Whether to educate or to entertain, this book succeeds on neither front, told as it is from a colonialist viewpoint
An account of a presidential search for notoriety.
Colonists have settled America and declared independence from the British. President Thomas Jefferson embarks on a new war with a French naturalist, who declares that nothing worthwhile—people nor animals—exists in the New World. Determined to prove him wrong, Jefferson commissions an epic search that uncovers a giant sloth, which is named Megalonyx jeffersonii in his honor but doesn’t impress the Frenchman. When woolly mammoth bones surface on a New York farm, Jefferson finally has his notoriety, and they are immediately sent to the White House, with another set bound for a Parisian museum. Despite the extensive backmatter, the story lacks historical context for the characters and events. Moreover, the digital, watercolor-style illustrations perpetuate stereotypes: A Native American in a feathered headdress (the only one in the book) peers from behind a tree; enslaved black figures work next to white ones in a semblance of parity. People of color are voiceless and have indeterminate facial features, rendering them homogenous and secondary in importance to white characters. One strongly worded backmatter paragraph about slavery (with no mention of Native peoples) is insufficient; such a complex historical event warrants address in the primary narrative in order to merit the attention of young readers today.
Whether to educate or to entertain, this book succeeds on neither front, told as it is from a colonialist viewpoint . (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4268-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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