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
This latest Froggy title (Froggy Goes to School, 1996, etc.) is utterly unfocused, with the star careening from soccer dolt to Mr. Superkick. Froggy’s team has a big game coming up with the Wild Things, and he is trying to remember the mantra his father, and assistant coach, taught him: “Head it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! But don’t use your hands!” But illegally touching the ball seems to be the least of Froggy’s worries; distraction is his problem. He is so busy turning cartwheels, tying his shoes, and more, that the only time he makes contact with the ball is when it bounces off his head by mistake. Then, when the Wild Things make a breakaway, Froggy has some dazzling moves to avert a score, but forgetfully grabs the ball at the last second. The other team gets a penalty kick, converts it, but then Froggy makes a field-long kick for a game-winning score. London forces Froggy into too many guises—the fool, the hero, the klutz, the fancy dancer—but none of them stick. Remkiewicz’s illustrations have charm; it is in their appeal that this book will find its audience. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88257-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dylan fans extant in 1979 when his album Slow Train Coming was released won’t be able to keep his rasping voice out of their heads, but that shouldn’t impair their appreciation, or children’s, of this wonderfully imaginative visualization of the lyrics. The book starts off, logically enough, “in the beginning,” as a painted man stands on the skin of the earth and contemplates animal-shaped constellations in a starry sky. However, readers immediately realize that he’s standing on a photographed potato skin, an apt collage element, and that such combinations of painting and photograph will run through every page. A painted pig appears in the middle of a real bed of hay, while the collage horns of a bull look demonic in a full-bleed spread of brightest red, with a photographed crowd in the stands, and a matador who is offstage except for his brocade-wrapped arms and a wisp of his taunting cape. The images continue in a splendid visual extension of Dylan’s wry wit; children will delight in the chance to supply the final animal’s name themselves. (Picture book. 3-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-202005-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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