A welcome addition to children’s nonfiction from a master photojournalist.
Large, full-color photographs accompany the true story of one man’s efforts to bring together people of three religions by helping them create a Fair Trade–certified coffee-selling cooperative.
“As the sun sets in eastern Uganda, the blazing heat fades and a cool wind settles in the valley.” This opening, which continues with information about work and play in the “small, dusty village of Namanyonyi,” sits beneath a photo showing children playing soccer (called futbol in the text) in the twilight. Opposite this, there is a map that shows the route of coffee beans from Namanyonyi to the port of Mombasa. After a few more pages about contemporary life in rural Namanyonyi, the text backtracks to tell how all three Abrahamic religions arrived in the area. Next, the musician J.J. Keki is introduced, along with his inspiration for starting the cooperative: both his near miss from being victimized by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, on a visit to the United States from his native Uganda, and the tolerant children of Namanyonyi. The text discusses the coffee cooperative’s history, looks at Fair Trade, and contains a basic primer on the art of coffee farming. Sobol’s text is accessible and graceful, and the numerous, captivating photographs take readers to Namanyonyi, its places of worship, and the coffee plantation. Work, faith, and joy are equally celebrated. The tone of the book is hopeful and inspiring.
A welcome addition to children’s nonfiction from a master photojournalist. (author’s note, glossary, sources) (Nonfiction. 7-12)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-60060-450-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Falters in its oversimplified portrayal of a complicated region and people.
Parallel storylines take readers through the lives of two young people on Sept. 11 in 2001 and 2019.
In the contemporary timeline, Reshmina is an Afghan girl living in foothills near the Pakistan border that are a battleground between the Taliban and U.S. armed forces. She is keen to improve her English while her twin brother, Pasoon, is inspired by the Taliban and wants to avenge their older sister, killed by an American bomb on her wedding day. Reshmina helps a wounded American soldier, making her village a Taliban target. In 2001, Brandon Chavez is spending the day with his father, who works at the World Trade Center’s Windows on the World restaurant. Brandon is heading to the underground mall when a plane piloted by al-Qaida hits the tower, and his father is among those killed. The two storylines develop in parallel through alternating chapters. Gratz’s deeply moving writing paints vivid images of the loss and fear of those who lived through the trauma of 9/11. However, this nuance doesn’t extend to the Afghan characters; Reshmina and Pasoon feel one-dimensional. Descriptions of the Taliban’s Afghan victims and Reshmina's gentle father notwithstanding, references to all young men eventually joining the Taliban and Pasoon's zeal for their cause counteract this messaging. Explanations for the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan in the author’s note and in characters’ conversations too simplistically present the U.S. presence.
Falters in its oversimplified portrayal of a complicated region and people. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-24575-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
This unusual book offers a surprising amount of information, organized and presented in an appealing way for...
Why do people choose to live where they do in our world?
Vermond’s introduction to that big question points out that humans adapt: They use their big brains and work together to make places livable. A comfortable climate, readily available food and water, power for heat, light, transportation and communication, people who speak the same language, nearby families and plentiful jobs are just some of the things people are looking for. From the “Planet Perfect” to making your hometown one of “The Happiest Places on Earth,” the author considers human needs, briefly surveys the development of cities, explains what urban planners do, considers the reasons for living in a dangerous place as well as the reasons for moving, and touches on the effects of climate change and the possibility of living elsewhere in the universe. Each spread covers a separate topic. The extensive, conversational text is often set in columns and broken down into short segments, each with a heading, moving along quickly. A lively design and humorous illustrations add appeal. Unfortunately, there are no sources or suggestions for further reading.
This unusual book offers a surprising amount of information, organized and presented in an appealing way for upper-elementary students. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-77147-011-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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