A heartfelt yet hazy account of a pioneering woman in STEM.
A picture-book biography of the first Indian American astronaut.
As a child, Kalpana Chawla (1962-2003) loved sketching airplanes. At 11, she flew for the first time, an experience that cemented her dream of studying the skies. After earning a degree from Punjab Engineering College, she earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. In Texas, she learned to fly and married her flight instructor, Jean-Pierre Harrison. The two moved to Colorado, where Chawla pursued a Ph.D. After years of hard work and perseverance, she flew her first mission on the shuttle Columbia in 1997. She brought evidence of her Indian heritage, including a flag representing Air India (mistakenly referred to here as Indian Airlines). While the book offers a clear overview of Chawla’s life, it feels frustratingly vague at times. Readers find out only several pages in that Chawla grew up in India; her hometown is never mentioned. While the authors note that the faculty at Punjab Engineering College attempted to dissuade her from pursuing her passion, they don’t explain why, though a reference to her being the first woman to graduate with a degree in aeronautical engineering alludes to the sexism she experienced. Information on Chawla’s death—she was killed in 2003 when the Columbia exploded in midair—is relegated to a timeline in the backmatter. The upbeat artwork has a somewhat static feeling.
A heartfelt yet hazy account of a pioneering woman in STEM. (author’s note, list of Chawla’s honors and recognitions, selected resources) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781506484693
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beaming Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes.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
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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