The artistic condescension and incongruities make this a marginal offering at best.
On Dec. 12, 1531, in newly colonized Mexico City, the Virgin Mary appeared to an Aztec farmer, Juan Diego, and spoke to him in Nahuatl, his native language, telling him to ask the bishop to build her church.
Despite Mary’s command, the Spanish bishop refused to comply until, after repeat visits, Juan Diego opened his cloak and roses cascaded out, revealing the image of Mary with the skin tone and features of an Indigenous Mexican woman. The bishop finally relented and had the church built on the hill of Tepeyac, where millions visit to this day. Demi’s retelling is both often at odds with the historical record and unabashedly Euro-centric: “In 1519 AD, the powerful Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, landed in Mexico.” Cortes arguably was not a “conquistador” prior to the Mexican campaign. He had been a bureaucrat and owner of Indigenous slaves in Hispaniola and Cuba. Additionally, Demi’s familiar style is incongruous against the setting of 16th-century Mexico. Juan Diego and his fellow Aztecs are garbed in sombreros and clothing from the Mexican Revolution—more than 300 years in the future—and the Spanish conquistadors bear a resemblance to images of Mongol warriors. Furthermore, the Virgin herself appears more Asian then Aztec, and Juan Diego’s childlike depiction belies the fact that he was 57 at the time. Demi also fails to portray the modern basilica even though she ends her retelling in modern Mexico.
The artistic condescension and incongruities make this a marginal offering at best. (further information) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-937786-73-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
With Souza’s book, this could have bookended the Obama years. But it’s more of a bookend and a paperweight.
Lucidon’s adaptation of her adult book Chasing Light (2017) for the kindergarten-to–second-grade set aims for the photographic splendor of Pete Souza’s Dream Big Dreams (2017), which celebrates what made the Obama administration both historic and extraordinary.
The author gives context for the first lady’s roles as well as the role of a White House photographer and the White House itself, including descriptions of the storied hued rooms. Within that framework, Lucidon shows Michelle Obama performing her duties inside and outside what she called “the People’s House.” However, it’s arguable that enough books exist detailing the duties and the building. What readers likely want from this book is to understand what exactly made Obama’s tenure as incredible as her husband’s. For example, the author calls Obama “Visitor-in-Chief,” but she most famously called herself “Mom-in-Chief” and validated many black mothers in a national discourse that constantly denigrates them. Considering this, it’s regrettable that the book includes relatively few photos of Obama with her family. Other missed opportunities abound, as when Lucidon fails to explain why black girls dancing under Lincoln’s portrait is significant in light of Obama’s first ladyship even as she acknowledges it is “a special moment in history.”
With Souza’s book, this could have bookended the Obama years. But it’s more of a bookend and a paperweight. (Nonfiction. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-64400-2
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Let this one fly away.
Young Maria Merian had a passion for butterflies and moths that led to a lifelong, convention-defining career of natural-history illustration.
When the young artist was growing up in 17th-century Germany, butterflies and moths were thought to arise through spontaneous generation and women interested in insects might be seen as witches. Still, Maria not only painted the insects she saw around her, she brought home silkworms and studied them, watching their metamorphosis and painting what she saw, including their favorite plants and flowers. Continuing to observe and paint from nature in her adult life, she also taught and published books of her illustrations, raised a family, and traveled as far as Suriname to explore the natural world. In contrast to Margarita Engle and Julie Paschkis’ Summer Birds (2010), in which a first-person narrative captures Maria’s childhood voice and joy in the natural world and the illustrations demonstrate the culture’s changing approach to nature, Marsh and Vanzo present a more distant, staid story for young readers. Vanzo’s illustrations, drawn with pencil and digitally colored, are modestly realistic, more so for the insects than humans (all white, including in Suriname). Sadly, the monarch butterflies that intrigue freckle-faced Maria in these images don’t exist in Germany. Even the title is unfortunate: Butterflies and moths are not bugs. An author’s note provides further information about this early naturalist. A few of the artist’s original illustrations are included and sourced, but no sources are given for other information.
Let this one fly away. (Picture book/biography. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-9257-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
