by Gavin McCumiskey ; illustrated by David Butler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 2016
Through storm, burning cold, dehydration, disease, all 28 men returned after 22 “unexpected” months at sea; the book’s a...
History has always had its ages of exploration, but the start of the 20th century is right up there.
Here in crisp novel format is Ernest Shackleton’s brainstorm—oh, call it a fever dream—to cross the Antarctic continent via the South Pole, an effort doomed when his approach vessel froze in pack ice in 1915. The story gets down to this: Shackleton tries to make sure that all 28 men on his expedition get home—the dogs and the cat don’t make it, ahem—in a story so preposterous that it has become legend. McCumiskey coaxes drama from the episode—dying of the cold, starvation, or wasting disease could be like watching grass grow—and Butler’s artwork brings emotional Technicolor to the land of white. His craggy linework is heroic even as it conveys the horrific conditions. Once on South Georgia Island, the men drive nails through their boots to climb the ice-encrusted mountains to get to the whaling station on the other side. Here we meet many of the book’s cruxes: “Always keeping a brave face, Shackleton knows the key to survival is all about keeping spirits high. He has come so far that he isn’t going to let nails piercing the soles of his feet stop him now.”
Through storm, burning cold, dehydration, disease, all 28 men returned after 22 “unexpected” months at sea; the book’s a success, too—no small feat for an oft-told tale. (Graphic nonfiction. 10 & up)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-84889-281-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: The Collins Press/Dufour Editions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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by Ibtisam Barakat ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2007
It’s the first night of the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and Arab countries. Three-year-old Ibtisam, hunting frantically for a shoe, loses her family as they join the throng of anxious Palestinians fleeing Ramallah into Jordan. Desperate hours will elapse before the family is reunited. This beautifully written memoir of the author’s childhood on the Israeli-occupied West Bank unfolds against a harsh backdrop of war and cultural displacement. The family endures poverty, separations and frequent relocation. Yet life goes on, by turns surprising, funny, heartbreaking and rich with possibility. In an overcrowded Jordanian school-room housing refugees, Ibtisam discovers Alef, the first letter of the Arab alphabet, and a key unlocking the magical world of written words. Courageous and curious, but by no means always well-behaved, Ibtisam and her brothers find ways to assert their strong wills in defiance of the authorities that govern their lives. The injustices that rankle come at the hands of parents and teachers, not broader geopolitical realities. A compassionate, insightful family and cultural portrait. (map, historical note, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10+)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-374-35733-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
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by David Weitzman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010
Weaving together architectural, engineering and Native American history, Weitzman tells the fascinating story of how Mohawk Indian ironworkers helped construct the sprawling bridges and towering skyscrapers that dominate our urban landscape. The book begins with a brief but informative history of the Kanien'kéhaka—People of the Flint. Leaders in establishing the League of the Iroquois, a confederation of Indian nations in the New York region, Mohawks had a longstanding reputation for their sense of tight-knit community, attraction to danger and love for physical challenge, qualities that served them well when hired in the late 1800s to do the most arduous work in railroad and bridge construction. With the advent of the skyscraper, Mohawks possessing agility that seemed gravity-defying worked hundreds of feet above the ground. They were not immune to tragedy, and the author discusses in detail the collapse of the Québec Bridge that killed 31 Mohawk workers. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that capture the daring spirit of these heroic workers, the concise, captivating account offers great insight into the little-known but considerable role Native Americans played in our architectural and engineering achievements. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-162-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman
BOOK REVIEW
by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman
BOOK REVIEW
by David Weitzman & illustrated by David Weitzman
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