Introducing a dozen North American eco-activists, most of them teenagers or younger adults, Rohmer conveys one inspirational success story after another. With the notable exception of El Hijo Del Santo, a Mexican masked wrestler who stages public events to draw attention to a range of environmental issues, the “heroes” here at least began their work on a local, grassroots level. Alex Lin coordinates an initiative to refurbish discarded computers and other e-waste; Debby Tewa promotes and installs solar-power systems on Arizona’s Hopi Reservation; as a teenager Erica Fernandez stood up to protest the planned construction of a huge natural-gas pipeline through her California town. The author largely steers clear of technical details—which makes John Todd’s invention of biological-waste filters and Kelydra Welcker’s development of a method of testing water for the pollutant C-8 appear easier than seems likely—but provides plenty of encouragement for concerned young readers. Two-toned art and small, murky black-and-white photos add further notes of earnest purpose. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6779-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2009
In an entry in the Turning Point Inventions series, Wallace invites readers to consider the drawbacks of earlier forms of artificial daylight, from wooden torches to arc lamps, then retraces Thomas Edison’s intense, deliberate search for a practical electric light. Edison, inspired by a book of science experiments to become an inventor, combined a searching intellect with bulldog stubbornness, and can be credited not just with the light bulb itself, but also with the far more difficult accomplishment of engineering public acceptance of electricity in order to create a market for his invention. As much a readable character portrait as it is an account of the origin of a now-ubiquitous widget, Wallace’s book is generously illustrated with contemporary black- and-white and full-color photographs and views, and capped by a fold-out look at a lightbulb’s parts and assembly. Illuminating, of course. (bibliography, index) (Biography. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-82816-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Prose poems celebrate the feats of young heroines, some of them famous, and some not as well-known. Paul (Hello Toes! Hello Feet!, 1998, etc.) recounts moments in the lives of women such as Rachel Carson, Amelia Earhart, and Wilma Rudolph; these moments don’t necessarily reflect what made them famous as much as they are pivotal events in their youth that influenced the direction of their lives. For Earhart, it was sliding down the roof of the tool shed in a home-made roller coaster: “It’s like flying!” For Rudolph, it was the struggle to learn to walk without her foot brace. Other women, such as Violet Sheehy, who rescued her family from a fire in Hinckley, Minnesota, or Harriet Hanson, a union supporter in the fabric mills of Massachusetts, are celebrated for their brave decisions made under extreme duress. Steirnagle’s sweeping paintings powerfully exude the strength of character exhibited by these young women. A commemorative book, that honors both quiet and noisy acts of heroism. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201477-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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