“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” It’s the most famous line in our most famous political document, neatly expressing what our country stands for. The Declaration of Independence has been called “the nation’s birth certificate” and, as our manifesto of liberty, has warranted many fine studies; this is another. Fifty-six short biographies tell the stories behind the document. Each biography starts with a lively lead sure to lure readers into each story. It’s a volume fun to browse, encouraging dipping in at will and looking for interesting anecdotes. Who was the youngest signer? The oldest? Who signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Which signer had a niece more famous than he? Which signer do some historians consider the first president of the United States? The choice of font and the scratchboard illustrations lend a feeling of authenticity, as if the text is straight from a colonial newspaper. The volume is nicely organized, with an introduction providing the historical context for the biographies that follow and the afterword tracing the role of the document in subsequent American history. Fradin (Who Was Ben Franklin?, 2002, etc.) reminds readers of two misconceptions about the Declaration: July 2, 1776, was the day independence was voted on and should be the day we celebrate; July 4th was simply the day the document was adopted. Also, contrary to what most Americans think, the document was not signed by most members until later in August, not in a ceremony on July 4th. The volume, quite similar to Fink’s out-of-print The Fifty-Six Who Signed, will be a great resource for students doing research, though the bibliography only contains works for adult readers and not many recent works. This will be a fine match with Freedman’s Give Me Liberty! (2000) (maps, illustrator’s note, index) (Nonfiction. 10+ )
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8027-8849-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2002
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history.
In spare verse, Lowry reflects on moments in her childhood, including the bombings of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima.
When she was a child, Lowry played at Waikiki Beach with her grandmother while her father filmed. In the old home movie, the USS Arizona appears through the mist on the horizon. Looking back at her childhood in Hawaii and then Japan, Lowry reflects on the bombings that began and ended a war and how they affected and connected everyone involved. In Part 1, she shares the lives and actions of sailors at Pearl Harbor. Part 2 is stories of civilians in Hiroshima affected by the bombing. Part 3 presents her own experience as an American in Japan shortly after the war ended. The poems bring the haunting human scale of war to the forefront, like the Christmas cards a sailor sent days before he died or the 4-year-old who was buried with his red tricycle after Hiroshima. All the personal stories—of sailors, civilians, and Lowry herself—are grounding. There is heartbreak and hope, reminding readers to reflect on the past to create a more peaceful future. Lowry uses a variety of poetry styles, identifying some, such as triolet and haiku. Pak’s graphite illustrations are like still shots of history, adding to the emotion and somber feeling. He includes some sailors of color among the mostly white U.S. forces; Lowry is white.
A beautiful, powerful reflection on a tragic history. (author’s note, bibliography) (Memoir/poetry. 10-14)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-12940-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
PROFILES
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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