“When I was young and still wore slavery’s yoke, I was saved by hollyhocks, and a white man’s kindness.” So begins the tale of a little girl, born into slavery on a Georgia plantation. Her mother is sold and the only remembrance Priscilla has of her are the hollyhocks she planted. Old Sylvia teaches her how to make hollyhock dolls and float them on the pond. Priscilla is soon put to work in the big house and meets a white man named Basil Silkwood, who tells her she’s smart and should be in school. When the master dies, she’s sold to a Cherokee family and is a part of the painful Trail of Tears march. Incredibly, on her way through a town, she recognizes Silkwood and speaks out to him. He follows the march to the encampment and buys Priscilla’s freedom. She becomes a part of the Silkwood family and plants the hollyhocks with these words: “Grow, I sang to the seeds. Bloom, I commanded the plants. Safe, I told myself. Home.” Simple, bold colorful paintings enhance a text many young readers will be able to decipher. Historical note and instructions to make a hollyhock doll are appended. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-57091-675-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book of the basic teachings of Buddha, presented through a collection of six classic, simple tales. When a monkey takes refuge from a monsoon in a cave, he happens upon a group of bickering animals—a monkey, lion, turtle, jackal, and dove. Before the fighting becomes too fierce, a small statue of Buddha begins to glow in the darkest corner. To pass the time—and to stop the fighting—wise Buddha spins enlightening stories of tolerance, endurance, sagacity, truthfulness, kindness, and clarity. Buddha recounts his past lives in many forms—from monkey to pigeon to willow tree—to his captive listeners. Such straightforward yet profound tales combine with the art and design for an example of bookmaking that is aesthetically pleasing in every way. Color-washed linoprints cleverly distinguish the stories from the black-and-white narrative frame, while an informative afterword offers brief background detail about Buddha and these six “birth stories” known as Jatakas. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 8, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-33548-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Working with a potent mix of history and speculation, Clayton takes on the mystery and intrigue that continues to surround the disappearance of Prince Edward and Prince Richard from the Tower of London in 1483. After the death of their father, King Edward IV, the two princes were taken to the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, supposedly for their own safety until Prince Edward’s coronation. According to this epistolary picture book, Jane, the guard’s daughter, enters into a lively correspondence with the young princes, who have seen her from their tower window. When she learns that they are in danger, she leads them to a rowboat docked nearby and they are able to escape. The hurriedly written exchanges and the shadowy settings of the illustrations offer suspense; an afterword explains that the princes’ actual fate is unknown. The landmarks of 15th-century London, maps, a timeline, and a family tree that illustrates the progression of the royal line help bring the story to life; the only weakness is in Clayton’s renderings of human figures, which are poorly drawn and inconsistent. The story is so delightful, and the premise so ripe that most readers will be willing to overlook the flaws of the art. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70984-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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