A worthy tribute to the legacy of a storied and inspiring American icon.
The inspiring story of how first lady Jackie Kennedy organized the first ever exhibition of the world-famous Mona Lisa on American soil.
The White House that the Kennedys moved into was a drab, poorly cared for mansion. Determined to revamp its image, elevate its importance, and restore its historical artifacts, Mrs. Kennedy set to work renovating and redecorating. In order to increase interest in art, music, dance, and literature, she started the custom of using the White House as a venue for art shows, concerts, dance recitals, and more. To get the American public enthused about arts and culture, she devised a plan to bring the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci’s 450-year-old masterpiece, to America, a feat that posed many risks and logistical challenges. After much negotiation with the French government, Mrs. Kennedy succeeded in having the loaned painting displayed in two American museums. This nearly forgotten story is narrated simply with a deferential undertone. Bricking’s soft watercolor illustrations evoke nostalgia and skillfully bring the historical period to life. Murphy succeeds in showing how the new, youthful first lady, schooled in the arts and admired by the American public for her fashion style and French affiliation, exerted a huge influence on U.S. culture. While the role of first lady has evolved over the years, Jackie Kennedy’s trailblazing work remains relevant for today’s young readers. Background characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A worthy tribute to the legacy of a storied and inspiring American icon. (author's note, additional facts) (Picture-book biography. 6-10)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-53411-117-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
A must for school and public libraries and those who love them.
Any library school student or librarian who doesn't know the name of Anne Carroll Moore is greatly remiss; this book will set them right.
“Miss Moore” was the primary force in establishing library service for children in 1906 at the New York Public Library. And a force she was. Beginning with her childhood, the story relays how her strong-willed nature and independence led her to challenge the societal taboos of the times and demand the rights of children to books and library services. To counter the argument that children would damage or forget to return books, she instituted a pledge for children to sign: “When I write my name in this book I promise to take good care of the book I use at home and in the library and to obey the rules of the library.” Pinborough’s affectionate portrait paints her hero as larger than life, an indomitable promoter of books and reading, and an inspiration for improved library service to children around the world. Atwell’s acrylic illustrations have a folk-art look, befitting the time period and conveying the spirit of this doyenne. The image of Miss Moore taking down a giant “SILENCE” sign in the children’s room speaks volumes.
A must for school and public libraries and those who love them. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)Pub Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-47105-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
A worthy companion for Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee’s Baseball Saved Us (1993).
Kenichi Zenimura built a baseball legacy in the Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.
Zeni grew up loving everything about the game of baseball and made a career as a successful player and manager in local leagues around California. Small but mighty, he played in exhibition games in Japan with the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. After Pearl Harbor, he and his family were sent, along with thousands of other Japanese Americans, to heavily guarded internment camps to live in barracks behind barbed wire. He was determined to provide a hint of normalcy and pleasure to his people amid the hardships, and what better way than to build a baseball field and organize teams. With hard physical labor and loads of ingenuity, he and his sons and fellow inmates did it all, creating a sense of community along the way. In language that captures the underlying sadness and loss, Moss emphasizes Zeni’s fierce spirit as he removes every obstacle in order to play his beloved baseball and regain a sense of pride. Shimizu’s Japanese calligraphy brush–and-ink illustrations colored in Photoshop depict the dreary landscape with the ever-present barbed wire, with that beautiful grassy baseball field the only beacon of hope. Much-needed biographical and historical information is provided in an afterword.
A worthy companion for Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee’s Baseball Saved Us (1993). (author’s note, artist’s note, bibliography, index) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: April 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0521-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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