the decision (be in the wedding with black pants or in the congregation with green ones) is his. This quirky kid and his loving family will instantly endear themselves to readers. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
