A candid yet tender glimpse at a bleak chapter in U.S. history.
Star Trek actor and activist Takei looks back on a childhood marked by war and injustice, transformed by parental heroes.
Takei was 4 years old in 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Soon after, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, decreeing that Japanese American people be imprisoned in concentration camps. Takei and his parents and younger siblings were forced to leave their home in Los Angeles and live in a series of camps—first at the Santa Anita racetrack and later at Camp Rohwer, Arkansas, and Tule Lake, California. Takei offers an unflinchingly honest, child’s-eye view of these events: stalls stinking of horse manure and filled with bugs and germs, sweltering barracks guarded by sentry towers with armed soldiers. Mindful, though, of young readers’ sensibilities, he interweaves moments of levity and escape: movie nights, a baseball league, a dog named Blackie, a snowball fight, and more. His parents’ courage shines through, too: Mama transforming their dismal surroundings into a home; Daddy serving as manager of their block. Lee’s mixed-media illustrations depict children in brightly colored outfits set against backgrounds of earth tones and deep blues to capture readers’ attention and underscore the individuality of the imprisoned citizens. Lee also inserts visual details to complement Takei’s evocative text. An author’s note details the harassment Takei’s family experienced as they rebuilt their lives in L.A.
A candid yet tender glimpse at a bleak chapter in U.S. history. (glossary and pronunciation guide, photographs) (Picture-book memoir. 4-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780593566350
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Memorable art earns this biography a respectable place on the shelf.
George Washington Carver tended a secret garden of flowers before becoming known for his skill in agriculture.
The book opens in 1921 as Carver addresses the U.S. Congress, astounding them with dozens of uses for the peanut. The narration then takes readers back to Carver’s childhood to discover how he reached that career highlight. As a child, he loved flowers, but he was warned not to waste time on plants that couldn’t be eaten or sold, so he kept his colorful garden hidden in the woods. Shut out of schools because he was black, he studied nature independently and learned through experimentation. Eventually, he started caring for neighbors’ sick plants, becoming known as “the Plant Doctor.” At 12, he left the farm on which he was raised and attained a formal education, after which he taught students at the Tuskegee Institute and farmers with a mobile classroom mounted on a wagon. This journey through Carver’s childhood and accomplishments ends with Carver’s simple but memorable words, “Regard Nature. Revere Nature. Respect Nature.” The substantial text holds readers on each spread long enough to appreciate not only the subject matter of the painted illustrations, but Morrison’s artistic techniques—strong strokes and careful dots, artful combinations of textures and shapes—which create lush forest scenes and portraitlike human faces and forms. The childhood story feels more cohesive than the final pages, which list his adult accomplishments but lack the narrative thread.
Memorable art earns this biography a respectable place on the shelf. (timeline, bibliography, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-243015-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
