A well-paced, mostly easy-to-read glimpse into one aspect of women’s history.
In this sequel of sorts to Francis Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess (1905), Lottie Legh, almost 13 and friend of that title’s heroine, Sara Crewe, becomes empowered by the women’s suffrage movement, growing in strength and urgency in Britain before World War I.
When she was 4, motherless Lottie was placed in a strict girls’ school in London by her icy-hearted father, who provides money but never love. After witnessing a march, Lottie buys a brooch from a suffragist shop; she reasons that, if her father knew, this action would anger him but at least force him to think about her. Learning more about the movement and reading underground publications excites Lottie; over time, she and scullery maid Sally, equally avid about the cause, form a close, secretive bond. As the novel proceeds, Lottie grows in gumption, self-awareness, and insight. Most characterizations, though, are superficial; some, like the stern headmistress’s, are stock portrayals. The author highlights the desperate measures some women took to draw attention to their plight. Webb also clarifies, through Sally’s portrait, that the struggle transcended class barriers. Readers who enjoy melodramatic narratives will appreciate learning about these events and be gripped by the final, shocking revelation about Lottie’s mother. Characters default white; an unfortunate, jarring note is the clichéd Indian speech of Sara’s guardian’s manservant, which Webb has retained from Burnett’s original work.
A well-paced, mostly easy-to-read glimpse into one aspect of women’s history. (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3912-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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