In 1937, Tibet had been without a Dalai Lama for four years. The search for the successor to the 13th holder of that title, the political and religious leader of the tiny, secretive nation, led to the small village of Takster and a two-year-old named Lhamo Thondup. Kimmel’s narrative biography traces the early life of this important world leader from his designation as the Tibetan God-King through his education and early dealings with China to his breathtaking escape to India at 16 and the formation of his government-in-exile. The author clearly explains Tibetan history, life and customs as well as difficult terms and religious concepts. However, when the same words or confusing Tibetan names resurface, there is no glossary for forgetful readers to refer to. Similarly, there is a selected bibliography and list of online resources, but no foot- or endnotes for facts and quotations in the text. That said, this readable, accessible, at times page-turning account fills a gap in information on the life of H.H. the Dalai Lama for this age group. Final art (not seen) will include photographs with captions. (index) (Biography. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59643-394-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Kostyal has written a tight, bracing biography of the renowned Antarctic explorer, illustrated with dramatic black-and-white photographs. Shackleton, a man whose sense of romance and adventure repeatedly drew him from conventional British society to Antarctica (“that lonely, windswept desert of ice and snow at the bottom of the world”), succeeded neither in reaching the South Pole nor traversing the continent, but he exhibited such remarkable valor that, according to the author, his name has become “synonymous with bravery and endurance.” As usual, there is more about his expeditions than the man, but Kostyal renders the tale in vivid prose that is enhanced by maps, quotes, a timeline and some remarkable photographs. This quality book will be a useful addition in both home and school libraries. (map, chronology, index) (Biography. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7922-7393-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
Yannuzzi (Wilma Mankiller, 1994, not reviewed), awkwardly rehashing information better handled by one of her sources—Mary Lyons's Sorrow's Kitchen (1993)—seldom peeks below the surface of Hurston's checkered literary career and notably unstable private life. A luminary of the Harlem Renaissance, Hurston later became an enthusiastic collector of African-American tales, lore, and cultural practices—but, unable to hold on to money, friends, husbands, or benefactors, died in poverty and remained almost forgotten until the mid-1970s. Through a selection of telling incidents and brief quoted comments, Hurston's intelligence and strong personality come across, but her written work is passed over virtually unassessed in a dry recitation of titles and content summaries that reads like CIP notes. Yannuzzi does not explain how an author supposedly endowed with ``a big talent and a strong will to succeed'' met with such mixed reviews and produced so many rejected manuscripts; readers will come away with only vague ideas of the quality of Hurston's thought or writing. This may be more detailed than Patricia McKissack's shorter Zora Neale Hurston, Writer and Storyteller (1992), but it offers no further insight. (b&w photos, chronology, notes, bibliography, glossary, index) (Biography. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-89490-685-2
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
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