A strong and honest homage to a remarkable woman.
In mid-19th-century America, Emily Warren’s desire to learn was considered an anomaly.
But she had the support of her family. Her older brother enrolled her in a school where she studied sciences, mathematics, history, and more. After graduation she married engineer Washington Roebling, who, with his father, John, faced the challenge of designing and building a suspension bridge to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. During construction, John died as the result of an accident, and Washington developed caisson disease and was so disabled that he couldn’t walk or stand. He continued to oversee the project while Emily became its de facto engineer, learning along the way, directing workers on-site and winning their respect, and coping with every aspect of construction. She was certainly not an unsung heroine and was given the honor of being the first to cross the completed bridge. An unnamed modern woman of color introducing Emily’s spirit and determination to her child narrates the tale in accessible, conversational syntax, including her accomplishments in later life when she became a lawyer and wrote of equal rights for women. Nelson’s lively, colorful illustrations combine digital collage incorporating contemporary photos with cartoon drawings complete with imagined dialogue in speech balloons. Oddly, Emily (white, as are the Roeblings) is depicted throughout with a very red nose and heavily rouged cheeks.
A strong and honest homage to a remarkable woman. (additional facts, suggested reading, sources, author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77306-104-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Quick and slick, but ably makes its case.
The distinguished jurist stands tall as a role model.
Not literally tall, of course—not only was she actually tiny but, as with all the other bobbleheaded caricatures in the “Ordinary People Change the World” series, Ginsburg, sporting huge eyeglasses on an outsize head over black judicial robes even in childhood, remains a doll-like figure in all of Eliopoulos’ cartoon scenes. It’s in the frank acknowledgment of the sexism and antisemitism she resolutely overcame as she went from reading about “real female heroes” to becoming one—and also the clear statement of how she so brilliantly applied the principle of “tikkun olam” (“repairing the world”) in her career to the notion that women and men should have the same legal rights—that her stature comes clear. For all the brevity of his profile, Meltzer spares some attention for her private life, too (“This is Marty. He loved me, and he loved my brains. So I married him!”). Other judicial activists of the past and present, all identified and including the current crop of female Supreme Court justices, line up with a diversely hued and abled group of younger followers to pay tribute in final scenes. “Fight for the things you care about,” as a typically savvy final quote has it, “but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Quick and slick, but ably makes its case. (timeline, photos, source list, further reading) (Picture-book biography. 7-9)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780593533338
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
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