Brown (Ruth Law Thrills a Nation, 1993) describes an astonishing feat without fanfare or needless adulation, in a story of a little-known automobile pioneer. In delicate watercolors, using a palette and pen-and-wash technique familiar from his first book, Brown tells the story of Alice Ramsey, the first woman to drive across America. She undertook her venture in 1909 with three women and a promise of car-repair assistance from the Maxell company, maker of the touring car and sponsor of the trip. Her journey offers readers a unique perspective on the US at that time: It was varied (hogs in the farmland, miles of railroad track in Chicago, gravelly arroyos in Wyoming) and vast (the seemingly limitless horizon of Nebraska and little more than a sandy path through Nevada). An arrival in San Francisco is enlivened by much flag-waving in the illustration, one more variation on the compositions that reveal cool nights, hot sunny plains, and lush mountainous forests. Brown leaves the story spare and true, with touches of humor; readers have enough information to pursue facts in other books, among them Patricia Rusch Hyatt's Coast to Coast With Alice (1995). It's quite a story, and Brown quietly reminds readers that it's also quite a triumph. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-70127-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
© 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
