by Ann Malaspina & illustrated by Steve James ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2012
Inspiring fodder for an electoral—or any other—year.
In spare and elegant free verse, Malaspina shares a vivid act of civil disobedience.
Susan B. Anthony registered to vote in Rochester, N.Y., on November 1, 1872. She and 15 other women cast their ballots four days later, hoping that the new 14th Amendment, which stated that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are citizens of the United States,” would permit all women the right to vote. Instead, she was arrested and brought to trial, found guilty because women were not permitted the vote, and fined $100, which she never paid. James fills the pages with strongly modeled images and many close-ups of Susan’s face and the faces of judge, jury, police officers and followers. He makes their faces mobile and intense, so children can feel the force of these ideas as well as hear the words. The refrain, set in larger and alternate type, is “Outrageous. / Unbelievable. / True,” carrying the emotion and idea forward in an accessible and powerful way. The book opens with the text of the 14th and 19th Amendments and closes with facsimiles of a newspaper cartoon, a photograph and Susan B. Anthony’s letter to her close friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton: “Well I have been & gone & done it!!—positively voted.…”
Inspiring fodder for an electoral—or any other—year. (afterword, bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3188-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Share your opinion of this book
More by Joan Axelrod-Contrada
BOOK REVIEW
by Joan Axelrod-Contrada & Ann Malaspina ; illustrated by Paula J. Becker
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Ann Malaspina ; illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard
by Shane W. Evans & illustrated by Shane W. Evans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 2011
Powerfully expressive imagery will sweep young viewers into this suspenseful journey along the Underground Railroad. Accompanied by a commentary of, usually, just two or three words per spread, the scenes track a small group of escapees stealing through darkness beneath a thin crescent moon. They are seen running, crawling, resting tensely, taking brief shelter with “new friends,” then wearily keeping on until sunrise at last brings them to their goal: “I am free. He is free. She is free. We are free.” Underscoring the sense of fear and urgency with broad, slanted strokes of thinly applied paint, Evans limns his hunched, indistinct figures in dark lines and adds weight with scribbled fill and jagged bits of paper or cloth. His palette of midnight-dark blue lit only by the occasional yellow torch- or lantern light and white stars draws attention to the whites of the frightened escapees’ eyes and makes sunlit Freedom all the more precious when attained. Lengthier accounts of travel on the Underground Railroad abound, but few if any portray the experience with such compelling immediacy. (afterword) (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-538-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
Share your opinion of this book
More by R.J. Peete
BOOK REVIEW
by Holly Robinson Peete , R.J. Peete & Shane W. Evans ; illustrated by Shane W. Evans
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Shane W. Evans
BOOK REVIEW
by Kathleen M. Blasi ; illustrated by Shane W. Evans
by Susan Katz & illustrated by Robert Neubecker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2012
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Susan Katz
BOOK REVIEW
by Susan Katz & illustrated by Stacey Schuett
BOOK REVIEW
by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz & illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden
BOOK REVIEW
by Susan Katz & illustrated by Lee Christiansen
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.