Inspiring fodder for an electoral—or any other—year.
In spare and elegant free verse, Malaspina shares a vivid act of civil disobedience.
Susan B. Anthony registered to vote in Rochester, N.Y., on November 1, 1872. She and 15 other women cast their ballots four days later, hoping that the new 14th Amendment, which stated that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are citizens of the United States,” would permit all women the right to vote. Instead, she was arrested and brought to trial, found guilty because women were not permitted the vote, and fined $100, which she never paid. James fills the pages with strongly modeled images and many close-ups of Susan’s face and the faces of judge, jury, police officers and followers. He makes their faces mobile and intense, so children can feel the force of these ideas as well as hear the words. The refrain, set in larger and alternate type, is “Outrageous. / Unbelievable. / True,” carrying the emotion and idea forward in an accessible and powerful way. The book opens with the text of the 14th and 19th Amendments and closes with facsimiles of a newspaper cartoon, a photograph and Susan B. Anthony’s letter to her close friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton: “Well I have been & gone & done it!!—positively voted.…”
Inspiring fodder for an electoral—or any other—year. (afterword, bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3188-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Utterly compelling.
The authors of Fatty Legs (2010) distill that moving memoir of an Inuit child’s residential school experience into an even more powerful picture book.
“Brave, clever, and as unyielding” as the sharpening stone for which she’s named, Olemaun convinces her father to send her from their far-north village to the “outsiders’ school.” There, the 8-year-old receives particularly vicious treatment from one of the nuns, who cuts her hair, assigns her endless chores, locks her in a dark basement and gives her ugly red socks that make her the object of other children’s taunts. In her first-person narration, she compares the nun to the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, a story she has heard from her sister and longs to read for herself, subtly reminding readers of the power of literature to help face real life. Grimard portrays this black-cloaked nun with a scowl and a hooked nose, the image of a witch. Her paintings stretch across the gutter and sometimes fill the spreads. Varying perspectives and angles, she brings readers into this unfamiliar world. Opening with a spread showing the child’s home in a vast, frozen landscape, she proceeds to hone in on the painful school details. A final spread shows the triumphant child and her book: “[N]ow I could read.”
Utterly compelling. (Picture book/memoir. 5-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-490-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
A stirring tale that fosters respect for Native peoples.
Anishinaabe creators Fairbanks and George encourage young people to consider the history behind the land they live on.
At home, surrounded by family, a white-presenting child with long red hair contemplates the past. “Before us, another family lived here. Before that, another family lived here, too. And another. And another.” The unnamed narrator recounts how European colonizers expelled Native Americans from their homes and forced them onto reservations. An Anishinaabe boy named TJ, who’s friends with the protagonist, and his grandmother Noko have taught the young narrator to honor Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land. They remind the protagonist that “Indigenous people have always been here, and they’re still here, wherever we go.” The child reflects on these principles often: “Now, whenever my family goes somewhere, I ask, ‘Who lived here before the people who live here now?’” Thoughtful backmatter urges readers to take land acknowledgments seriously and to find ways to act beyond merely cultivating awareness. Though the book’s lessons will resonate more with non-Native audiences, many young Native readers will appreciate the reverence shown to Indigenous people (past and present). Accompanied by engaging, comic-style artwork, this is a gentle, age-appropriate introduction to Indigenous history and cultures.
A stirring tale that fosters respect for Native peoples. (discussion questions, learn more about Indigenous people in your area) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593651445
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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