In this incredible true story, a poor Japanese boy, through fate and enterprise, bridges the cultural gap between Japan and America at a time when Japan was isolated from the world. In 1841, 14-year-old Manjiro and four other fishermen became castaways on a desert island for six months until rescued by an American whaling ship. The resourceful, adaptable Manjiro soon became Captain Whitfield’s favorite, eventually returning to Fairhaven, Mass., where Whitfield educated and mentored him. Initially regarded as a foreigner, the enterprising Manjiro became a popular, respected member of the community, but never forgot his family in Japan. He subsequently worked on a whaling ship and in the California gold rush to save enough money to return to his native land, where he was instrumental in teaching Japan about America. The historically rich text and the realistic watercolor illustrations capture Manjiro’s life and times—both in Japan and New England—making this a first-rate introduction to a relatively unknown young figure in Japanese-American relations. (author’s note, map, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-374-34792-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
The text of a 1974 picture-book biography of the poet Langston Hughes is reprinted, with new illustrations. The narrative focuses on Hughes’s youth, describing how the break-up of his parents’ marriage led to an unsettled childhood spent first with his storytelling grandmother and later, in adolescence, with his often unemployed mother. From these experiences, coupled with a disappointing relationship with his embittered father, grew Hughes’s passion for setting down in verse his pride in his people. Unfortunately, the text itself demonstrates little passion, and almost no sense of poetry—a sad absence in a book about one of the 20th-century’s greatest American poets. An author’s note, new for this edition, indicates that a passion for the subject is there, despite appearances; it seems that here Walker has simply succumbed to the “dumbing-down” syndrome that afflicts so many writers for adults when they turn their pens to children’s books. The elegance of her prose for adults is largely missing in this offering, which features choppy, pedestrian language instead: “This [discrimination] made Langston mad. He thought it was stupid for white people not to hire him just because his skin was black.” Deeter’s muted illustrations do little to compensate for the lackluster text; mostly static, they at times verge on the sentimental. One exception to this is a striking, Dillon-like composition that pictures a monumental black man growing organically out of the land around the Mississippi; this accompanies one of the two poems included in the text, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The writer of those poems deserves better than this. No bibliography or source notes are included. (Picture book/biography. 7-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-021518-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The compelling lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan are interwoven with quotations from their own writing in a choppy, flat, rehashing of the now-familiar story of Keller’s vast potential and the brilliant teaching skills that grew to make Helen’s social and intellectual life rich, but negated any semblance of a personal life for Anne. Though touched upon, several questions about relationships remain unanswered and basic motivations are glossed over, namely decisions regarding marital and family relationships. Brief insights into the nature of some of Keller’s major obstacles are succinctly summarized and enlarged by well-chosen selections from Helen’s biographies, yet still lack the depth and insight a fuller telling allows. In addition, well-selected and appropriately placed black-and-white photographs enhance the telling, but are standard fare chosen from various photo archives. What is perhaps most annoying is the writing style itself: paragraphs of two to three short, declarative sentences and an avoidance of contractions and complex sentence structure create the sense of a basal reader. Included in the “In Their Own Words” series, Sullivan’s clear introduction to Helen’s story teaches the difference between primary and secondary sources, but does not internally demonstrate the proper use of documentation. His primary and secondary resources are broken down in the bibliography and include further reading suggestions, as well as a listing of organizations that could provide supplemental report information. Satisfying the requirement for 100-page biography reports, this adds little else to the field. (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-14751-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
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