An engaging volume that will encourage both budding scientists and anyone intrigued by the creative process.
Nikola Tesla’s curiosity and passion for discovery are on full display in this picture-book biography.
From the time he was a small boy, Serbian-born inventor Nikola Tesla was fascinated by electricity. It wasn’t long before he began to notice everything about this power and ways to make it more effective. As he traveled the world, working, learning and inventing, he was constantly looking for a way to develop electricity using alternating current, a method he believed would be safer and cheaper than the direct current that was in use. When he came to the United States, he sought the help of Thomas Edison, a proponent of direct current, and the two inventors eventually found themselves rivals after initial collaboration. Despite powerful opposition, Tesla’s ideas ultimately prevailed. This is a lively introduction to the life of an important figure in technology, someone whose ideas are still at the center of today’s world. Rusch highlights key episodes in Tesla’s creative life that will resonate with young readers. Dominguez’s graphite, gouache, ink and acrylic paintings capture both the inventor’s focus and his exuberance, ably complementing the narrative. The backmatter, with attention to Tesla as visionary, his rivalry with Edison and additional discussion about his work with electricity, answers questions without interrupting the story flow.
An engaging volume that will encourage both budding scientists and anyone intrigued by the creative process. (sources, bibliography, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5855-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject.
The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering.
An honestly told biography of an important politician whose name every American should know.
Published while the United States has its first African-American president, this story of John Roy Lynch, the first African-American speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lays bare the long and arduous path black Americans have walked to obtain equality. The title’s first three words—“The Amazing Age”—emphasize how many more freedoms African-Americans had during Reconstruction than for decades afterward. Barton and Tate do not shy away from honest depictions of slavery, floggings, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, or the various means of intimidation that whites employed to prevent blacks from voting and living lives equal to those of whites. Like President Barack Obama, Lynch was of biracial descent; born to an enslaved mother and an Irish father, he did not know hard labor until his slave mistress asked him a question that he answered honestly. Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, Lynch had a long and varied career that points to his resilience and perseverance. Tate’s bright watercolor illustrations often belie the harshness of what takes place within them; though this sometimes creates a visual conflict, it may also make the book more palatable for young readers unaware of the violence African-Americans have suffered than fully graphic images would. A historical note, timeline, author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography and map are appended.
A picture book worth reading about a historical figure worth remembering. (Picture book biography. 7-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5379-0
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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