Complications abound in a graphic novel related in brief narrative boxes plus dialogue (some of it in both Spanish and English) in hundreds of b&w comic-book frames. Sarah has been told (falsely) that her mother died; Carlos can't understand why an old blind man is so interested in a subway token he's found. The two kids team up and eventually learn the truth: the evil Mr. Underton was blinded by Sarah's mother 11 years ago when he tried to steal the token that's the source of power for the metropolis (N.Y.C.), which will freeze if the token isn't delivered to safekeeping each December 21 by Sarah's mother (and, someday, by Sarah). With neat feats of derring-do but uncharacteristically lumpy plotting and motives (Stubbs hides from his wife for 11 years, fearing she'll hate him—to keep her love, he leaves her?), this isn't quite fish or fowl. Still, robust spirits run appealingly amok until the expected triumph of good. Author (and publisher) get high marks for experimenting with a new genre, though this may not be the book to make it fashionable. A bold venture that will probably entertain the young more than their elders. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-531-06800-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1993
Translated from Yiddish, five wonderful stories by a well- loved author (1859-1916) who spent his last ten years in the US. The setting is the Russian village that Aleichem knew as a boy, where poverty is a familiar presence even in the comfortable households depicted here. Four of the stories concern holidays—a Purim dinner at a rich uncle's home, when the young narrator disgraces himself with uncontrollable laughter at the absurd singing of a ridiculous cousin; two brothers canvassing a fascinating assortment of relatives for Chanukah money; an odd but plausibly scholarly Pesach guest absconding with the family valuables; and, most touching, a grandfather recounting, with rueful generosity, the homecomings of his many improvident children. A last story describes a father's urgent, increasingly comical efforts to repair the family clock—which finally falls from the wall and smashes because he has added such a ludicrous array of weights. Each story offers several memorable portraits, satirical yet affectionate, as well as a rich taste of a village life that was permeated with religious observances. Shevrin's translation is lively and colorful, effectively conveying Aleichem's pungent humor and darker undercurrent; she also includes an excellent introduction on the author and on the art and demands of translation. To read aloud! Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-684-19237-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
A moving account of the formation and valiant record of the first black regiment (a story also told in the film Glory), from the firing on Fort Sumter to an 1887 reunion. Cox, a prize-winning journalist, has woven an impressive amount of research into his straightforward narrative; battle details put readers on the scene with compelling immediacy, while they also learn how these men proved their competence and dignity against incredible odds—including not only their struggles with the Confederacy (which at first planned to treat black prisoners of war as mutinous slaves) but also the cruel effects of racism on their own side (e.g., the devastating hardship inflicted on soldiers' families by the government's failure to honor its promise to give them the same pay as whites). There are frequent, effective quotes from participants and from luminaries, including Charlotte Forten and Frederick Douglass, whose son was a member of the 54th. A distinguished presentation of the historical record. Bibliography of sources; b&w photos and index not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-590-44170-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
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