A fascinating look at a thoughtful, courageous woman.
The story of an unusual woman who printed the Declaration of Independence.
Mary Katharine Goddard was determined to be recognized. Though she didn’t attend school, she was fortunate to have a mother who tutored her in reading and math. When Mary and her mother worked in brother William’s print shop, she could see another option for her life, beyond marriage and motherhood. She became immersed in her profession, relishing the hard physical work. She printed newspapers, books, advertisements, and more, as well as information about events that were moving the 13 colonies toward independence from Britain. When the Revolution began, she was fully aware that she was committing treason, proudly placing her name, M.K. Goddard, on every paper she issued. Mary was chosen to print the first official copies of the Declaration of Independence, which showed the names of the signers. She made her own statement by adding her full name as printer. “That was Mary.” The tale is filled with details of America’s revolutionary period, insights into Mary’s character, and facts about the printing process—“Whoosh!” “Pound!” “Crank!”—all greatly enhanced by bright, sharply delineated illustrations accompanied by sepia insets that provide further historical information. Mary was white, but some workers and townspeople have darker skin. In the backmatter, the author notes that upon her death, Mary freed the enslaved woman she owned, Belinda, and left her all her possessions.
A fascinating look at a thoughtful, courageous woman. (about Mary Katherine Goddard, printing history of the Declaration of Independence, printing and publishing in colonial times, select bibliography, author’s note) (Picture book-biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781626723115
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes.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
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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