An enchanting tale of a 15th-century artist that emphasizes attributes and skills we need today.
“It was a small bowl, not much bigger than the palm of her hand, which looked like it had a field of flowers forever blooming across its surface.”
Ezra Jack Keats Award winner Turk puts his research skills, art-history knowledge, and artistic talent to the test in this gleaming, imagined account of the development of 15th-century glass artist Marietta Barovier, believed to be the rediscoverer of millefiori glass. This technique was invented by the Romans and lost until Barovier’s time, when it was recalled in the rosetta bead. Poetic yet accessible text sparkles with clarity as it portrays the artistic sensibility and discerning eye of a young girl inspired and encouraged by her renowned father but initially barred from the family’s glasswork studio, as such occupation was seen as suitable only for men. Meanwhile, illustrations inspired by works of Renaissance, impressionist, and abstract art show the young Barovier and her light-filled world: the moody radiance surrounding the canals of Venice, the glow of the glassworks studio, the colorful, luminous array of glass beads she is thought to have created. Clearly a labor of love, this ethereal and striking selection incorporates imagination, art, creativity, and women’s history in a story that emphasizes dedication, resilience, and innovation.
An enchanting tale of a 15th-century artist that emphasizes attributes and skills we need today. (author’s notes) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1034-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy.
Through the author’s own childhood diary entries, a seventh grader details her inner life before and after 9/11.
Alyssa’s diary entries start in September 2000, in the first week of her seventh grade year. She’s 11 and dealing with typical preteen concerns—popularity and anxiety about grades—along with other things more particular to her own life. She’s shuffling between Queens and Manhattan to share time between her divorced parents and struggling with thick facial hair and classmates who make her feel like she’s “not a whole person” due to her mixed White and Puerto Rican heritage. Alyssa is endlessly earnest and awkward as she works up the courage to talk to her crush, Alejandro; gushes about her dreams of becoming a shoe designer; and tries to solve her burgeoning unibrow problem. The diaries also have a darker side, as a sense of impending doom builds as the entries approach 9/11, especially because Alyssa’s father works in finance in the World Trade Center. As a number of the diary entries are taken directly from the author’s originals, they effortlessly capture the loud, confusing feelings middle school brings out. The artwork, in its muted but effective periwinkle tones, lends a satisfying layer to the diary’s accessible and delightful format.
An authentic and moving time capsule of middle school angst, trauma, and joy. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8-13)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77427-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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