While this picture book is far from perfect, Ross was a multitalented helper whose story is well worth knowing.
Canadian ornithologist Alexander Milton Ross, a white man, dedicated years of his life to helping enslaved people escape from the American South.
Ross was raised in Upper Canada, where he roamed the natural landscape and learned the names of birds and plants from his mother. One day, Ross’ father brought home a group of exhausted travelers whose ship had blown off course as they were escaping from slavery in the United States. Ross’ parents treated the escapees as guests, and Ross learned of the cruelty of slavery and lessons of compassion. Ross trained to become a doctor, and his life changed again when he read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and began to work in earnest with abolitionists and free blacks to help enslaved people escape, endangering his own life and livelihood. He often gained access to speak with enslaved people by entering plantations with permission to study birds; hence his nickname, Birdman. The earth tones and blues of the soft-focus illustrations become monotonous, but the maps and grids lightly overlaid and the details of place and dress successfully evoke the time period. Some awkwardness creeps into the text. Harrison frequently refers to people as “escaped slaves” or just “slaves” and quotes Ross’ rather turgid writing: “I was struck with their individuality and kindness.” Worse, she uses painfully stereotypical dialect for the enslaved characters’ speech: “Massa, is we near heaven yet?” Still, the book introduces an important perspective and example to young readers.
While this picture book is far from perfect, Ross was a multitalented helper whose story is well worth knowing. (historical note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-88995-506-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Essential.
A measured corrective to pervasive myths about what is often referred to as the “first Thanksgiving.”
Contextualizing them within a Native perspective, Newell (Passamaquoddy) touches on the all-too-familiar elements of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and its origins and the history of English colonization in the territory now known as New England. In addition to the voyage and landfall of the Mayflower, readers learn about the Doctrine of Discovery that arrogated the lands of non-Christian peoples to European settlers; earlier encounters between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Europeans; and the Great Dying of 1616-1619, which emptied the village of Patuxet by 1620. Short, two- to six-page chapters alternate between the story of the English settlers and exploring the complex political makeup of the region and the culture, agriculture, and technology of the Wampanoag—all before covering the evolution of the holiday. Refreshingly, the lens Newell offers is a Native one, describing how the Wampanoag and other Native peoples received the English rather than the other way around. Key words ranging from estuary to discover are printed in boldface in the narrative and defined in a closing glossary. Nelson (a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa) contributes soft line-and-color illustrations of the proceedings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-72637-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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