The story of Eratosthenes, a scholar of the third century b.c. Blending fact with informed conjecture, Lasky describes the education of a wellborn Greek boy, suggests questions he might have asked, and follows him from school in his native Cyrene (in what is now Libya) to further study in Athens and his post at the great library at Alexandria. Lasky highlights her subject's most notable qualities in a perky, lucid narrative. She depicts Eratosthenes's curiosity and orderly mind (he was an inveterate list maker) as the foundations of his greatest accomplishment: While writing a comprehensive geography, he estimated the circumference of the earth to within 200 miles of today's most precise measurements. With admirable clarity, Lasky explains exactly how he did it. Hawkes's pop-eyed characters burst with intelligence, while his lively full-bleed paintings include touches of humor amongst authentic details of the setting—in particular, some mischievous action on otherwise stately vases. An excellent contribution. Bibliographies for both Lasky and Hawkes; a note and an afterword place the librarian in histical context. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 5-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-316-51526-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
An inspiring story of young boy's compelling desire to read. As a boy of nine, Booker works in a salt mine from the dark of early morning to the gloom of night, hungry for a meal, but even hungrier to learn to read. Readers follow him on his quest in Malden, Virginia, where he finds inspiration in a man ``brown as me'' reading a newspaper on a street corner. An alphabet book helps, but Booker can't make the connection to words. Seeking out ``that brown face of hope'' once again, Booker gains a sense of the sounds represented by letters, and these become his deliverance. Bradby's fine first book is tautly written, with a poetic, spiritual quality in every line. The beautifully executed, luminous illustrations capture the atmosphere of an African-American community post-slavery: the drudgery of days consumed by back- breaking labor, the texture of private lives conducted by lantern- light. There is no other context or historical note about Booker T. Washington's life, leaving readers to piece together his identity. Regardless, this is an immensely satisfying, accomplished work, resonating first with longing and then with joy. (Picture book. 5- 8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-09464-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
Expressive, handsome, and well-documented.
Robertson, widely known for his work in the legendary group The Band, crafts a legend-based tale about the unification of warring tribes into what would become known as the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy.
As a boy, Robertson, of Mohawk and Cayuga heritage, heard an elder tell this story, which may date from the 14th century. It places Hiawatha, a Mohawk, into fresh cultural context and corrects Longfellow. After his family is killed in a raid by the dreaded Onodaga chief, Tadodaho, Hiawatha retreats in bereft solitude. A man in a glowing white stone canoe approaches. Stuttering softly, he shares his message of peace and reconciliation with Hiawatha, asking him to help carry and amplify this message during visits to warring tribes. The pair travels in succession to the Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, and Onondaga tribes. With difficulty, they overcome resistance, laying groundwork for what would become, by 1722, the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Hiawatha’s first-person narration reveals his own transformation, from grief-stricken vengeance to self-forgiveness, from hatred to joy. Shannon adopts a palette of deep browns, red-golds, and blue-grays, with hints of green. Figures are broad-backed, solemn, and heroically posed. Tadodaho, disfigured by evil, is depicted as a scaly wretch, snakes entwined in his hair. Hiawatha prepares a curative medicine for him; Shannon portrays his recovery and eventual transmogrification as an eagle.
Expressive, handsome, and well-documented. (historical note, acknowledgments, author’s note) (Picture book/folk tale. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1220-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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