The author of Linnea in Monet's Garden (1987) explores the connection between Alice Liddell, the book Alice, and its creator in an inviting array of anecdotes, biographical details, descriptions of the Oxford setting, photos (many by Dodgson, still renowned as a photographer of children), period illustrations, and Eriksson's precisely detailed art. Bjîrk introduces this wealth of material with an engaging account (lively with ``conversation'') of Alice's first telling on a river picnic. The bulk of the book details the peculiar ups and downs of the friendship between the child and the confirmed bachelor (whose best friends were always little girls, although there's no hint that these ties were anything but deliciously whimsical and rather cerebral), the two of whom apparently lost interest in each other as she got older (Mrs. Liddell would also, periodically and inexplicably, try to terminate a friendship that would then be reinstated with full honor). Meanwhile, much of the pair's playful interaction (especially concerning logic and numbers) was incorporated into Alice. The author wraps up her account with what happened later to the people, the books, and Oxford itself. Eriksson's profuse, exquisite illustrations are as carefully researched as the text. An entrancing portrait of the genesis of a classic, of a unique friendship, and of Victorian Oxford. Addenda include a map, family lists, puzzle solutions, ``Societies for Alice and Carroll Friends,'' and bibliographies of Dodgson's books and the author's sources. Charming. (Nonfiction. 7+)
Pub Date: Oct. 22, 1993
ISBN: 91-29-62242-5
Page Count: 94
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy.
Through the author’s own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11.
Alyssa’s diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She’s 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns—popularity and anxiety about grades—along with other things more particular to her own life. She’s shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she’s “not a whole person” due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa’s father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author’s originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary’s accessible and delightful format.
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77427-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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