Alliah L. Agostini grew up an avid reader in a cross-cultural African-American and Guyanese household in Buffalo, NY. After pursuing a career marketing everything from beauty and personal care to home decor, motherhood helped her return to her first love: children's literature.

Now an author and speaker, Alliah has spoken at schools, libraries, corporations, and on several podcasts. She is also the author of the acclaimed The Juneteenth Story: Celebrating the End of Slavery in the United States. Alliah and her work have been highlighted on the TODAY Show, CNN, WashingtonPost.com, Good Housekeeping, and more.

Alliah writes to spread joy, truth, and to help more children see themselves reflected on the page. She and her family live in the suburbs of New York City, where she enjoys impromptu dance parties, museum hopping, and summer festival season. Big Tune is her debut fiction picture book.

K-Gr 2-In this early reader, Liam is eager to play with his mom's "new toy," a smart speaker named Blexi. The speaker plays music and tells jokes in response to commands from -Liam's parents and older sister, but when Liam orders Blexi to "play the Dino-sawwwr Song!" it responds, "I am sorry. I do not have the Dining Sauce Song." Through repeated attempts, Liam is unable to speak clearly enough for the device to understand him. Liam breaks his sister's doll amid his growing frustration and anger, and then spends the remainder of the story working to make amends. Illustrations show Liam and his family with brown skin and black hair. The text is set in a dyslexia-friendly typeface, with a few short narrative sentences on each page. Additional speech bubbles are printed in a different color for each character to aid readability. This short story includes an extensive emotional vocabulary, naming each of Liam's emotions as he experiences them: confusion, anger, sadness, and, finally, pride. Many readers will identify with the frustration of interacting with new technology, and all will relate to the experience of moving through difficult emotions. VERDICT A strong addition to early reader collections.-Amy Reimann--Amy Reimann

Publisher: Paw Prints Readers

Pub date: 2024-10-08

Length: 32 pages