Not up to Polacco’s usual standard.
From her apparently inexhaustible font of family stories, Polacco chooses one about Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross and a distant relative by marriage.
Clara is born on Christmas Day 1821 and mostly raised by her siblings, though aside from mentioning that her mother was ill, no real reason is given for this. Her intense shyness is attributed to a severe lisp, which leads to her education at home. Young Clara loves to study and to work with animals and flowers, displaying a gift for healing early on. When her brother Davie, who took her everywhere and taught her everything, falls from a barn beam and breaks both legs, Clara sets the bones and cares for him for two years. It is that care and healing that Polacco centers this story on. The pictures are done in Polacco’s vivid, vibrant pencil, marker and acrylics, with exaggerated gestures and abundant details. The dialogue is occasionally a bit over-the-top: "Davie, I know you can walk. You have always told me that I have a gift of healing. Unless you try to walk, I'll never believe that again." An author’s note outlines Barton’s founding of the American Red Cross and her work with soldiers during the Civil War. The abundance of dialogue and absence of specific sources makes this book problematic for use as nonfiction.
Not up to Polacco’s usual standard. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-35477-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject.
The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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