Each of the five people profiled in this fascinating collection has won a National Heritage Fellowship, but young readers probably won’t care about that. What they will be mesmerized by is the work they do. Qi Shu Fang performs Beijing Opera in New York City, and in both photos and text readers can see the layers of makeup, the heavy costumes and a glimpse into an almost unknown art form. Ralph Stanley has built boats by hand in Maine for decades; Eva Castellanoz, now of Oregon, has made a career out of creating the beautiful wax and paper flowers and flower crowns for Mexican weddings, baptisms and burials. Dorothy Trumphold, of a small Lutheran sect in Iowa, weaves stunningly patterned rag rugs, and “Tootie” Montana, who, alas, died last year, partnered with his wife to make the extraordinary feathered and beaded costumes of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Govenar tells their stories simply, using mostly their own words, making a great tapestry of images with the multitude of color pictures. A fine nonfiction collection, marred only by its rather odd title. (bibliography) (Nonfiction/collective biography. 9-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-2047-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
An author with just two previous books to her credit (Charles de Gaulle, 1991) turns out a biography that can stand proudly next to Jean Fritz's Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! (1991, ALA Notable). Whitelaw's lively text is substantially longer than Fritz's, succinctly including more details of Roosevelt's wide-ranging, productive career. But the vibrant personality is recognizably the same in both books; like intimate friends, the authors choose different anecdotes to illuminate the same qualities, each supporting a viable theme—Fritz emphasizes TR's ebullient enthusiasm, while Whitelaw focuses more on the specific accomplishments that resulted from his no-nonsense response to social and political changes caused by forces like immigration, rapid industrialization, and labor unrest. Both also point out his less-than-admirable eagerness to get into battle. Heavily illustrated with well-chosen photos and contemporary cartoons and including a list of TR's published books and an extensive chronology, this lucid, beautifully balanced account deserves a place in every library. Bibliography of sources; index. (Biography. 9-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8075-7849-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Budding scientists will surely draw inspiration from this biography of Linnaeus, whom Anderson dubs ``the greatest botanist of all time.'' Linnaeus and his world—18th-century Sweden—may seem far removed from most middle-graders' experiences, but Anderson creates a dramatic narrative fully capable of keeping readers enthralled. The elements of Linnaeus's life are used to maximum effect: At nine he was told that he was a hopeless student; as a young man, he perfected his own system of binomial nomenclature used to classify plant life. Throughout the story, Anderson shows how the personal side of Linnaeus's life affected his profession: Although he was beset by financial problems for years, he succeeded as an explorer and scientist, eventually achieving fame and wealth as a college professor with a family of his own. The portrait is accurately rendered, and although Linnaeus is imperfect by 20th-century standards—refusing to educate his daughters and remaining distant from his wife—Anderson finds in his life an upbeat story of a man achieving his dreams. (b&w illustrations, not seen, chronology, notes, further reading, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-89490-786-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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