An informative resource rich with mixed-media visuals.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the second Sino-Japanese War, Zhang writes about his father, Guang Weiran, the author of a poem that inspired and became the lyrics for the Yellow River Cantata.
The piece is a patriotic song made famous as a rallying cry throughout China against the Japanese invasion. Despite controversy that included a ban for several years, it is now played in concert halls around the world. The main focus of this book, however, is the life of Guang Weiran, the author of the famous lyrics and a military officer overseeing theatrical troupes trained to both perform and fight. Born in the Hubei province, Weiran was a gifted student, his politicization beginning at the tender age of 12 after learning of the May 30 massacre, in which student protests were met with violence by the British police who controlled the area. Weiran gets his start speaking at demonstrations, later becoming involved with the Chinese Communist Party. As an adult officer leading his troupe, he is inspired by the power of the Yellow River, known as the mother river of China. Soon after sustaining a broken arm, he pens the 130-verse poem within five days. Digital, woodblock-inspired black-and-white illustrations with highlights of red visually narrate his journey. Maps, photos, and footnotes provide guidance through the complex politics and shifts in power that affect his life. The complete Yellow River Cantata follows, provided in both English and Simplified Chinese.
An informative resource rich with mixed-media visuals. (Biography. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77306-151-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
The life of Manjiro Nakahama, also known as John Mung, makes an amazing story: shipwrecked as a young fisherman for months on a remote island, rescued by an American whaler, he became the first Japanese resident of the US. Then, after further adventures at sea and in the California gold fields, he returned to Japan where his first-hand knowledge of America and its people earned him a central role in the modernization of his country after its centuries of peaceful isolation had ended. Expanding a passage from her Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (1985, Newbery Honor), Blumberg not only delivers an absorbing tale of severe hardships and startling accomplishments, but also takes side excursions to give readers vivid pictures of life in mid-19th-century Japan, aboard a whaler, and amidst the California Gold Rush. The illustrations, a generous mix of contemporary photos and prints with Manjiro’s own simple, expressive drawings interspersed, are at least as revealing. Seeing a photo of Commodore Perry side by side with a Japanese artist’s painted portrait, or strange renditions of a New England town and a steam train, based solely on Manjiro’s verbal descriptions, not only captures the unique flavor of Japanese art, but points up just how high were the self-imposed barriers that separated Japan from the rest of the world. Once again, Blumberg shows her ability to combine high adventure with vivid historical detail to open a window onto the past. (source note) (Biography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17484-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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