The book quotes Lincoln as saying, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” This team goes beyond good; they excel at making...
From Ben Franklin: His Wit and Wisdom from A-Z (2011), the dynamic duo of Schroeder and O’Brien here turn their talents to Abe Lincoln.
The alphabetic approach allows them to zero in on fascinating tidbits about both Lincoln himself and historical information pertinent to his past. Each letter is given from two to five entries. For A, Amendment, Autobiography, Ax and Aloud (as in reading) are cited. Many choices are obvious, but others may surprise readers. J is for Jack, a soldier doll that his sons played with. O is for Our American Cousin, the play Lincoln was watching when he was shot. Q is for Quincy (where he debated Douglas), Quorum and Quick (the Gettysburg Address). X is for Xenia, Ohio, where he made one of his railroad stops; the people swarmed the train and ate his lunch. Z is probably the most unusual one, standing for Zouaves, units of volunteer soldiers known for their colorful uniforms. O’Brien’s signature style lends the tableaux enormous flair, humor and zing. Comical tiny details are mischievous and clever. On the A page: A boy wearing a fringed shirt is holding an ax next to a gargantuan tube of Lincoln Logs filled with chopped-down trees.
The book quotes Lincoln as saying, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” This team goes beyond good; they excel at making history real, enjoyable and memorable. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2420-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An intelligent read-aloud for those not quite ready to tackle the existing independent readers.
Every dog has his day, but Balto’s life is comparable to an early 20th-century movie star’s.
McCarthy’s coverage begins in Nome, Alaska, in 1925. Dr. Welch presides at the bedside of a diphtheria-stricken child and follows up with a desperate telegram for the serum needed to prevent an epidemic. While Balto’s legendary role in braving a blizzard to deliver the antitoxin in record time is dramatically portrayed, the author’s primary interest lies in recounting the rest of the Siberian husky’s story. Balto went on to star in a film about the relay race that prefigured the Iditarod. He stayed at the Biltmore in Los Angeles, rubbed elbows with famous actors and posed for a sculpture in New York’s Central Park. When the canine’s fortunes changed, he performed in vaudeville until a Cleveland businessman (and schoolchildren) paid for his transfer to a zoo. Employing the style established in her previous historical investigations (ranging from Charles Atlas to bubble gum), the author selects child-friendly details, explains challenging words in context and re-creates period documents and settings. Her signature acrylic caricatures, identifiable by oversized eyes, convey a sense of attentiveness in keeping with the narrative. The predominance of snow and gray light creates a mood of remote desolation; the palette brightens to warm greens at the conclusion.
An intelligent read-aloud for those not quite ready to tackle the existing independent readers. (maps, author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-84460-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
In the end, however, they all testify to something important: Presidents are only men (so far, anyway) and capable of every...
This gathering of presidential foibles and fancies covers the gamut, from George W. the First to Barack.
Each is set as either a poem (rhymed and free verse) or a prose poem, and all display a handling of language that both is comfortable and exhibits a certain degree of flash. Of one-eyed James Buchanan: “So he cocked his head to focus. / He could tilt his view toward a distant star, / ogle an ash on a nearby cigar, / or peer halfway to Zanzibar. / Was there anything he didn’t notice?” Neubecker’s illustrations are wonderful puddles of colorful personality, true to the text but amplifying it (or further poking a sharp stick into the presidential eye). The only concern here is that some of the presidential tics are a bit dull. Of course, no one will deny the import of blubbery William Howard Taft wedging himself into the White House tub and needing a team of assistants to extricate him. Or T. Jefferson the inventor, J.Q. Adams the skinny dipper or Z. Taylor’s nearly missing the presidency for want of a stamp. But that J. Adams was chubby, J. Madison was small and M. Fillmore is forgotten? There’s little to spark even a muted guffaw or a sympathetic nod.
In the end, however, they all testify to something important: Presidents are only men (so far, anyway) and capable of every mortal weakness and weirdness. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-18221-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
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