An intriguing glimpse of this renowned archaeological find.
A young boy has a close-up view of Howard Carter’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922.
Hassan’s farmer father is conscious that their ancestors’ occupation, gathering and selling treasures from the tombs of ancient kings, is not likely to win the boy any respect on the archaeological dig near their home. He resists letting Hassan go to participate in the dig. But Hassan is determined to be part of what seems exciting and momentous, and he is unafraid of the jinn rumored to be guarding the tombs. He digs out a hidden staircase and is present when Carter and his companions peek into the first of the rooms of treasure in the boy king’s tomb. Garns’ gouache-and-pastel paintings in warm golds and purples evoke the desert setting and suggest the ancient royal past. The earnestness in the boy’s face and concern in his father’s keep the focus on Hassan and his experience. The title presumably refers to Hassan, but it could hint at other removals from these tombs—including Carter’s. Gauch explains in an author’s note that Hassan’s village of Gurna was real and demolished in 2007 by the Egyptian government to make way for pharaonic tomb excavation. She speculates that in fact there might have been a curse, as Lord Carnavon and others died soon after the discovery.
An intriguing glimpse of this renowned archaeological find. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-670-78452-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Fantasy training wheels for chapter-book readers.
Elliot’s first day of school turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Elliot Eisner—skinny and pale with curly brown hair—is a bit nervous about being the new kid. Thankfully, he hits it off with fellow new student, “punk rock”–looking Uchenna Devereaux, a black girl with twists (though they actually look like dreads in Aly’s illustrations). On a first-day field trip to New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, the pair investigates a noise in the trees. The cause? A Jersey Devil: a blue-furred, red-bellied and -winged mythical creature that looks like “a tiny dragon” with cloven hooves, like a deer’s, on its hind feet. Unwittingly, the duo bonds with the creature by feeding it, and it later follows them back to the bus. Unsurprisingly, they lose the creature (which they alternately nickname Jersey and Bonechewer), which forces them to go to their intimidating, decidedly odd teacher, Peruvian Professor Fauna, for help in recovering it. The book closes with Professor Fauna revealing the truth—he heads a secret organization committed to protecting mythical creatures—and inviting the children to join, a neat setup for what is obviously intended to be a series. The predictable plot is geared to newly independent readers who are not yet ready for the usual heft of contemporary fantasies. A brief history lesson given by a mixed-race associate of Fauna’s in which she compares herself to the American “melting pot” manages to come across as simultaneously corrective and appropriative.
Fantasy training wheels for chapter-book readers. (Fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-3170-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism.
This story, inspired by the author’s grandparents, celebrates love blooming in the desert during a time of extreme duress.
In a World War II incarceration camp for Japanese Americans, two young people find respite in one another. In Minidoka, families are crowded together, enduring harsh weather, barbed wire fences, the intimidating scrutiny of White armed guards, and the stress of unjust imprisonment. Book lover Tama finds solace volunteering in the camp library, where she is visited daily by George, a handsome young man with a seemingly insatiable appetite for reading. Tama, who revels in the power of words, struggles to name her overwhelming feelings. George’s reassurance that she is only human opens the door to love, marriage, and the birth of their first child in camp, a bubble of happiness in the midst of struggle. The gentle text shows how, no matter how bleak the outlook, people can find ways to hope, dream, and endure. An author’s note fills in some background on the real Tama and George Tokuda and connects their story to the many other American communities who experience racism but nevertheless claim joy. Imamura’s soft, exquisite illustrations capture the physical locale, using light and shadow in powerful ways. The 1940s setting comes to life with loving care in details of the decor and characters’ clothes.
An evocative and empowering tribute to human dignity and optimism. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0430-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
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