A family’s love and devotion to each other and to the game of baseball, depicted lovingly.
At a time when local baseball was part of the American landscape, one family fielded its own team.
The Acerra family numbered 16 children, 12 of whom were brothers who all loved to play baseball. The boys played in high school and later formed their own semi-pro team. They played wherever they could get a good game and were known as highly skilled players and crowd pleasers. They shared a special closeness and loyalty, joking and teasing, but always looking out for one another. That loyalty extended to a love of country as six of them fought in World War II, which was the first time they had been separated. After the war they continued to play in local leagues, with younger brothers taking over when big brothers aged out. In 1997 they were recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame as the all-time longest playing all-brother team. Employing descriptive, conversational language in a matter-of-fact tone that doesn’t sentimentalize, Vernick tells of a remarkable family, part of what has come to be known as "the greatest generation." Salerno’s lively drawings, rendered in black crayon, gouache, watercolor and pastel with digital color added, complement the action, striking a balance between detail and expansiveness.
A family’s love and devotion to each other and to the game of baseball, depicted lovingly. (author’s note; artist’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-38557-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Told in the voice of an old tree at the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Mo., this fictionalized biography provides a simple—one might even say simplistic—introduction to Carver’s early life. The tree-as-narrator device gets more than a little silly, with the tree proclaiming, “I’m just a tree so I don’t know what a president is,” and, “I don’t know what a computer is,” while it seems to know a lot of other things, like that racial segregation is unjust. Just skimming the surface of Carver’s life and work may have its place in some settings, but most readers will be disappointed in the lack of information provided here as well as by the patronizing tone. Colorful illustrations painted with acrylics brighten the story. Wilson-Max’s folk-art style complements Carver’s life and the period he lived in, giving the book a childlike and rustic appeal. End pages boldly display both the peanut and sweet potato plant complete with labels. Instead of an author’s note there are questions and answers “For Further Discussion.” This section also includes a quote from and photograph of Carver. There are better treatments out there; give this one a miss. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2325-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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