by Dawu Yu ; illustrated by Dawu Yu ; adapted by Yan Liu ; translated by Crystal Tai ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2020
Beautifully rendered drawings are a feast for the eyes, but engaging historical context is lacking.
Part architectural tour, part intro to Chinese history and culture, this book showcases one of China’s most famous landmarks.
Beijing is one of the world’s oldest cities, and its architectural layout was begun during the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century. It was further developed during the Ming (14th to 17th centuries) and Qing dynasties (17th to 20th centuries). This book showcases Beijing as it was during the Qing period, China’s last royal dynasty. Like many traditional Chinese cities, Beijing was built symmetrically, with a central axis that forms its backbone. Major buildings were placed on either side of the axis, with the Imperial Palace, also known as the Forbidden City, at the center. Yu takes readers on a walking tour along the nearly 5-mile-long central axis, starting at the south end of the city and ending in the north. Stops include old Beijing’s business district, Tiananmen Square, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where business, official ceremonies, and banquets took (and still take) place. Colorful, finely detailed illustrations are placed, often symmetrically, over double-page spreads; one double gatefold depicts the Forbidden City’s grand architecture. The illustrations are breathtaking, but unfortunately, the text is not. Readers learn that on either side of the central axis, “buildings share the same color scheme and style but differ in size and height.” The author tries to liven up the somewhat dry descriptions and recitation of historical facts with sidebars of “Fun Facts” and “Knowledge Tips,” but the small, dense text, set in italicized, low-contrast, brown type, can be a chore to read.
Beautifully rendered drawings are a feast for the eyes, but engaging historical context is lacking. (timeline, glossary, afterword, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-949736-03-8
Page Count: 42
Publisher: 1 Plus Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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by Richard Panchyk ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
Rabid fans might take a swing at this, but younger or less well-informed ones will get a better sense of how the game is and...
A crazy quilt of baseball high spots and memories, distilled from interviews with over 500 former major leaguers and managers.
Though stitched into chronological chapters and, despite the subtitle, covering 19th-century baseball too, Panchyk’s labor of love ends up less a coherent, unified whole than an anecdotal jumble of incidents, records, and firsts. He also seems determined to stuff as many names into his narrative as possible, so that familiar stars such as Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams are nearly shouldered aside by a dizzying swarm of smaller fry. And though some offer personal reminiscences about how they broke into the major leagues, too many contribute only the vague platitudes that players still use. The illustrations are largely decades-old photos of players, tickets, and printed programs, and the history turns decidedly threadbare once it reaches the 21st century. Sidebars on nearly every spread mix miniessays on topics ranging from baseball nicknames to select no-hitters with at-times questionable hands-on activities; one suggests announcing part of a real game and then playing the recording back to an audience, which is possibly illegal, for instance.
Rabid fans might take a swing at this, but younger or less well-informed ones will get a better sense of how the game is and was played elsewhere. (index, timeline, resources) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61374-779-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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by Michael L. Cooper ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2014
A dramatic narrative, richly illustrated and solidly supported.
The history of firefighting in the United States is explored through the stories of 10 important fires.
Some are familiar stories, others less well-known. It begins with the largest in Colonial history, the Boston fire of 1760 that some saw as judgment from God even as they sought to make improvements in the city’s ability to respond to future blazes. The change in city skylines that occurred after the Chicago fire is discussed, and fires in Baltimore, New York and San Francisco in the early 20th century, deemed the “great urban fires,” led to important changes in regulations, building codes and firefighting techniques. Workplace tragedies such as the one that occurred at the Triangle Waist Company led to changes in laws protecting workers. The devastating loss of life in the attacks on the World Trade Center demonstrated the vulnerability of modern buildings. The volume concludes with a look at one of California’s worst wildfires. Each of the 10 incidents seems carefully chosen to provide a different angle to the history of American firefighting. Readers can chart progress and setbacks as firefighters worked to improve their techniques and communities attempted to make their buildings and environments safer.
A dramatic narrative, richly illustrated and solidly supported. (museums to visit, recommended reading, websites, source notes, glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9714-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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