Although young readers will not already know the names of these women nor the significance of their achievements in flying...
Another picture-book biography of women pilots who made aviation records lines up on the runway.
At 7, Jerrie Mock declared she was going to be a pilot and fly the skies. And she did. Joan Merriam Smith was inspired by a plane ride at age 15. Both young white women had the same idol and same goal: to follow Amelia Earhart’s route to fly around the world. Unbeknownst to each other, they each spent months eagerly making flight plans and studying weather reports. But weeks before their takeoffs, coincidentally scheduled on the same day, their plans almost crashed. News broke that two women had decided to fly around the world at the same time! What should they do? Turn the event into a race, of course. Numerous obstacles had to be overcome, but at the end, it was Jerrie who won the race. The straightforward narrative highlights the passion and determination of these two unknown women who broke barriers and achieved their dreams. Tidbits, such as the fact that each had a good-luck charm, add human interest. Softly colored illustrations realistically paint the scenes, but the pastel palette seems too demure for profiling these two gutsy women.
Although young readers will not already know the names of these women nor the significance of their achievements in flying history, this visual chronicle can serve as an introduction to the era. (author’s note, maps, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58536-381-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With powerful art from a bold new talent, this is a probing and sensitive take on a devastating chapter of U.S. history.
“How do you tell a story / that starts in Africa / and ends in horror?”
Alexander uses multiple voices to weave this poem about a teacher who takes on the difficult but necessary task of starting a classroom conversation about slavery. Between the theft of people from the African continent and the sale of people in America, from the ships that brought them and the ocean that swallowed some of them to their uncompensated work and the breakup of families, Alexander introduces objections from the implied listeners (“But you can’t sell people,” “That’s not fair”), despair from the narrating adult, encouragement from the youth, and ultimately an answer to the repeated question about how to tell this story. Rising star Coulter’s mixed-media art elevates the lyrical text with clarity and deep emotion: Using sculpted forms and paintings for the historical figures gives them a unique texture and lifelike fullness, while the charcoal drawings on yellow paper used for the present-day student-teacher interactions invite readers to step inside. Where Coulter combines the two, connecting past with present, the effect is stunning. Both young readers and adults unsure of how to talk about this painful past with children will find valuable insights.
With powerful art from a bold new talent, this is a probing and sensitive take on a devastating chapter of U.S. history. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-47312-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Shot through with vague generalities and paired to a mix of equally generic period images and static new art, this overview remorselessly sucks all the juice from its topic.
This survey of the growth of industries in this country from the Colonial period to the post–World War II era is written in the driest of textbook-ese: “Factories needed good transportation so that materials could reach them and so that materials could reach buyers”; “The metal iron is obtained by heating iron ore”; “In 1860, the North said that free men, not slaves, should do the work.” This text is supplemented by a jumble of narrative-overview blocks, boxed side observations and terse captions on each thematic spread. The design is packed with overlapping, misleadingly seamless and rarely differentiated mixes of small, heavily trimmed contemporary prints or (later) photos and drab reconstructions of workshop or factory scenes, along with pictures of significant inventions and technological innovations (which are, in several cases, reduced to background design elements). The single, tiny map has no identifying labels. Other new entries in the All About America series deal similarly with Explorers, Trappers, and Pioneers, A Nation of Immigrants and Stagecoaches and Railroads. Utilitarian, at best—but more likely to dim reader interest than kindle it. (index, timeline, resource lists) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6670-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
