A handsomely produced and properly tantalizing overview of rare treasures from both the series and the cultural context that...
An album of highlights from the British Library’s 2017 exhibit commemorating the 20th anniversary of Harry’s first publication.
The exhibit, scheduled to cross the pond in 2018, will eventually get a full catalog, but in the meantime, this makes a handsome place holder. Arranged to reflect the Hogwarts curriculum (“Potions and Alchemy,” “Defense Against the Dark Arts,” etc.), the sections each offer a mix of drawings and work-in-progress pages from J.K. Rowling’s archives, images from old manuscripts or printed books, pictures of artifacts (notably a 3,000-year-old cauldron and a real bezoar), and splendid Renaissance-style portraits of select characters by Jim Kay. Along with such fan-wowers as Rowling’s original typed synopsis of the first episode and a deleted chapter from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, glimpses of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, ancient Chinese oracle bones, an Ethiopian book of charms, and a Thai divination manual testify to the exhibition’s historical and geographical reach. The accompanying notes include introductions to both Leonardo and the real Nicholas Flamel along with quick comments on witchcraft, alchemy, herbology, and diverse occult practices—plus pull quotes from the novels and a few perfunctory recipes for “potions” or other hands-on activities. Nods to spinoffs, from one of the author’s handwritten copies of The Tales of Beadle the Bard to the screenplay and set for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, bring Harry’s epic tale up to the present.
A handsomely produced and properly tantalizing overview of rare treasures from both the series and the cultural context that inspired its magical setting and world. (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-26710-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
© Copyright 2025 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.
