The Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is a surprisingly popular subject for young people. This engaging essay is written as if it were a school report by a girl named Frieda and illustrated not only with reproductions of Kahlo’s own paintings but with scenes from her life imagined by the inimitable dePaola. He uses borders and backgrounds in Kahlo’s colors to intensify the text to good effect. Kahlo’s poor health, her self-absorption, her marriage to the muralist Diego Rivera are all reported as a child might actually research them, and the student’s voice is sharp and clear. Frith’s straightforward presentation of Kahlo’s passionate and unusual way of seeing the whole world in her self-portraits is commendable. If only some sort of bibliography or notes were included to aid Frieda’s fellow researchers. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-448-42677-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
In first-person voice, Aldrin highlights points from his childhood that led to his dream of being an astronaut and making the historic moon landing. Coincidental details like his mother’s maiden name, “Moon,” and his favorite movie hero, the “Lone Ranger,” suggest clues to his destiny. After West Point, he joined the Air Force because “he wanted to fly more than anything.” Minor’s usual beautiful and realistic illustrations effectively convey spatial perspectives and movement, adding depth to the narrative. However, the cover design and type layout are confusing, indicative of a biography instead of an autobiography—a brief intro could have clarified it. Aldrin’s message in an author’s note avows, “If you set your sights high, you may accomplish more than you ever dreamed.” Pair this with Don Brown’s One Giant Step for a child’s-eye view on space exploration. (Flight/space exploration chronology) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-055445-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spinning lively invented details around skimpy historical records, Taylor profiles the 19th-century chef credited with inventing the potato chip. Crum, thought to be of mixed Native-American and African-American ancestry, was a lover of the outdoors, who turned cooking skills learned from a French hunter into a kitchen job at an upscale resort in New York state. As the story goes, he fried up the first batch of chips in a fit of pique after a diner complained that his French fries were cut too thickly. Morrison’s schoolroom, kitchen and restaurant scenes seem a little more integrated than would have been likely in the 1850s, but his sinuous figures slide through them with exaggerated elegance, adding a theatrical energy as delicious as the snack food they celebrate. The author leaves Crum presiding over a restaurant (also integrated) of his own, closes with a note separating fact from fiction and also lists her sources. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58430-255-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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