Reveals secrets and raises timely, ethical questions worthy of vigorous discussion and debate.
The latest from Jarrow, an acclaimed author of nonfiction for young readers, unveils medical issues that have affected sitting presidents through the centuries.
This work, a strong choice for young readers and adults alike, raises the question: What’s the best way to balance presidents’ right to medical privacy with their responsibility to govern the nation? Although a number of U.S. presidents have experienced health problems while in office, the nine profiled in this book chose to hide them from the general public and, sometimes, their own staff for varied reasons: James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Joseph Biden. Each subject’s interesting, easy-to-read story appears in a stand-alone chapter of approximately 20 pages. The entries open with a portrait and quick list of biographical details. The book is liberally illustrated with period photos and reproductions of newspaper articles and political cartoons. One section provides a detailed explanation of how the process of choosing the next in line for the presidency has changed over time. Extensive backmatter—a timeline, glossary of medical terms, additional resources, research notes, source notes, bibliography, and index—add to the value of this account. The epilogue challenges journalists to engage in “accurate and impartial reporting” to help counter disinformation.
Reveals secrets and raises timely, ethical questions worthy of vigorous discussion and debate. (picture credits) (Nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781662681035
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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