Broader in purview than most such celebratory guides, though it represents a pre-pandemic reality.
A summertime tour of child-friendly sites and sights in the Big Apple, from the Bronx Zoo to Rockaway Beach.
Spinning off from the Little Kid Big City website and Instagram account, this effervescent travelogue is arranged as a series of self-chosen itineraries. After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, for instance, readers have the option of turning to one page to explore Brooklyn Bridge Park and other attractions on that side of the East River or turning to another to head back toward the National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan. The book exists in a pandemic-free vacuum, and the fact that many of the stops, shops, and festivals highlighted here are either closed or, at best, offering limited access for the foreseeable future goes unmentioned. Nor do the racially and ethnically diverse groups of smiling, casually posed figures in Maher’s bright, informally drawn street scenes wear masks or practice social distancing. But though Beckman plays a bit fast and loose with her facts too (New York’s transit system is arguably not “the world’s oldest”), in making her selections of places worth visiting she delivers more than perfunctory nods to the city’s outer regions. A foldout map (not seen) and a set of URLs and further details about each stop at the end will (under non-pandemic circumstances) help prospective young visitors plan their excursions. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
Broader in purview than most such celebratory guides, though it represents a pre-pandemic reality. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68369-244-7
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasingly lucid look at a complicated relationship, it should prove revelatory to an audience unaccustomed to such nuance.
Though John Adams and Thomas Jefferson “...were as different as pickles and ice cream,” they were able to work together to fight for America’s independence—for a while.
In the late 1770s, they developed conflicting ideas about government and aligned with opposing political parties. When John Adams was elected as the second U.S. president, Jefferson was elected vice president. This exacerbated their rocky relationship, and when Jefferson was ultimately elected president over Adams, their friendship ended. Over a decade would pass before they spoke again. The team that created George Did It (2005) now brings to light both the trials and tribulations of these two notable leaders and the turbulence of early American politics. Energetic watercolor-and-pencil drawings accurately represent the late 18th century, showing the dress, style and architecture of the period. Feisty narration paired with amusing illustrations makes light of sticky situations, as when Jefferson physically restrains an angry Adams from assaulting King George and Adams moves himself out of the White House in the dead of night. Although quotations are not specifically sourced, the selected bibliography reveals a wealth of research, including several primary sources.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-525-47903-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fragmentary memoir, but warm, humorous and engaging overall.
Anecdotal paintings and reminiscences of two childhood years spent in China, by an artist now in her 90s.
Following up Once Upon a Full Moon (2007), an account of her family’s journey from Canada to Kwangtung province, Quan recalls 17 experiences or incidents during the stay. These include feasting on New Year’s Day (“Mama steamed a whole chicken inside a winter melon and made sweet red and green bean paste…”), gathering to watch a teen relative take a bucket shower (“We all laughed with glee”), and welcoming both a new piglet and, later, a new baby brother. Opposite each memory, a full-page, loosely brushed watercolor in a naïve style adds both cultural and comical notes with depictions of small, active or intent figures in village dress and settings. It’s a sunny picture, but there are references to the real dangers of pirates and brigands, as well as a comment about the author’s beloved Popo (grandmother) walking to church on bound feet. These, along with a final parting made particularly poignant since the baby, being foreign-born, had to be left in China for several years, keep it from becoming a sugary nostalgiafest.
A fragmentary memoir, but warm, humorous and engaging overall. (afterword, with photo of Popo) (Illustrated memoir. 6-9)Pub Date: March 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-77049-383-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
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