An outstanding contribution to the recent spate of reminders that women too helped send men to the moon.
Who would have guessed from standard-issue histories of the space race that the spacesuits worn on the moon were largely the work of women employed by the manufacturer of Playtex bras and lines of baby wear?
Here, in a profile that laudably focuses on her subject’s unusual skills, dedicated work ethic, and uncommon attention to detail rather than her gender or family life, Donald takes Eleanor “Ellie” Foraker from childhood fascination with needle and thread to work at ILC Dover, then on to the team that created the safe, flexible A7L spacesuit—beating out firms of military designers and engineers to win a NASA competition. Though the author clearly attempts to steer clear of sexist language, she still leaves Foraker and her co-workers dubbed “seamstresses” throughout and “engineer” rather unfairly (all so designated presenting male here) defined in the glossary as “someone who designs and makes things.” Still, her descriptions of the suit’s concepts and construction are clear and specific enough to give readers a real appreciation for the technical challenges that were faced and solved. Landy gives the figures in her cleanly drawn illustrations individual features along with period hair and clothing, varying skin tones so that though most are white, at least two are women of color.
An outstanding contribution to the recent spate of reminders that women too helped send men to the moon. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-84886-415-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Maverick Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
A candid introduction to a little-known figure in Jewish American history.
The successful business life and subsequent philanthropy of one of early America’s wealthiest and most pious Jews are recounted in a picture-book biography.
Raised by his uncle, Isaac Hays, a founder of Boston’s first bank, Judah learned much about shipping, real estate, and trade before setting off on his own at the dawn of the 19th century. A quiet, private man, Judah made his fortune in New Orleans trading New England products. After being wounded during the War of 1812, Judah began to concentrate on putting his wealth toward charitable causes. Simply drawn illustrations in muted brown, gray, and blue hues have both a childlike feel and the look of crayons or colored pencil in combination with watercolor; this results in a humble view not often seen in representations of New Orleans and appropriately reflects the story’s themes. The easy-flowing narrative tells how this son of a rabbi in a Sephardic immigrant family adhered to the Jewish tradition of giving inconspicuously, to causes both local and all over the world, hoping to avoid recognition for his good deeds. Some of these were paying for the freedom of enslaved African Americans, a few of whom are included in one illustration alongside the pale-skinned Judah. The author’s notes provide some added information about the benefactor’s family and his legacy.
A candid introduction to a little-known figure in Jewish American history. (Picture book/biography. 7-9)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4561-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the pleasures of real mail and the value of seeing and appreciating those who keep our society ticking.
An inveterate young correspondent relates the true story of how a thank-you note to her postal carrier went viral.
Writing in third person, the preteen author introduces herself as a lover of silly jokes, Taylor Swift, and, particularly, hand-decorated missives. She produces them in such profusion that she writes a letter of appreciation to Doug, her letter carrier: “I make people happy with my letters, but you do too. You make it possible!” Shortly thereafter, she learns that Doug had shared her letter with his colleagues, because grateful responses from postal workers all over the country begin arriving by the boxload…each one “a connection,” she writes, with “a piece of someone’s life in it.” The unforeseen reaction prompts thoughts that many others, from farmers to trash collectors, are likewise out there working hard and with love. Inset views of workers of diverse occupations and races accompany these ruminations in Sinquett’s brightly hued watercolors. (Weber, her parents, and Doug all present White.) Elsewhere, the illustrator also tucks in calligraphic flourishes, colorfully ornamented envelopes, and handwritten letters with chatty or plaintive phrases. The author closes with a joke but just before that poses a question that serves nicely as a rhetorical kick in the pants: “Why was my saying thank you such a big deal?” Perhaps because there’s not quite enough of that going around? (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
An ode to the pleasures of real mail and the value of seeing and appreciating those who keep our society ticking. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-306696-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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