A sweeping and inspiring young readers’ introduction to Ida B. Wells.
Readers meet the brave journalist and activist who wasn’t afraid to use her voice to fight for herself or others.
In this fictional graphic memoir, Williams chronicles Wells’ birth, childhood experiences, early adulthood in Memphis, and subsequent life in Chicago, allowing her subject to speak in the first person. In Memphis, Wells is forced from a train after refusing to leave the first-class seat that she paid for, three of her friends are lynched for owning a successful grocery store, and the office of her newspaper is bombed. After her departure from Memphis, Wells’ story focuses on her activism for both civil rights and women’s rights, forthrightly (if briefly) addressing resistance she met from White suffragists and Black leaders. Wells’ narration carries readers to her death in 1931. From there, her great-granddaughter (and author) Michelle Duster takes over the narrative. The switch in perspective is odd but not wholly confusing due to Harris’ clear stylings in the comics panels. The book lacks historical notes or bibliography, so engaged readers will need to seek more information about the subject on their own. The illustrations, while not particularly dynamic, use mostly warm, muted shades as they depict their subject against varying backdrops; they add much to the reading without detracting from the text. Series companion Dolly Parton, by Emily Skwish and illustrated by Lydia Fernández Abril, publishes simultaneously.
A sweeping and inspiring young readers’ introduction to Ida B. Wells. (Graphic biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5037-6008-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Sunbird Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A must-have for those who want children to learn about one of the stage’s greatest bards
One of America’s greatest modern playwrights is introduced to generations of younger readers in this lyrical picture book.
August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize–winning African American dramatist, is best known for his 10-play Century Cycle, which chronicles the African American experience through different decades in the 20th century. Because his work is targeted toward adults, many young readers might be unfamiliar with Wilson’s life or achievements. Thanks to this timely and elegant picture book, that oversight is now corrected. Conceptually separated into two acts, the book frames Wilson’s life as a play in free-verse form, immersing readers in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, a multiracial enclave where Frederick August Kittel Jr. is raised by his hardworking single mother. Act 1 chronicles Wilson’s search for his name and voice, and Act 2 showcases his extraordinary life’s work of using them to bring the African American experience to the stage. The book’s primary goal may be to present Wilson’s life, but it is also an eloquent love letter to literature and a celebration of its power to inspire, to instruct, and to provide hope, guidance, and direction. Bryant’s accomplished free verse and newcomer Chapman’s evocative, realistic illustrations operate in perfect synergy, celebrating the genius of Wilson the playwright while never losing sight of the complications, hardships, and imperfections of Wilson the man.
A must-have for those who want children to learn about one of the stage’s greatest bards . (Picture book/biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3653-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Admiration for a unique talent shines as brightly as her jeweled creations in this biographical homage.
Judith Leiber designed over-the-top jeweled evening bags that have become cherished collector’s items.
She and her family survived World War II and the Holocaust as forced laborers in factories, living in shared apartments with other Jewish families and later hiding in a basement. All the while she kept dreaming of the bags she would make someday. She married an American and moved to New York, where she worked for many handbag companies and then started her own, making her signature bags for the rich and famous. They took the form of animals or food and all kinds of imaginative shapes. Each bag was covered in jewels and crystals in a plethora of shining, gleaming, bright colors. Blumenthal blends biographical facts with glowing, almost breathless descriptions of the unusual, beautiful bags and their celebrated owners. Readers may notice that the chronology is off; they learn that Leiber started her own company in 1963 and then, a few pages later, that Leiber designed Mamie Eisenhower’s bag for the 1953 inaugural balls. D’yans’ softly hued, slightly fuzzy illustrations depict many of the bags noted by the author and seem to shine as brightly as the bags themselves. Dark, muddy hues appropriately limn the Holocaust years.
Admiration for a unique talent shines as brightly as her jeweled creations in this biographical homage. (author’s note, photographs, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0898-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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