Bloodthirsty readers may be a little disappointed by these quick stabs at high-interest, if extinct, occupations.
A 10th-century Norwegian jarl’s son lays out the training, gear, and attitude requisite for a proper Viking life (and death).
Young Olaf Sharpaxe is visibly puny next to the exaggeratedly brawny brutes making up the rest of his father’s “hird” (warrior band) in Epelbaum’s cartoon illustrations but sports a comically crazed expression to make up for it. He describes the hard training, the camaraderie, how to choose the best weapons and armor, and life in the jarl’s hall. Following a quick description of a longship, he also supplies step-by-step directions for launching a raid, taking spoils, and, following his father’s death from wounds, how to bury a Viking chief. All of this, plus thumbnail accounts of renowned Viking warriors, Valhalla, and Ragnarok are capped by “Ten Vicious Viking Facts” to take away. For all the ferocity and mighty sword strokes in the pictures, though, there is nary a drop of spilled blood to be seen, and even in the narrative, violence is downplayed: brutal warrior Erik Bloodaxe “was lucky enough to have good skalds (poets) to put a better spin on his dubious deeds.” The co-published How to Live Like a Roman Gladiator is likewise all thrilling posturing with implicit, never explicit, gore.
Bloodthirsty readers may be a little disappointed by these quick stabs at high-interest, if extinct, occupations. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-7213-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hungry Tomato/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Much has been written for children about Mount Rushmore. While this isn’t a must-have, it offers a new approach to this...
You’re a dutiful son; your father, renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum, designed the presidential monuments on Mount Rushmore. You finish the job when your father dies, but history will ignore you.
This book’s aim is to rectify history’s misstep. It takes readers from Lincoln Borglum’s shy childhood to the beginning of the project in 1927, when he was a teen, and on through its completion 14 years later. Lincoln was deeply involved, working at many grueling tasks alongside hundreds of crewmen. Readers learn that Gutzon designed a Hall of Records, never constructed, to be built behind the sculptures. They also discover that Jefferson’s head was once carved on a different site on the mountain but had to be demolished and reconstructed elsewhere. Lincoln did swing under a president’s nose, although, despite the title, the author doesn’t confirm it was Jefferson’s. Mount Rushmore commemorates four presidents; this serviceably written book memorializes the younger Borglum. Lincoln is sympathetic, and readers will be glad he enjoyed future success, described in an afterword. The acrylic-and-pastel paintings are rendered in earth and muted tones and give a sense of the monument’s scale. The final endpapers depict the four presidents; younger children would benefit from their being identified. A mostly outdated, seemingly child-unfriendly bibliography is unhelpful.
Much has been written for children about Mount Rushmore. While this isn’t a must-have, it offers a new approach to this landmark. (Picture book/biography 7-10)Pub Date: May 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3731-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
Of possible interest where poppies are distributed around Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Imbued with an unwavering sense of duty and patriotism, a woman conceives a lasting tribute to war veterans.
Georgia schoolteacher Moina Michael, deeply saddened at the outbreak of World War I, wanted to help departing soldiers. She rolled bandages, knitted socks and sweaters, and boosted morale by delivering books, food and goodwill. These efforts, even combined with waving farewell at train stations, weren’t enough; Michael yearned to do more. Working with the YMCA in New York City, she offered support and kindness to soldiers. A chance rereading of the famous wartime poem “In Flanders Fields,” with its images of poppies on graves, galvanized Michael into action, and she devoted herself to seeing that a red poppy became a symbol to memorialize the war dead. Her idea eventually led to the public distribution of paper poppies to raise funds for veterans and military families, a tradition that continues in some communities. Michael’s moral force and commitment are commendable and noteworthy, but this is a well-meaning, though only serviceably written, overwrought book that will resonate more with adults. Children of military families may take it more to heart than other youngsters, especially those unfamiliar with the tradition. The heroic oil paintings are colorful, and Michael looks nothing less than beatific.
Of possible interest where poppies are distributed around Memorial Day and Veterans Day. (prologue, epilogue, author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59078-754-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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