Meditative, devotional, and vital.
Relationships between people and land, grandfather and granddaughter, frame a story on the significance of treaties.
Whether spending time “on and with the river” researching and restocking sturgeon, leading mapping projects dedicated to highlighting original place names in Anishinaabemowin, or heading “into the bush” alone every spring, Mishomis has lived a full life “out on the land.” In order to impart lessons from his life and teach his granddaughter about the importance of maintaining a connection to place, he sits with her along a river bank. There, they “let the silence speak” until the sounds of nature provide an opportunity for him to remind her of her “responsibilities to this land and water, and to their stories.” But perhaps the most important teaching he hopes she carries forward—one rooted in the first treaty made “between the earth and the sky”—is the power of working together and acting with “respect, reciprocity and renewal.” Appropriately, this unique story’s plot doesn’t follow the typical narrative structure that revolves around conflict. Attorney Craft’s (Anishinaabe Métis) lyrical prose, richly layered with Anishinaabe language, culture, and philosophy, centers the story on an Indigenous understanding of treaties in their truest sense, as “agreements to make relationships.” Swinson’s (Anishinaabe) beautifully colored illustrations rendered in an arresting graphic style give a decidedly modern feel to a story that links generations. Its unusually small trim (4.5-by-6.5 inches) means it can travel in pockets as readers themselves engage with the land.
Meditative, devotional, and vital. (author’s note) (Picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77321-496-2
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
An informationally sound profile but a lackluster narrative.
A fact-filled profile of Edwin and John Wilkes Booth.
The sons of a renowned Shakespearean actor, each enjoyed successful theatrical careers, though Edwin was more famous and admired as an actor. They were divided in their sympathies in the Civil War. John Wilkes spied and smuggled in his zealous support of the Confederacy, fantasizing about a plot to kidnap Lincoln before masterminding the assassination. Langston-George notes that the lives of the Lincolns and the Booths intersected multiple times. Robert Todd Lincoln and John Wilkes pursued the same woman, Lucy Lambert Hale, and Edwin Booth saved the life of President Lincoln’s eldest son when he pulled him off the tracks before an oncoming train. President Lincoln had also seen John Wilkes perform at Ford’s Theater. This story of the Booth brothers is sufficiently factual but lacks depth or nuance. Langston-George frequently uses quotes; sources are identified in the endnotes. What drove John Wilkes to embrace the Confederacy and white supremacy and to plot Lincoln’s assassination is not discussed. The emotional and psychological toll his crime took on Edwin is unexplored. A much more engaging, astute, and insightful profile of the Booth brothers can be found in James Cross Giblin’s Good Brother, Bad Bother (2005).
An informationally sound profile but a lackluster narrative. (afterword, photos, timeline, glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5157-7339-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
The real-life story behind The Man in the Red Bandanna.
On Sept. 11, 2001, in the South Tower of the World Trade Center, a man wearing a red bandanna lost his life leading others to safety. This is his story, adapted for young readers from Rinaldi’s 2016 bestseller for adults.
From an early age, Welles Crowther was obsessed with firefighters. He spent many hours hanging out at the firehouse, cleaning the rigs, and listening to his firefighter father’s tales. But after graduating from Boston College, Welles decided to follow another dream. He accepted a position as a junior associate in a finance firm. His office was on the 104th floor of the South Tower, but the call of his childhood obsession was strong. He confided to his father that he wanted to change careers and become a firefighter. But before he could realize that dream, tragedy struck. Welles kept his cool but lost his life leading others through the smoke to safety. Based on an ESPN documentary, this slim book chronicles the life and the legacy of one 9/11 hero. Readers of this youth version will be inspired by Welles’ dedication to school, sports, and his family, but they will also laugh at his mischievous side. Photographs of Welles’ life are sprinkled through the narrative.
The real-life story behind The Man in the Red Bandanna. (Biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-425-28762-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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