This slim volume brings to you-are-there life a historical episode often relegated to a sidebar.
It might be said that the American Revolution began with the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.
Crowds of protestors filled Boston’s Old South Church. “Boston Harbor a teapot tonight!” someone yelled. And sure enough, that evening, thousands of pounds of tea from three merchant ships were dumped into the harbor. A wide range of Boston society—well-known citizens, carpenters, printers, blacksmiths and shipwrights, young and old—dressed up to resemble Mohawk Indians, their faces smeared with grease and lampblack or soot, turned out to protest the British government’s tyranny. As always, Freedman demonstrates his skill at telling the story behind the facts, weaving a lively narrative out of the details and voices that shaped one episode of history. Drawing on primary resources as well as scholarly works, he smoothly melds quotations from eyewitnesses and other sources into a lively and engaging narrative. The volume has been lovingly designed, and Malone’s memorable watercolor illustrations are beautifully wrought, adding much to the telling. The Boston Tea Party is often just one of several names and events that students have to memorize in school; here’s a chance to read about it as an exciting story.
This slim volume brings to you-are-there life a historical episode often relegated to a sidebar. (afterword, bibliographic essay, note on tea, timeline, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2266-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Washington remains an historic hero despite flaws and defeats. These are recounted in far more accomplished biographies, and...
By the age of 15, George Washington had written out a list of precepts taught to him by his teachers, the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation,” by which he lived and was guided throughout his life.
Excerpts from this little-known historical document appear throughout this stolid picture-book biography of our first president, in which Washington describes some salient details of his life and career in the first person. The rules are worthy, but readers will note that there is usually no relationship between them and the facts presented on the same page. While the volume is stirring, there is no cohesion to the narrative, and it will not even serve report writers, as most dates and events go unmentioned, as do many highlights of Washington’s story. Only the notes to the artwork provide some factual context. Young readers wondering if Washington ever faced any setbacks will find no evidence of them here. What emerges from these pages is a larger-than-life icon with no warts. Wimmer’s paintings are masterful and dramatic, though some seem stiffly posed. The cover portrait is certainly rousing.
Washington remains an historic hero despite flaws and defeats. These are recounted in far more accomplished biographies, and children will be better served by reading about the real man elsewhere. (author’s note, artist’s note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5482-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
Reductionist history in an unnecessary novelty format.
A miscellaneous collection of factlets about three pre-Columbian civilizations are presented on board pages suggesting a Mesoamerican step pyramid in this latest title in the publisher's “shape book” series.
Each section includes a map and mentions an important archeological site—the Maya Chichén Itzá, the Aztec Templo Mayor and the Inca Machu Picchu—but provides no dates. Readers may be intrigued by Maya beauty ideals, the Aztec ball game and Inca goldwork. Maya and Aztec calendars are shown, as well as pictures of Aztec and Inca warriors and weaponry. Ružicka describes the end of the Aztec and Inca empires at the hands of Spanish conquistadors but ignores the collapse of the Maya. There is a recipe for Maya hot chocolate that neglects to say when the almonds listed in the ingredients should be added and a description of Tenochtitlán that does not mention that it underlies the center of present-day Mexico City. Kleinová’s illustrations range from moderately realistic pictures of people at work and play to cartoonlike glyphs. No sources are actually provided for any of the information or illustrations. Readers curious about this history will find much more in Peter Lourie’s Lost Treasure of the Inca (1999), Mystery of the Maya (2001) and Hidden World of the Aztec (2006).
Reductionist history in an unnecessary novelty format. (Informational novelty. 8-11)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55407-933-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
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