An engaging and illuminating depiction of a woman whose story deserves to be known widely.
A picture-book portrait of an American heroine.
A secret scholar, quiet rebel, proto-feminist, staunch advocate for racial equality, unrecognized political powerhouse, and creative problem-solver as well as a farmer, accountant, wife, and mother, Abigail Adams, by her thoughts, actions, and writing, established a strong legacy and solid foundation for numerous American heroines to come. Covering her life from birth to old age, this deceptively simple portrayal presents episodes from her childhood, descriptions of her behind-the-scenes work as the wife of and adviser to the second president of the United States, examples of how she was able to achieve goals unusual for a woman of her time period, and information from her letters to build a clear and evocative picture of her personality, experiences, strengths, and various accomplishments. The energetic illustrations capture the time period nicely, in part by using cross-stitched samplers as backdrops for both text boxes and vignettes. The informative author’s note provides accurate and interesting historical context while the illustrator’s note calls attention to the artistic decisions that went into some of the book’s pictures and design. Overall, a worthy addition to any collection, this shows the link between powerful women of the past and present.
An engaging and illuminating depiction of a woman whose story deserves to be known widely. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-316-41571-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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