by David A. Adler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2014
A valuable addition to the presidential-biography shelf.
An absorbing portrait of an iconic president known as much for his adventurous nature as his robust political life.
Presidential biographies present a challenge in that many of the facts are familiar, and Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was such a colorful character that he continues to be an attractive subject for young readers. As indicated by his title, acclaimed biographer Adler focuses on Roosevelt the adventurer, documenting how a determined Roosevelt grew from a sickly, bookish child to an energetic young man devoted to politics. His exploits in the wild and as a Rough Rider share page space with his personal challenges and stories of his lively family. Adler does not shy away from the less-attractive aspects of Roosevelt’s presidency. Much has been made of his dinner with the African-American leader Booker T. Washington. “But he did not support easier access for blacks to the voting booth. He did not appoint a great number of blacks to federal jobs. And in 1906 he seemed to cross the line and support unequal treatment of blacks” with the Brownsville Affair. In addition to an engaging narrative, this volume is replete with illustrations: photographs, political cartoons of the period, even drawings done by Roosevelt himself. Adler’s research is supported by a detailed timeline, source notes, bibliography, picture credits and index.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2950-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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by Saundra Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2016
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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by Kathleen Krull & illustrated by Boris Kulikov ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2006
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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