A fascinating introduction to a remarkable life.
The only woman awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross during World War II, Virginia Hall (1906-1982) was always “most original.”
Growing up in Baltimore, Virginia “was different from most girls of her time,” hunting, fishing, and collecting wild animals. Virginia’s “hunger to explore” led her to work for the U.S. Foreign Service in Turkey, where she shattered her left foot in a hunting accident, resulting in amputation below her knee. Undaunted, Virginia learned to walk with a wooden prosthesis, moved to Paris, and witnessed the German invasion and occupation of France. Volunteering as an ambulance driver until Paris surrendered, Virginia then became the first female undercover agent for the British, gathering information and assisting British pilots. Fleeing France, Virginia hiked over the snow-covered Pyrenees into Spain but eventually returned to France as an American spy disguised as a French milkmaid, transmitting radio messages about German troops and leading a French resistance group until the war ended. Repetition of the refrain, “Virginia was Virginia,” punctuates the factual text, introducing each amazing stage of her life. The book opens with a photo of Virginia’s passport, and Kelley’s realistic illustrations, appropriately rendered in somber hues, stark outlines, and arresting angles, highlight dramatic episodes. Suspenseful close-ups of Virginia spying on German soldiers in the French countryside add to the wartime atmosphere. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
A fascinating introduction to a remarkable life. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-56846-348-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Some issues with design and tone but a mostly worthy appreciation of the women who stood and stand (if, sometimes, only...
“We know Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, / but what about those other madams”?
For each first lady from Martha Washington (“Raised to be a planter’s wife, / taught how one behaves / as mistress of the household / and the household slaves”) to immigrant Melania Trump, Singer offers a thumbnail character study in verse that’s paired to an ink-and-wash figure by Carpenter. If there is any common theme, it’s mortality: Martha Jefferson, who died 19 years before her husband’s election, is represented by a framed silhouette over a silent pianoforte; Peggy Taylor lies prostrate before a tombstone; a veiled Jackie Kennedy looks out from an antique TV screen. Singer likewise often includes mention of lost husbands or children among references to favored causes and personal accomplishments. On the other hand, Mary Todd Lincoln, generously summed up as “an unlucky woman—kindly and cursed,” poses regally as her brown-skinned dressmaker (unnamed in the poem but identified in the endnotes) cuts up an American flag to make a gown while Abe stands nearby, gaping comically at a sheaf of bills. Brief profiles at the end add some detail but mostly just recap the poems’ content, and a pictorial timeline on the rear endpapers would serve as an index if the jacket flap didn’t cover a good portion of it.
Some issues with design and tone but a mostly worthy appreciation of the women who stood and stand (if, sometimes, only figuratively) next to the presidents. (Poetry/collective biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2660-0
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
Inspirational fare for uncritical younger capitalists and entrepreneurs.
A history of the Walt Disney Co., from Mickey to megacorporation.
Sichol folds in a highlights-reel profile of Walt Disney himself, noting that he started smoking as a teenager and died relatively young of lung cancer but avoiding any mention of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, or other controversial topics. Her real focus is his commercial offspring—beginning with the failed Laugh-O-Grams Films and chronicling the subsequent, more-or-less continual string of spectacular successes and major acquisitions that has led to Disney’s contemporary status as the world’s largest entertainment company. Along the way she points to at least some things that make Disney products and properties distinctive, and she also introduces a basic vocabulary of business terms and concepts, including bankruptcy, mortgages, market value, branding, and (ironically, since Disney’s profound influence on current copyright law goes unmentioned) intellectual property rights. In common with the co-published From an Idea to Nike, the author also inserts a boilerplate section explaining the significance of “Going Public.” Jennings adds quickly sketched cartoon line drawings to the pull quotes, definitions, and lists of “Fun Facts” that punctuate the well-leaded lines of both sunny tales of corporate expansion.
Inspirational fare for uncritical younger capitalists and entrepreneurs. (bibliography, source notes, timeline) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-45360-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
© Copyright 2026 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.
