A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more.
Many readers are familiar with Misty Copeland, but how many know about Alicia Alonso?
Viña begins this appealing biography in 1929 in Havana, Cuba. Excited to learn ballet, Alonso trains daily in “the only pair [of pointe shoes] available in the whole country.” She is a girl with a dream to practice an art that does yet exist fully in her homeland. In 1937 she leaves for New York City, in spite of her father’s disapproval, to train, with limited English, at the American Ballet Theatre. There she faces unimpressed teachers but nonetheless receives praise for her technique. When faltering vision causes her to pause training to undergo multiple surgeries to save her eyesight, she eventually ends up on bed rest for a year after a final operation. Alonso relies on her imagination and memory to keep dancing—a remarkable example of her determination. Viña chronicles Alonso’s recovery and eventual stardom as a principal ballerina in Giselle, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote in spite of living with low-vision disabilities, concluding with Alonso’s return to Cuba in 1958, which marks the founding of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. With Spanish words infused so that they flow naturally throughout, Viña adds an authentic cultural layer to an inspiring artist’s career. Félix’s illustrations, while straightforward and simple, add colorful richness that brings Viña’s engaging storytelling to life.
A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more. (author’s note, resources) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1454-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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