by Barb Rosenstock ; illustrated by Terry Widener ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2014
DiMaggio’s remarkable hitting streak is freshly presented for a new generation of fans.
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak is considered one of the greatest feats in baseball and the one least likely to be replicated.
Everyone expected Joltin’ Joe to pound out the hits, but as the consecutive games mounted up, the excitement built as well. The year 1941 was a difficult time, and people needed something to cheer about. “That one perfect summer” was the last summer of peacetime. All eyes were on DiMaggio each time he came to bat, and newspaper headlines screamed the daily tally. Rosenstock’s game descriptions capture the momentum and let readers see and feel the events as if they were at the games. Along with play-by-play for some of the key hits, there’s some fascinating information about DiMaggio’s proud and determined character, as well as some lesser-known events. His favorite bat, “Betsy Ann,” was stolen during the streak, later recovered and then broken. Widener’s expansive, double-page illustrations, rendered in acrylic on bristol paper, in earth tones of green and gold, are larger than life, elongating DiMaggio as he takes his stance, rounds the bases or grips his bat. Each occurrence of the hit count and the word “streak” stands out from the rest of the text in heavy red display type.
DiMaggio’s remarkable hitting streak is freshly presented for a new generation of fans. (afterword, author’s note, statistics, source notes, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-59078-992-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
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by Victor Hinojosa & Coert Voorhees ; illustrated by Susan Guevara ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2020
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject.
The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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by Jennifer Dussling ; illustrated by Chin Ko ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures.
Abraham Lincoln’s ascent to the presidency is recounted in a fluid, easy-to-read biography for early readers.
Simple, direct sentences stress Lincoln’s humble upbringing, his honesty, and his devotion to acting with moral conviction. “Lincoln didn’t seem like a man who would be president one day. But he studied hard and became a lawyer. He cared about people and about justice.” Slavery and Lincoln’s signature achievement of emancipation are explained in broad yet defined, understandable analogies. “At that time, in the South, the law let white people own black people, just as they owned a house or a horse.” Readers are clearly given the president’s perspective through some documented memorable quotes from his own letters. “Lincoln did not like slavery. ‘If slavery is not wrong,’ he wrote to a friend ‘nothing is wrong.’ ” (The text does not clarify that this letter was written in 1865 and not before he ascended to the presidency, as implied by the book.) As the war goes on and Lincoln makes his decision to free the slaves in the “Southern states”—“a bold move”—Lincoln’s own words describe his thinking: “ ‘If my name ever goes into history,’ Lincoln said, ‘it will be for this act.’ ” A very basic timeline, which mentions the assassination unaddressed in the text, is followed by backmatter providing photographs, slightly more detailed historical information, and legacy. It’s a pity that the text is accompanied by unremarkable, rudimentary opaque paintings.
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures. (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243256-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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