The story is an important one, but this vehicle can’t carry it.
Benjamin Sterling Turner, the first African American elected to the U.S. Congress from the state of Alabama, is the subject of this picture-book biography.
Rosner and Gaillard tell the story in Turner’s voice, opening with his enslavement and his “yearning for an education,” which “would come alive” during “the reading mornings” when he would sneak and listen to his owner, Mrs. Turner, read aloud to her children. Turner was a tenacious learner. Children who are familiar with stories about Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass will notice this parallel with his contemporaries. From this book, readers learn that Turner was an interesting man who amassed a fortune twice before his death, raised a son alone after his first wife was sold away, and was elected to Congress despite having been born enslaved. However, a problem that presents almost immediately is that this book is related in the first person and therefore reads as though it is an autobiography. The authors mention both this decision and their sources in an opening note, but their fairly unorthodox choice unacceptably blurs the line between the facts of Turner’s life and fictional embellishment. Drawing on secondary resources for detail and Turner’s few recorded writings for his style, the authors put words in his mouth; a representative example: “I cannot say [my owner] was altogether unkind.” With no specific citation for this or other assertions, it is impossible for readers to know whether this was authentically Turner’s feeling or authorial imposition.
The story is an important one, but this vehicle can’t carry it. (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-58838-356-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NewSouth
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful argument for seeing and celebrating color.
The love and appreciation of color shines through this vibrant retrospective on activism, courage, and resistance.
As an emphatic corrective to the oft-repeated but misguided phrase “I don’t see color,” luminous digital illustrations offer an unabashed education in race, culture, and the history of hard-fought social justice wins. An omniscient narrator sees a full palette, from the “smoky quartz” of Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich, Tlingit activists whose advocacy led to the United States’ first anti-discrimination laws, to the “golden embers” of Native Hawaiian protesters such as Haunani-Kay Trask, who pushed for the U.S. government to acknowledge its role in overthrowing the Kingdom of Hawaii. Using color as a framework that goes beyond skin and race, this picture book celebrates well-known people and their accomplishments, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches or the labor activism of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez. The book also illuminates often-overlooked figures, such as Fred Korematsu, who brought a Supreme Court case against the U.S. government in 1944 over the incarceration of Japanese Americans; Madonna Thunder Hawk, who fought tirelessly against the Dakota Access Pipeline; and Ayọ Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Cullors, who founded the Black Lives Matter movement. Each color that’s emphasized, from “powdered oak” to “gleaming stardust,” not only paints a rich portrait but also provides texture to a cause or cultural context. Backmatter includes authors’ notes and brief bios of the illustrious figures included throughout to guide further research.
A powerful argument for seeing and celebrating color. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9780063234260
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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