A compelling read for teens interested in the STEM fields and an inspirational resource for science classrooms.
An underwater robot, a test to detect lead in water, a talking glove…would you believe all of these inventions were created by teenagers?
Estes highlights young people who have made great innovations, often spurred by circumstances. Jack Andraka, who lost a close family friend to pancreatic cancer, developed a test to detect the disease quicker by identifying a key biomarker. Born in Malawi, where 80% of the population live on what they can grow themselves, William Kamkwamba (whose family had neither running water nor electricity) recognized that windmills would mean both power and wisdom for his village, so he built one himself out of scrap parts. Estes includes a wide range of subjects, from the undocumented teens from Mexico living in the United States who built underwater robots to an Indian American teen who invented a method to purify water after visiting India with her family and observing children drinking from puddles, and explores the difficulties they have faced such as economic challenges, the fear of deportation, and bullying. The teens share wise words—on the importance of working hard and being willing to experiment, for instance. A list of next steps along with a glossary and website list for further research make this guide useful as well as inspiring. Sidebars delve deeper into scientific topics. The rich variety of individuals and projects highlighted will encourage budding scientists.
A compelling read for teens interested in the STEM fields and an inspirational resource for science classrooms. (Nonfiction. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72841-721-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An extraordinary tale of sisterhood and survival, told with simplicity.
A true story of two sisters—one Deaf and one hearing—and how they endured a perilous childhood in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
Herta Myers, 8, and Renee, 10, are sisters living in Bratislava, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia, during World War II. Renee is her family’s ears, as Herta and both of their parents are Deaf. They all communicate using sign language. Renee becomes so good at recognizing the sound of soldiers’ boots outside the window that she can warn her family of any danger. With narration traded between the girls, readers learn that the sisters are hidden on a farm with a couple who are also Deaf. Eventually, separated from their parents, the sisters’ journey leads them to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where their collective resolve is endlessly tested. This is a compelling story, exploring the role that senses play when one is in danger as well as presenting the candid recollections of everyday details of two children navigating appalling conditions during wartime. It is, however, a lot to process for kids who are as young as Herta and Renee were at the time of their most traumatic experiences. In the epilogue, co-author Greene reveals that this book is largely a compilation and interweaving of the transcripts of interviews that these two sisters gave to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.
An extraordinary tale of sisterhood and survival, told with simplicity. (poem, photographs) (Memoir. 10-14)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-75335-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
An uncritical account.
In this graphic biography, Libby (the future Statue of Liberty, depicted as a young Black woman) and the future Uncle Sam (a young White man) narrate the life story of Mohandas K. Gandhi, India’s most famous freedom fighter.
The book begins with Gandhi’s birth in 1860s India, at the time under British rule. Young Gandhi’s highly religious mother instilled in him a dedication to Hinduism that would famously last his entire life. The book continues with a description of Gandhi’s wedding to Kasturba Makanji at the age of 13, his departure to England to study law, and his eventual move to South Africa. In South Africa, Gandhi developed the tactics that would make him famous in India, including the practices of satyagraha and ahimsa—truth seeking and nonviolence, respectively—and the founding of ashrams where he could live a life of simplicity. Following a survey of Gandhi’s leadership in the Indian independence movement, such as the founding of the noncooperation movement and the organization of salt marches, the book ends with Gandhi’s assassination and his influence on civil rights movements throughout modern history. While the book is thorough, it is entirely laudatory, never addressing Gandhi’s well-documented early anti-Blackness or his misogyny. Additionally, while the book mentions leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it mentions no female or Dalit leaders, erasing the contributions of hundreds of freedom fighters who made Indian independence possible. Series companion Frida Kahlo: The Revolutionary Painter! publishes simultaneously.
An uncritical account. (Graphic biography. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64517-409-7
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Portable Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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