A fair wealth of good information too often obscured by what feels like a desperate need to be liked.
A dozen vest-pocket profiles of notorious fugitives—good, bad, and, in the case of Typhoid Mary, ugly.
“If you’re going to change the world, you better be good at running and hiding,” writes DuMont at the start of this uneven collection of bold outlaws. Most of the characters are well-known figures—Cleopatra, Harriet Tubman, John Dillinger, Nelson Mandela—but there are also a handful of lesser-known but serious rabble-rousers: Koxinga (who hoped to restore the Ming dynasty from the Manchus), suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst, and Virginia Hall, who spied for the Allies during World War II. DuMont neatly notes the historical significance of these outlaws, and there is an entertaining collection of artwork to complement the text. But the title of the book gives away its weakness: DuMont overdoes it trying to be chums with her audience. “Spartacus and his new BFF, Crixus,” is typical, as is mention of Cleopatra’s “bling” or “Legend has it that [Martin] Luther was on the toilet when he had his ‘aha’ moment....Instead of stinking up the place for the next thirty minutes, he got to thinking.” It is not just that this approach is pandering, but it removes the subjects from the times in which they lived, thus failing to conjure distinct images about the characters in their particular surrounds.
A fair wealth of good information too often obscured by what feels like a desperate need to be liked. (Collective biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63220-412-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
After surveying “competing claims” for the first Thanksgiving from 1541 on, in Texas, Florida, Maine, Virginia and Massachusetts, Colman decides in favor of the 1621 event with the English colonists and Wampanoag as the first “because the 1621 event was more like the Thanksgiving that we celebrate today.” She demonstrates, however, that the “Pilgrim and Indian” story is really not the antecedent of Thanksgiving as we celebrate it today. Rather, two very old traditions—harvest festivals and days of thanksgiving for special events—were the origin, and this interesting volume traces how the custom of proclaiming a general day of thanksgiving took hold. Yet, since many Thanksgiving celebrations in towns and schools are still rooted in the “Pilgrim and Indian” story, which the author calls “true and important,” but which many Native Americans find objectionable, a more in-depth discussion of it is warranted here. The solid bibliography does include some fine resources, such as 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving (2001) by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac. (author’s note, chronology, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8229-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This sophisticated contender in the graphic nonfiction market opens with “The Story So Far,” setting the stage for the events that led to the bloody Civil War battle at Gettysburg. Clearly defined art and sharply delineated panels portray all of the horrors of battle: the numerous casualties, both human and animal, the impromptu and severely unhygienic operating rooms and the impact that this event had on those who lived there. A vast cast of characters—an even and improbable dozen—introduced early on does little to help readers follow the action. Rather, this feature obfuscates things, as many of the men have similar looks, varying only slightly in their coiffed hair or a hat and a mustache. It shines in its closing pages, compressing Edward Everett’s two-hour speech into a few panels and giving Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address a good 20 pages to make itself felt. Undoubtedly smarter and more astute than many of its graphic-nonfiction counterparts, this book should speak to those seeking a visual account. (map, author’s notes; footnotes, bibliography, not seen) (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-156176-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Bowen Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf