Yolen wants it both ways: Johnny Appleseed the legend and John Chapman the somewhat fruity (“There is no doubt Johnny is strange”) Swedenborgian apple-tree merchant. So she tells two tales here in a call-and-response fashion: a slice of legend followed by a piece of fact that either corrects or enlarges upon the history of Johnny Appleseed. Introducing each of the two-page spreads is a poetic stanza that serves forth a sample of the legend: “Tin-pot hat, / Ratty hair, / Clothes just rags, / Feet go bare.” Burke’s soft illustrations, with their deep-dish color and touch of old stencils, lend an antique and jolly mood to Johnny’s antics, which Yolen finds legend-worthy even without the tin-pot hat, for Appleseed was a man who made a real impact on the look of the frontier. Some of the speculation is on the strong side—“Because Father Nathaniel was not given the acres of land promised all colonial soldiers, some historians believe he was dismissed for stealing army supplies”—but this is mostly a smart, concise, perspective-setting look at Appleseed/Chapman’s life. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-059135-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008
In first-person voice, Aldrin highlights points from his childhood that led to his dream of being an astronaut and making the historic moon landing. Coincidental details like his mother’s maiden name, “Moon,” and his favorite movie hero, the “Lone Ranger,” suggest clues to his destiny. After West Point, he joined the Air Force because “he wanted to fly more than anything.” Minor’s usual beautiful and realistic illustrations effectively convey spatial perspectives and movement, adding depth to the narrative. However, the cover design and type layout are confusing, indicative of a biography instead of an autobiography—a brief intro could have clarified it. Aldrin’s message in an author’s note avows, “If you set your sights high, you may accomplish more than you ever dreamed.” Pair this with Don Brown’s One Giant Step for a child’s-eye view on space exploration. (Flight/space exploration chronology) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-055445-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Strong rhythms and occasional full or partial rhymes give this account of P.T. Barnum’s 1884 elephant parade across the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge an incantatory tone. Catching a whiff of public concern about the new bridge’s sturdiness, Barnum seizes the moment: “’I will stage an event / that will calm every fear, erase every worry, / about that remarkable bridge. / My display will amuse, inform / and astound some. / Or else my name isn’t Barnum!’” Using a rich palette of glowing golds and browns, Roca imbues the pachyderms with a calm solidity, sending them ambling past equally solid-looking buildings and over a truly monumental bridge—which soars over a striped Big Top tent in the final scene. A stately rendition of the episode, less exuberant, but also less fictionalized, than Phil Bildner’s Twenty-One Elephants (2004), illustrated by LeUyen Pham. (author’s note, resource list) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-44887-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
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