With uncommon brio, Thimmesh traces the course of women in the modern international political arena, profiling with even-handed admiration pivotal figures, from Susan B. Anthony to Condoleezza Rice and Benazir Bhutto, who have left, or are leaving, “a lasting footprint—whether it be pointy-toed and spike-heeled or rubber-soled and loosely laced—on the very bedrock of America” and the world. Jones debuts with a gallery of freely drawn, but recognizable portraits, alternating with a running subplot involving a circle of adults and children in exaggerated, theatrical poses unsuccessfully trying to persuade a child to give up her stubborn determination to become president of the US. Capped with a timeline, and a stunning mosaic of the White House made from thousands of microscopically tiny photos of girls and women, this natural follow-up to Lynne Cheney’s more populous but US-focused A Is For Abigail (2003) offers a spectacular mix of entertainment, information, and inspiration. (source list, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2004
ISBN: 0-618-39666-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2004
In what has, for no discernable reason, become a rush to publish biographies of Bell, this emerges as the least formal, most approachable of the pack. MacLeod (I Heard a Little Baa, 1998) takes the great inventor, familiarly dubbed “AGB,” from Edinburgh to Ontario, on to Boston, and finally to his estate in Nova Scotia, giving his public and private lives equal attention, capturing his vast range of interest from aeronautics to audiology, and bringing his familiar exploits to life. A stubby caricature of Bell guides readers through full but not overcrowded collages of family photos, manuscript pages, simple diagrams, period advertisements, and newspaper illustrations. This is just a glimpse of the man, of course, and those who want to take a longer look can start with either the web sites listed at the back, or move on to Tom L. Matthews’s Always Inventing (p. 69). (index) (Biography. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-456-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
To the true story of Mary Anning, a pre-Darwin fossil hunter who made a major discovery at the age of 11, Anholt adds a folklorish spin. Derided by other children and set apart by surviving a bolt of lightning, Mary assembles such an impressive collection of “snakestones” and “curiosities” from the clay cliffs around her Dorset village that two female scientists take her under their wings. Later, after the death of her father, known as “Pepper” for his speckled beard, she meets a similarly speckled dog, who becomes her constant companion and, before disappearing, leads her to a giant, spectacular marine fossil. Tumbling cottages and spectral dinosaurs across a crumpled landscape, combining swirls of vivid color with disparate perspectives, Moxley creates a hectic, feverish visual rhythm for the tale, but anchors her scenes with Mary’s small, solid figure, in no-nonsense braids and brown shift. A tale that is frequently, and more conventionally, told elsewhere, it lends itself well to such an atmospheric, crackling rendition. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30148-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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