This picture-book biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz brings the great 17th-century poet and intellectual, revered throughout Latin America, to the attention of English-speaking children. Graced by Vidal’s (The Magic Bean Tree, not reviewed, etc.) exquisite gouache-and-watercolor illustrations, created with a magnifying glass and small brushes in the style of illuminated manuscripts, this is quite elegant. Graceful flowers, especially roses (the subject of one of Sor Juana’s best-known poems), link text and pictures. The red, flowered pattern of the cover and end papers picks up the vivid color of the young Juana’s dresses. A child prodigy who learned to read at the age of three, Juana studied with tutors in Mexico City, since girls were not allowed to attend the university. Invited to live as a lady-in-waiting in the viceroy’s palace, Juana read endlessly in its large library. A group of distinguished scholars convened to question her, and she was able to answer every one of their questions. “Yes, girls can do more than spin and sew. We can study and prove all we know,” said Juana. Becoming a nun gave her the quiet she needed to think and write. Her library became one of the largest in the Americas. There is a glossary of Spanish words and an author’s note; unfortunately, no sources of additional information (numerous Web sites are available) have been included. Nevertheless, this magnificent offering, interspersed with Spanish phrases, and filled with authentic details in its illustrations will be a welcome addition to most library collections. (Picture book/biography. 5-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-80643-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002
"From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother," Cooney (The Story of Christmas, 1995, etc.) begins in this biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. She is a plain child, timid and serious; it is clear that only a few people loved her. After her parents die, she is cared for in the luxurious homes of wealthy relatives, but does not find acceptance until she arrives in a British boarding school, where she thrives on the attention of the headmistress, who guides, teaches, and inspires her. Cooney does not gloss over the girl's misery and disappointments; she also shows the rare happy times and sows the seeds of Eleanor's future work. The illustrations of house interiors often depict Eleanor as an isolated, lonely figure, her indistinct face and hollow eyes watching from a distance the human interactions she does not yet enjoy. Paintings reveal the action of a steamship collision; the hectic activity of a park full of children and their governesses; a night full of stars portending the girl's luminous future. The image of plain Eleanor being fitted with her first beautiful dress is an indelible one. Readers will be moved by the unfairness of her early life and rejoice when she finds her place in the world. An author's note supplies other relevant information. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-670-86159-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering.
An honestly told biography of an important politician whose name every American should know.
Published while the United States has its first African-American president, this story of John Roy Lynch, the first African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lays bare the long and arduous path black Americans have walked to obtain equality. The title’s first three words—“The Amazing Age”—emphasize how many more freedoms African-Americans had during Reconstruction than for decades afterward. Barton and Tate do not shy away from honest depictions of slavery, floggings, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, or the various means of intimidation that whites employed to prevent blacks from voting and living lives equal to those of whites. Like President Barack Obama, Lynch was of biracial descent; born to an enslaved mother and an Irish father, he did not know hard labor until his slave mistress asked him a question that he answered honestly. Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lynch had a long and varied career that points to his resilience and perseverance. Tate’s bright watercolor illustrations often belie the harshness of what takes place within them; though this sometimes creates a visual conflict, it may also make the book more palatable for young readers unaware of the violence African-Americans have suffered than fully graphic images would. A historical note, timeline, author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography and map are appended.
A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering. (Picture book biography. 7-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5379-0
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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