An informative and engaging bit of history with helpful imagery.
Elliott and Kwai offer an illustrated nonfiction account for young readers of a real-life adventure involving a future president of the United States.
During World War II, hundreds of Solomon Islanders aided the Allied soldiers by gathering information of ship and troop movements. Three Solomon Islanders in particular—Allied-affiliated scouts Biuku Gasa (from Pasoro), Eroni “Aaron” Kumana (from Rannonga), and John Kari (from Rendova)—would play major roles in the life of a major historical figure. In November 1942, Kari helped rescue two American pilots whose planes had been shot down, and he met U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy when they encountered the patrol torpedo boat he commanded: PT-109. A year later, a Japanese destroyer hit PT-109 at high speed, slicing it in two; 11 of 13 crew members survived, but no American rescue boat was coming for them. After they swam to the nearest island, the injured Kennedy continued to look for rescuers that didn’t come, and eventually they had to swim to another island. There, Kumana and Gasa found them, but they didn’t initially realize that the strangers were American. It was only when Kennedy brought up fellow scout Kari that the pair understood who the men were, which led to a rescue. The book makes for a quick retelling of important historical facts that young readers are likely never to have encountered before, and Morgan’s grayscale illustrations of the various figures and setting are a pleasant accompaniment. Readers will find the timeline to be easy to follow due to the simple narrative structure, during which the scouts and crew members eventually come up with a plan and execute it. The chapters are short and to the point, but if readers do get lost, there’s a detailed chronology of events toward the end of the book to assist them and an illustrated explanation on the different kinds of boats featured in the story.
An informative and engaging bit of history with helpful imagery.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2022
ISBN: 9780927523141
Page Count: 94
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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