Rebecca Putney, ``Bobbin Girl,'' gazes out from the cover of this exceptional work and draws readers into the fascinating lives of the young women who were part of the unique social and industrial milieu of the mills in 19th-century Lowell, Massachusetts. Rebecca, ten, works at the mill to help her mother's finances. The excitement of employment—of young, independent women living, working, and learning together—is effectively contrasted with the need, ultimately, to strike. Judith, an older girl whom Rebecca admires, inspires the work stoppage; Rebecca decides for herself whether she, too, will struggle for better working conditions. Exquisite watercolors are perfectly integrated into the text, extending it and amplifying it. Many marvelous spreads—workers filing into the imposing factory, girls gathered in a boardinghouse parlor, an outdoor rally, and, especially, a tumble of girls rushing down stairs and out of the factory into the light—beckon readers into another era. A careful author's note offers background; this is a perfect classroom companion to Katherine Paterson's Lyddie (1991). Some will say McCully (The Pirate Queen, 1995, etc.) has surpassed herself. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1827-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
Offering a glimpse into the early years of the Canadian fur trade, this tale of a young Métis’s coming-of-age is driven as much by its historical detail as by plot. While waiting for his father, a voyageur, or guide, to return to Fort William for the great summer gathering of traders called the Rendezvous, the narrator helps rescue a “gentleman,” whose canoe is damaged in a squall, and so earns the coveted red sash that marks him too as a voyageur. Meanwhile, Debon’s precisely drawn aerial view of the fort and broadly brushed scenes of Europeans and native residents in period costume fill in the setting. Supplemented by a long note, a glossary and a map, the episode comes off as purposeful, but there’s enough drama to rescue it from aridity. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-88899-589-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Penner explores the mysterious legends of the unicorn from around the world in this beginning chapter book in the Stepping Stones series that follows the same format the author used for her previous exploration of dragon legends. The attractive cover shows a white unicorn silhouetted against a turquoise sky, with a circular logo clearly stating the work is fantasy. However, the boundaries of fact and legend are not so clear within the text. Short excerpts from legends are set in italics, but other unicorn myths are presented within the text as retellings of actual events or practices, blurring the line between the mythical and the historical. The final chapter details ways that people have attempted to create fake unicorns from other animals such as goats and bulls. Grant’s full-color illustrations of unicorns with flowing manes and tails will appeal to young horse lovers and unicorn devotees. (Nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2005
ISBN: 0-375-83008-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2005
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