Not exactly seamless but spooky fun nonetheless.
Colored filters transform 10 haunted world sites from “Earthly” to “Supernatural.”
As in earlier outings from the Milan-based design collective Carnovsky (Illuminatlas, 2018, etc.), a chromatic layering technique makes the illustrations semiabstract tangles to the naked eye. They become three different scenes when viewed through the small squares of green, red, and cyan acetate provided. Though the gimmick doesn’t work all that well—there is considerable spillover from the red scene (which shows actual people and artifacts) into the green (buildings and architectural details), and the cyan collage of ghosts and horrors is murky even in very bright light—still, it does add distinct atmosphere to the mix of history and mystery at each stop, from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to San Juan Chamula Cemetery in Mexico’s Chiapas highlands and Bhangarh Fort in Rajasthan. The assorted images assembled in each superimposed picture are laid out and identified individually on subsequent pages with commentary that varies from eerie to tongue in cheek. Though Rasputin is misplaced in the “Supernatural” category and a claim that Howard Carter’s ghost haunts the Great Pyramid at Giza seems to be an invention, readers will find chills and chuckles alike, whether meeting the Black Forest’s “badly behaved monks and pagan witches” or paying a visit to Dracula’s Bran Castle, where “centuries of spirits linger, waiting to tell their tales of medieval megalomaniacs, bloodthirsty ghouls, heartbroken queens and socialist revolutionaries.”
Not exactly seamless but spooky fun nonetheless. (Informational novelty. 7-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-547-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Imagine compressing one hundred years of American history into 48 pages! Imagine making history come alive with photographs of people dressed in period costumes, slipping in odd historical facts while debunking myths, tucking in colonial crafts kids can try at home, and providing a sympathetic narrator who attempts to present the point of view of European settlers, Native Americans, African slaves, and indentured servants. The author of this title and American Revolution, 1700–1800 (see above) in the “Chronicle of America” series, tries hard, but the snippets selected to add interest, the overly dramatic prose, lack of sources, and excessive compression of complex issues make this title less than successful. Each double-paged layout tackles a new topic. Those include the voyage, first Americans, food, clothing, shelter, education, warfare, illness, farming, crafts, and the like. Topics usually begin with questions in italics to stimulate reader interest. For example: “How would you feel if you sat down to a dinner of meat loaf with maggots?” An introductory paragraph or two follows with short discussions of related topics, three or four uncaptioned photographs of people and objects from America’s Living History Museums, and a tan, blue, or red box with a “surprising history” snippet, or a colonial craft to try. Unsupported statistics abound, “In the early days of the European settlements, 80 percent of the people who came to Virginia died once they got there.” Or, “It took 2500 trees to build a ship the size of the Mayflower.” Or, “After months at sea with no fresh food, is it any wonder that some early settlers were forced to turn to cannibalism?” The glossy photos and breezy tone will appeal to young history enthusiasts, but caution should be exercised lest the reader come away with some very odd ideas about the past. The author concludes with a few titles for further reading, Web sites, picture credits, and an index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-05107-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
Another too-little-known chapter in African-American history is revealed in this rich story of the first free black settlement to legally exist in what later became the United States. Founded in 1738 in St. Augustine in what was then Spanish Florida, Fort Mose offered sanctuary to slaves who escaped from English colonies. It would become home to approximately 100 people. Turner begins with the story of Francisco Menendez. With little historical record of his life, the author must speculate on what Menendez's life was like in West Africa before he was captured and sold into slavery in South Carolina. She does so responsibly, reminding readers of the paucity of source material and extrapolating from what is known of the slave trade at the time. In St. Augustine, Menendez became captain of the black militia that was vital to defending the settlement from English attack and the leader of the Fort Mose community. Illustrated throughout with archival images, this handsomely designed book offers an eye-opening look at a hitherto little-known community and a notable figure in Colonial American history. (glossary, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8109-4056-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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