Wiles draws on memories of her childhood summers in Mississippi in her first picture book, a slice-of-life story about Joe, a Caucasian boy, and his best friend, John Henry, an African-American boy whose mother works as a housekeeper for Joe’s family. The setting is the Deep South in the summer of 1964, the period called Freedom Summer for its wide-ranging social changes following passage of the Civil Rights Act. Joe and John Henry have spent all their summers together, working around the rampant prejudice of the era and maintaining their friendship even though they can’t swim in the public pool together or walk into the local store to buy a pair of ice pops. When the new law takes effect, the boys race together to the public pool only to find it being filled in with asphalt by city workers. John Henry’s hurt and shame ring true in the text, but Joe’s precocious understanding of the situation outstrips his age. (“I want to see this town with John Henry’s eyes.”) An author’s note at the beginning of the book describes her experiences and the atmosphere in her own hometown during this era, when some white business owners preferred to close down rather than open their doors to African-Americans. Younger children will need this background explanation to understand the story’s underlying layers of meaning, or the filling-in of the swimming pool will seem like a mindless bureaucratic blunder rather than concrete prejudice in action. Teachers and parents could use this book as a quiet but powerful introduction to the prejudice experienced by many Americans, and of course the book is a natural to pair with the story of another, more-famous John Henry. Vibrant full-page paintings by talented French-born artist Lagarrigue capture both the palpable heat of southern summer days and the warmth of the boys’ friendship. (Picture book. 6-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83016-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
This is a comprehensive, fact-filled, and stunningly illustrated history of the Statue of Liberty. It begins with an explanation of why the French came up with the idea in the first place, and how the brilliant young sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi became interested in the project that was to be his obsession for the next 15 years. Bartholdi decided where the statue must stand as soon as he laid eyes on what is now Liberty Island. “Here . . . my statue must rise; here where people get their first view of the New World.” A brief description of neoclassicism is followed by the history of the statue’s construction and the engineering feats it required. The statue was constructed in separate stages and, after the head was built, it was exhibited in the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878. The head was pulled through the streets of Paris in a cart pulled by 13 horses (the double-page spread of Liberty’s head crossing a bridge in Paris is alone worth the price of the book). There are hardly any women mentioned or pictured in the book, and Curlee addresses this by pointing out the irony that the statue exemplifying the spirit of liberty was erected at a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote. Acrylic paintings reproduced in full color from photographic transparencies are the artistic medium, and the appealing, interesting palette of blues, blacks, and bronzes captures the ambition and majesty of the project. While the text is occasionally pompous, and perhaps not as much fun as the Betsy and Guilio Maestro book on the same subject, Liberty is an engaging and useful resource for the classroom and library. (specifications, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82823-3
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2000
Three years ago, 12-year-old Brit Alannah Malarra's ghost-hunting parents vanished on a mission to the Scottish Highlands. She took up the family business, but with highly mercenary objectives. She uses her psychic powers to get rid of ghosts with the help of her lock-picking buddy, 11-year-old Wortley Flint, her housekeeper's son, but she snatches any treasures the ghosts guard. Certain they're alive, Alannah uses the fortune to fund the hunt for her parents. On a routine ghost hunt, Alannah stumbles upon a gate to the Dark Dimension and the A.N.G.E.L. agents (Attack-ready Network of Global Evanescent Law-enforcers) from a higher realm tasked with keeping it closed. Notorious Gnarl Krot is about to unleash his Gargoyles and Ghouls on Earth as a stepping stone to Evan City; only Alannah and A.N.G.E.L. agent Flhi Swift stand in his way. Newbound's debut effectively sets up the milieu for his projected series and keeps the pages turning with laughs and suspense. However, Alannah's avarice is a bit alarming at times despite her good intentions, and the title's change from the original British Demon Strike will mystify readers. (Funny paranormal adventure. 8-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-22938-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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