A hopeful call to action.
More than two dozen individual and collective profiles sing the praises of young activists in the U.S. along with a handful from around the world.
Well-known activists like Greta Thunberg and the Parkland Survivors join names worthy of more recognition, like menstrual equality campaigner and author Nadya Okamoto and transgender activist Sage Grace Dolan-Sandrino, in this collection of short biographies. Each four-page treatment features a bold, bright portrait and enthusiastic text exhorting readers to take action in areas that matter to them. The subjects all belong to Generation Z, people between the ages of 12 and 22, and the work of those like gun reform advocate Thandiwe Abdullah and Helena Gualinga (Kichwa), who rallies people to protect Indigenous rights and fight climate change, makes for inspiring reading, especially alongside well-chosen quotes from the subjects themselves. The group is diverse in race and sexuality, though the narrative assumes a White middle-class reader with ready internet access, directly addressed as someone who finds it easy to take their rights for granted. It’s refreshing to see corporate actions blamed for climate change instead of individual choices—but frustrating that a facing paragraph then recommends only individual, not collective, responses. One chapter discusses mental illness, but physical disability is notably missing. The absence of Mari Copeny, Little Miss Flint, is jarring considering the paragraphs spent on Jaden Smith’s activism for Flint.
A hopeful call to action. (about the author and illustrator) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5248-6068-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
In 1910, Pascal D’Angelo and his father left the harsh Abruzzi region of Italy to escape its impossible poverty and journey to the United States; Pascal was 16 years old. Murphy, a graceful narrator of history, presents the life of the peasant as he journeyed through life in the new country. He never became wealthy or even comfortable, but did leave an impression with his poetry—and this from a man who became literate in English as an adult, largely self-taught (and librarians will be delighted to know that they helped him). D’Angelo also wrote an autobiography, Son of Italy, relating to life as an immigrant and the hard—largely pick-and-shovel—work he did to earn a scant living. Such a telling should resonate when readers think about why people come to a new country where they do not speak the language, do not know the customs, and too often are alone, even (or especially) today. The protagonist does not come through as a sharp personality; he is somewhat shadowy against the times and places of his life. He stands out as a symbol rather than a full person. But his accomplishments are certainly large. Archival photos are interesting but sometimes captions are non-indicative; what do they mean? When and where were they taken? There are two photos of D’Angelo. As usual, Murphy provides details that help set the story. A biography of a common man that is also the history of a civilization and its times. (index and bibliography) (Biography. 9-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-77610-4
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
If only Benedict Arnold had died sooner. Had he been killed at the Battle of Saratoga, he’d be one of the greatest heroes of American history, and “we’d celebrate his life as one of the best action stories we have.” Instead, he survived and went on to betray the colonies and die in shame. Sheinkin sees Arnold as America’s “original action hero” and succeeds in writing a brilliant, fast-paced biography that reads like an adventure novel. Opening with the hanging of Major Andre, the British officer who plotted with Arnold to turn West Point over to the British, the story sticks to the exciting illustrative scenes of Arnold’s career—the invasion of Canada, assembling America’s first naval fleet, the Battle of Valcour Island, the Battle of Saratoga and the plot with Andre, whose parallel narrative ends in a bungled mission, his execution and Arnold’s dishonor. The author’s obvious mastery of his material, lively prose and abundant use of eyewitness accounts make this one of the most exciting biographies young readers will find. (source notes, quotation notes, maps [not seen]) (Biography. 11-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-486-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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