A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule.
Author Compestine recalls her experiences growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
It’s 1966, and the author is just 3 years old. Young Ying’s parents are doctors and among the educated dissenters targeted by Mao Zedong. Her father teachers her English, and Ying dreams about going to America to eat food with funny names such as Twinkies and Tater Tots. But by the time she’s 5, people are banned from speaking foreign languages and reading books in English, letters are monitored, and Western items are destroyed. The city walls are oppressively adorned with propaganda, and everyone is forced to don Mao uniforms and conform to a new way of life. Accused of being an American spy, Ying’s father is arrested, and she grapples with censorship, scarcity, and a loss of independence over the course of the next decade until Mao’s death in 1976. The author uses simple, clear language to make complex political ideas more accessible to young audiences. While the emotional resonance of some scenes feels muted due to the sheer amount of history that the tale covers, Liu’s artwork helps add depth with nuanced facial expressions, thoughtful details, and eye-catching visual compositions. The limited yet vibrant palette and the style of the illustrations are fittingly reminiscent of vintage Chinese propaganda posters.
A vivid glimpse into a childhood under communist rule. (author’s note, photographs) (Picture-book memoir. 6-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593533987
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Absolutely wonderful in every way.
A long-forgotten chapter in New York City history is brilliantly illuminated.
In mid-19th-century New York, horses and horse-drawn vehicles were the only means of transportation, and the din created by wheels as they rumbled on the cobblestones was deafening. The congestion at intersections threatened the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike. Many solutions were bandied about, but nothing was ever done. Enter Alfred Ely Beach, an admirer of “newfangled notions.” Working in secret, he created an underground train powered by an enormous fan in a pneumatic tube. He built a tunnel lined with brick and concrete and a sumptuously decorated waiting room for passenger comfort. It brought a curious public rushing to use it and became a great though short-lived success, ending when the corrupt politician Boss Tweed used his influence to kill the whole project. Here is science, history, suspense, secrecy, and skulduggery in action. Corey’s narrative is brisk, chatty, and highly descriptive, vividly presenting all the salient facts and making the events accessible and fascinating to modern readers. The incredibly inventive multimedia illustrations match the text perfectly and add detail, dimension, and pizazz. Located on the inside of the book jacket is a step-by-step guide to the creative process behind these remarkable illustrations.
Absolutely wonderful in every way. (author’s note, bibliography, Web resources) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-375-87071-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject.
The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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