Kiki and the Can

Kiki loves his spray can and creating art with his spray can. When all his friends talk about their heroes, Kiki believes that he has none. That is, until his family and friends tell him about all of the important Latine people who have shaped history. Now Kiki is ready to transform the walls of his neighborhood into colorful images that show off his creativity, and the heroes he has just learned about.

What I Liked: This book begins with Kiki and his friends talking about their heroes but when it’s Kiki’s turn to share, he stalls as he doesn’t have anyone to name. It's fascinating to learn about the various Latinx heroes and see how Kiki’s demeanor shifts as he learns that his culture is rich just like his friends.

As Kiki goes through the neighborhood, you get a chance to see how he is transforming the walls using his spray can. The illustrations do a great job of highlighting the changes that graffiti can bring to a neighborhood and how it can bring color and life to walls. There are illustrations and brief descriptions of some of the people that are discussed in the book on the inside front cover and inside back cover.

There are some pages that are full of more text than others which younger readers might struggle with. While there is a lot of text on some pages, the text goes well with the illustrations, and the variations in text size and font helps hold one’s attention.

Final Verdict: Kiki and the Can is a fun story that highlights a child’s creativity, and what they can create with a spray can and graffiti. Children ages 4 and up will enjoy the brightly colored illustrations, and will learn about a new form of art, and how art can be used to express oneself.