With affection, warmth, and deep pride, the youngest son of the highest-ranking member of the New York City Fire Department to die on 9/11 has written the story of his father’s life and unswerving devotion to his job. The style is conversational and often inspirational as Ganci briefly traces his father’s childhood, beginning as a firefighter and rising through the ranks, where he combined leadership with a sense of humor. Relying on accounts of survivors, Ganci then tells of his father’s last moments, helping to direct rescue efforts and rushing into the North Tower just moments before it fell. His concluding words are a tribute to all those who died and an elegy to a father whom he obviously loved dearly. The many color photographs are credited on the acknowledgment page and a brief glossary explains terminology used. Even though the mood can be somber, young readers will find that Pete Ganci was a lively and energetic man, husband, father, and proud chief. (Biography. 8-11)
Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-44386-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2003
paper 1-57505-370-5 In this valuable addition to the On My Own Biography series of easy readers, Lowery (Georgia O’Keeffe, 1996, etc.) renders an intriguing and lucid portrait of the man often referred to as the most celebrated artist of the 20th century. The book begins with young Picasso puzzling over math equations. Finding math difficult, he came up with an inventive alternative, swirling and bending numbers on the page until they became fanciful creations. As a boy, Picasso was often sent to a “cell” as punishment for his lack of academic focus, but there he found the long hours nothing but pleasant, doing just what he loved best, “drawing, drawing, drawing.” This book takes readers on a journey through the highlights of Picasso’s life, visiting his Blue Period, his Rose Period and lingering over cubism. Lowery also makes clear Picasso’s mercurial and tempestuous nature, describing his swings from flamboyant rage to ecstatic joy. She aptly demonstrates how Picasso’s art became an expression of his character and his character an extension of his art. In pleasing textures of oil on canvas and warm hues, Porter’s accompanying illustrations quite nicely echo the art of its subject. (photos, chronology) (Biography. 8-11)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1999
ISBN: 1-57505-331-4
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With but a light sprinkling of names and dates, Myers condenses his Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary (1993) to picture- book length. Myers takes readers through his subject’s childhood and turbulent career, pausing for significant episodes (such as a white teacher’s suggestion that he’d be better off studying carpentry than law), supplying samples of his vivid rhetoric, and tracing his movement toward visions of a more inclusive, less violent revolution. Placing realistic portraits of X and other icons of the civil rights movement against swirling backdrops of faces and street scenes, Jenkins captures a sense of tumultuous times. What emerges most clearly is a portrait of a complex, compelling spokesman who was growing and changing up to the moment he was cut down. (Picture book/biography. 6-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-027707-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
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