A salutary gallery of monarchs—or at least monarchial types.
A wide-angled survey of men who ruled—and not just empires or countries.
Crowning a series that began with Drimmer’s The Book of Heroines (2016) and Crispin Boyer’s The Book of Heroes (2016) and publishes simultaneously with Drimmer’s The Book of Queens, this gathering of glitterati covers not just historical heads of state from Akbar to Shaka Zulu, but also fictional ones such as T’Challa of Wakanda. Readers will also meet Martin Luther King Jr. and other “Kings of Change,” “Aristocrats of Action” (Babe Ruth, Dwayne Johnson), preeminent performers (Elvis, Lin-Manuel Miranda), and sci-tech sovereigns such as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Compiled with an eye to examples both good and bad, the roster includes an admixture of tyrants, losers, and deposed rulers, and it closes with a blanket summary of positive characteristics supposedly common to great leaders. Despite occasional flubs, such as an all-white selection of “Emperors of Exploration,” said roster also shows commendable racial and geographic diversity—and even includes queens and other notable women in frequent sidebars (in case, apparently, readers don’t want to check out or buy two books). The profiles range from two pages in length to a quick paragraph, and they focus more on quick summaries of accomplishments (or failures) than biographical details. Though the layout has a dense look, the bright colors and graphics, as well as a plethora of photos, period images, and fanciful but realistically modeled modern portraits, provide plenty of life and visual energy.
A salutary gallery of monarchs—or at least monarchial types. (index) (Collective biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 9781-4263-3533-4
Page Count: 176
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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