An illuminating, solidly documented portrait of this country's most influential white folk singer. Focusing on the people and events that shaped Guthrie's music and political consciousness, Yates (Zora Neale Hurston: A Storyteller's Life, 1991) follows her subject through the boom-and- bust oil towns of Oklahoma and Texas, the natural horrors of the Dust Bowl and the economic horrors endured by California migrant workers. Guthrie's personal life was marred by tragedy (in separate accidents he, his father, his sister, and a daughter were seriously—fatally in the case of the last two—burned) and characterized by a casual willingness to leave wives and children behind; his work—recordings, diaries, letters, newspaper articles and, most of all, legions of plainspoken lyrics—effectively captured both his outrage at social injustice and his unshakable confidence in the strength of the human spirit. Most of the quoted lines (which include draft versions of several songs) go beyond sound bite status to give readers a good sense of how Guthrie spoke, wrote, and thought. The author bases her account on an array of interviews, memoirs and secondary sources, all carefully cited, and closes with the complete lyrics to ``This Land Is Your Land.'' Exemplary work, even better than Yurchenko's A Mighty Hard Road (McGraw Hill, 1970). (b&w photographs, index, end notes, chronology, bibliography, discography) (Biography. 12+)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-9623380-0-1
Page Count: 159
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A thoughtful, engaging history for intermediate students interested in Africa.
Oliver’s debut, about one of West Africa’s most powerful and charismatic leaders, delivers a vibrant mix of history and historical fiction for young adults.
The book introduces the medieval empire of Mali with several short narrative essays on trans-Atlantic exploration, trade and mining and soon narrows its focus to the compelling life story of the emperor Mansa Musa, who ruled Mali in the early 1300s. Oliver shows how Musa gained influence while making a lavish, politically important trip to Mecca, and his deft explanation of how Musa crossed the vast Sahara Desert briefly but skillfully conveys the difficulty of the lengthy voyage. This enjoyable work smoothly blends historical text with memorable anecdotes from primary and secondary sources, photos and sketches of replicas of ancient and medieval African art, and well-drawn maps. The book moves at a fast pace, and the author’s clear, straightforward style is likely to appeal to young adults. He easily switches between topics, discussing history (how Musa gained recognition in Egypt and North Africa), religion (how Islam shaped Musa and his empire), architecture (the methods of construction for Malian mud-brick buildings) and fables (the legend of the Malian “gold plant”). However, Oliver always strives for historical accuracy; even his fictional account of a young sandal maker who travels to Niani’s great market contains period-appropriate language and scenery. The book also includes a lengthy glossary that is amply illustrated with drawings and photographs of West African boats and buildings. The work’s one shortcoming is its abrupt ending after Musa returns home; it lacks a thorough explanation as to how and why the empire of Mali eventually dissolved.
A thoughtful, engaging history for intermediate students interested in Africa.Pub Date: March 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-1468053548
Page Count: 128
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Who is next in the ocean food chain? Pallotta has a surprising answer in this picture book glimpse of one curious boy. Danny, fascinated by plankton, takes his dory and rows out into the ocean, where he sees shrimp eating those plankton, fish sand eels eating shrimp, mackerel eating fish sand eels, bluefish chasing mackerel, tuna after bluefish, and killer whales after tuna. When an enormous humpbacked whale arrives on the scene, Danny’s dory tips over and he has to swim for a large rock or become—he worries’someone’s lunch. Surreal acrylic illustrations in vivid blues and red extend the story of a small boy, a small boat, and a vast ocean, in which the laws of the food chain are paramount. That the boy has been bathtub-bound during this entire imaginative foray doesn’t diminish the suspense, and the facts Pallotta presents are solidly researched. A charming fish tale about the one—the boy—that got away. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-88106-075-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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