Desperate to learn to read, 8-year-old Olemaun badgers her father to let her leave her island home to go to the residential school for Inuit children in Aklavik, in Canada’s far north. There she encounters a particularly mean nun who renames her Margaret but cannot “educate” her into submission. The determination and underlying positive nature of this Inuvialuit child shine through the first-person narration that describes her first two years in boarding school, where their regular chores include emptying “honey buckets.” The torments of the nun she calls “Raven” are unrelenting, culminating in her assignment to wear a used pair of ill-fitting red stockings—giving her the mocking name found in the title. The “Margaret” of the story is co-author, along with her daughter-in-law. Opening with a map, the book closes with a photo album, images from her childhood and from archives showing Inuit life at the time. The beautiful design includes thumbnails of these pictures at the appropriate places in the text and Amini-Holmes’ slightly surreal paintings, which capture the alien flavor of these schools for their students. A moving and believable account. (Memoir. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55451-247-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
A story with easy appeal for fans of coming-of-age adventures and Star Wars.
An underdog finds confidence and the courage to share his love of filmmaking with his community.
As a middle child and junior high school student, Mark battles insecurities about his height and weight. His siblings (younger and older) outperform him in sports. Bullies push him around and call him “Tattoo,” an uncomfortable (and likely mystifying) reference to the television series Fantasy Island. Deriving little comfort from his mother’s favorite saying, “Big things come in small packages,” Mark dreams of bulking up on summer vacation so his crush, Lisa Gorman, will finally notice him. However, when a new movie set in a galaxy far, far away inspires Mark to embark on his own filmmaking project, he discovers another way to build his confidence. In this graphic memoir, Tatulli reflects on his own struggles with body image and the beginnings of his passion for creating art. The comic-book format invites readers to participate in Mark’s creative process as he develops his Star Bores spoof. Full spreads show his storyboarding and each of his hacks for designing costumes and props without a budget. An animated art style contributes to the lighthearted liveliness of the conflict. Panels depict the author, his family, and Lisa as white; his classmates are diverse, including pal Kevin, who is black. Overall, Tatulli’s story shares a positive message about dedication and overcoming obstacles through imagination and creativity.
A story with easy appeal for fans of coming-of-age adventures and Star Wars. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-44049-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Encapsulates the bravery, intrigue, and compassion that defined a generation, presenting a history that everyone should...
Fifty years on, readers reminisce with a young black girl who recalls how black sanitation workers launched a movement for equal rights and safer working conditions and stayed committed to justice amid tragic loss.
Basing her story on the true accounts of Dr. Almella Starks-Umoja, Duncan creates 9-year-old Lorraine Jackson to tell the full story of the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968. The story begins not with the entrance of Martin Luther King, who would arrive in March, but in January, when the tragic deaths of two black garbagemen due to old, malfunctioning equipment added to calls for change. The author’s choice to not focus on the singular efforts of King but on the dedicated efforts of community signals a deeply important lesson for young readers. Strong historical details back up the organizing feat: “In the morning and afternoon, for sixty-five days, sanitation workers marched fourteen blocks through the streets of downtown Memphis.” The narrative is set in vignettes that jump between verse and prose, set against Christie’s bold paintings. Lorraine learns that “Dreamers never quit” after reminiscing on what would be Dr. King’s final lecture, delivered on April 3. The struggle doesn’t end with King’s death but continues with the spotlight cast by Coretta Scott King on the sanitation workers’ demands. “Freedom is never free,” Lorraine notes before closing with the thought that it remains our mission to “Climb up the MOUNTAINTOP!”
Encapsulates the bravery, intrigue, and compassion that defined a generation, presenting a history that everyone should know: required and inspired. (Picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62979-718-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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