by Audrey Ades ; illustrated by Chiara Fedele ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2021
Ably makes useful connections.
Two activists’ paths overlap as they call out systems of injustice.
Joachim Prinz was born in 1902 in Germany, and he became the country’s youngest rabbi in 1926. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Prinz spoke up against antisemitism and was arrested several times before finally leaving Germany for the United States in 1937—where he was dismayed to find Black people being deprived of equal rights, as Jews had been in Germany. Meanwhile, Martin Luther King Jr. experienced segregation as a boy in the 1930s. When he became a leader of the civil rights movement, the two leaders met, supported each other, and fought together. The juxtaposition of these two leaders’ paths and the explanation of what their causes, beliefs, and communities had in common is, in Ades’ hands, a well-woven historical tale that is worth sharing and spreading. The culmination of the story in 1963 at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom allows young readers to see both that King was not the only speaker at that famous event and that those by his side had also worked for years. The illustrations focus largely on the main figures but also offer scenes of daily life in Germany and the United States. Scenes of protest are styled, scrapbooklike, as black-and-white faux photos against monochromatic backgrounds. Details from each leader’s childhood add depth to their stories, and the focus on silence as the enemy points to readers’ responsibility to speak up against injustice.
Ably makes useful connections. (timeline, glossary, resources) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-54158-976-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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by Hudson Talbott ; illustrated by Hudson Talbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2021
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel.
A slow reader gains confidence.
Strongly influenced by Talbott’s own childhood reading journey, a young tot with a mop of brown hair and pale skin loves art, but reading doesn’t come as naturally. Crayons and colored pencils create imaginative worlds, but the words on a page crowd together, forming an impenetrable wall, with the youngster barely able to peer over. The rest of the class seemingly soars ahead, turning page after page, but the books (in the protagonist’s mind) give chase, flying menacingly like a scene from Hitchcock: “And they were coming for me! / So many words! So many pages!” Talbott expertly captures the claustrophobic crush of unknown vocabulary, first as a downpour of squiggles from the sky, then as a gnarled, dark forest with words lining the branches. But reading slowly doesn’t mean not reading at all. The youngster learns to search for familiar words, using them as steppingstones. And there are advantages: “Slow readers savor the story!” There is even a “Slow Readers Hall of Fame” included, featuring Albert Einstein, Sojourner Truth, and many others. Talbott excels at evincing concepts visually, and this talent is in evidence here as his protagonist first struggles then gains mastery, surfing confidently down a wave of words. Patience and curiosity (along with some fierce determination) can unlock incredible stories. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-399-54871-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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by Lesa Cline-Ransome ; illustrated by James E. Ransome ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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