by Diane Bailey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2019
A fascinating subject and good storytelling combine for a winning text.
The “Princess of the Press” gets carefully researched treatment in this narrative biography.
Born in 1862 to enslaved parents, Ida B. Wells became a teacher, a journalist, an activist, and a speaker, and her words carried far and influenced and educated many about the evils of racism. The book’s opening scene throws readers into Wells’ decision, at the age of 16, to brave travel from her grandmother’s home where she was staying back to her hometown of Holly Springs, Mississippi, to take care of her younger siblings, newly orphaned by yellow fever. As her determination to fulfill her duty to her family is illustrated in this scene, so her other character traits are illustrated throughout the book in detailed, well-written scenes: her outrage at being treated unjustly when a train conductor and bystanders forcibly removed her from a railroad car; her determination to speak the truth in the face of injustice even though it might be dangerous or alienate others, as when she publicly criticized Booker T. Washington; her stage fright when speaking to a crowd about lynching. Extensive use of Wells' diaries allows an intimate look at her feelings and experiences, and other primary sources offer humanizing peeks at her faults and quirks. Despite some abrupt transitions throughout, the text moves forward quickly and sustains interest. Potentially new vocabulary words are set off in bold and defined in a glossary.
A fascinating subject and good storytelling combine for a winning text. (glossary, endnotes, bibliography) (Biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2485-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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More In The Series
by Len Berman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2010
In no particular order and using no set criteria for his selections, veteran sportscaster Berman pays tribute to an arbitrary gallery of baseball stars—all familiar names and, except for the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, retired from play for decades. Repeatedly taking the stance that statistics are just numbers but then reeling off batting averages, home-run totals, wins (for pitchers) and other data as evidence of greatness, he offers career highlights in a folksy narrative surrounded by photos, side comments and baseball-card–style notes in side boxes. Readers had best come to this with some prior knowledge, since he casually drops terms like “slugging percentage,” “dead ball era” and “barnstorming” without explanation and also presents a notably superficial picture of baseball’s history—placing the sport’s “first half-century” almost entirely in the 1900s, for instance, and condescendingly noting that Jackie Robinson’s skill led Branch Rickey to decide that he “was worthy of becoming the first black player to play in the majors.” The awesome feats of Ruth, Mantle, the Gibsons Bob and Josh, Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and the rest are always worth a recap—but this one’s strictly minor league. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-3886-4
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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More by Len Berman
BOOK REVIEW
by Len Berman
by Victoria Garrett Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2010
A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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