A highly metaphorical account of the creation and installation of the Statue of Liberty furnishes plenty of poetic and patriotic fervor but little objective substance. Addressing a hypothetical child looking up at the statue, heightened language enjoins readers to “[l]isten to the wind against her and you may hear the sounds of ropes pulled taut and creaking wood, and wind-filled canvas;” the occasional explication appears below in a smaller typeface, explaining that sculptor “Bartholdi traveled from France to America to explain what he hoped to build. . . . ” Monumental illustrations, mostly full-bleed, double-paged spreads, track the building, display, transportation, and installation of the Statue, expanding the poetic text in fine fashion. The illustrations are almost too reverential, but the occasional inspired spread leavens the tone, as in one illustration of busy roofers hammering the gargantuan copper toes of Lady Liberty. Unfortunately, there is no such leavening for the language, which, although beautiful, inevitably succumbs to sentiment: “[A]s people’s dreams awakened around her, the love and the hope she must have felt!” This emotional manipulation renders the offering just another piece of propaganda, however artfully done. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-000100-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
A lovely 20th-anniversary tribute to the towers and all who perished—and survived.
A remarkable tree stands where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once soared.
Through simple, tender text, readers learn the life-affirming story of a Callery pear tree that grew and today still flourishes “at the foot of the towers.” The author eloquently describes the pre-9/11 life of the “Survivor Tree” and its heartening, nearly decadelong journey to renewal following its recovery from the wreckage of the towers’ destruction. By tracking the tree’s journey through the natural cycle of seasonal changes and colors after it was found beneath “the blackened remains,” she tells how, after replanting and with loving care (at a nursery in the Bronx), the tree managed miraculously to flourish again. Retransplanted at the Sept. 11 memorial, it valiantly stands today, a symbol of new life and resilience. Hazy, delicate watercolor-and–colored pencil artwork powerfully traces the tree’s existence before and after the towers’ collapse; early pages include several snapshotlike insets capturing people enjoying the outdoors through the seasons. Scenes depicting the towers’ ruins are aptly somber yet hopeful, as they show the crushed tree still defiantly alive. The vivid changes that new seasons introduce are lovingly presented, reminding readers that life unceasingly renews itself. Many paintings are cast in a rosy glow, symbolizing that even the worst disasters can bring forth hope. People depicted are racially diverse. Backmatter material includes additional facts about the tree.
A lovely 20th-anniversary tribute to the towers and all who perished—and survived. (author's note, artist's note) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-48767-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
How did hot dogs become so popular? asks Sylver in this popular history of the wiener. Well, it sure wasn’t because folks watched how the frankfurter was made—egads!—but two words do come to mind: salt and fat. The author does note that, but she is more inclined to delve into the dog’s history—it may well be the hoariest of junk foods; Homer knew about sausages and slipped them into the Odyssey—and explore their cultural relevance, from Everyman’s quick, cheap, Depression-proof meal, to being knit into the fabric of baseball stadiums across the land. Accompanied by Smith’s handsomely goofy, retro artwork, the narrative offers sidebars with factual tidbits galore—Frankfurt, Germany, celebrated the frankfurter’s 500th birthday in 1987; the origins of Nathan’s Famous and the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile; Humphrey Bogart telling it like it is: “A hot dog at the ball park is better than a steak at the Ritz”—which entertainingly meld to give the hot dog specific character. Attention is also paid to condiments: Mustard was used to treat Roman battle wounds and bathe sausages, though not at the same time. (websites, further resources, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-47897-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
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