An inspiring biography of athletes, friends, partners, and sisters.
The latest book in the Who Did it First? series focuses on the lives of tennis-star sisters Venus and Serena Williams.
As one would expect, the book spotlights the tennis greats’ major successes and challenges in the sport, but it places an equal focus on the relationship among all the Williams sisters: Venus, Serena, Isha, Lyndrea, and the late Yetunde. Leslie moves through her account efficiently, enabling young readers to glean important information about the subjects without bogging them down in details. The book begins with their early days on the tennis court in Compton, California, and continues through 2016, when they opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center in honor of the oldest of the five sisters, who died due to gun violence. In chronicling Venus’ and Serena’s professional lives, the book does not shy away from the racism that the two faced from other players and tennis fans. Glenn’s illustrations represent the subjects well and capture the sisters’ signature beads and braids from their early years in the sport. The text falters a bit, failing to reveal why Venus refers to Serena as “Meeka,” nor does it locate geographically the Indian Wells tournament the sisters boycotted after receiving racist jeers. Dialogue is unsourced, but the backmatter includes a timeline and additional resources. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 56.3% of actual size.) An inspiring biography of athletes, friends, partners, and sisters. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-30740-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel.
A slow reader gains confidence.
Strongly influenced by Talbott’s own childhood reading journey, a young tot with a mop of brown hair and pale skin loves art, but reading doesn’t come as naturally. Crayons and colored pencils create imaginative worlds, but the words on a page crowd together, forming an impenetrable wall, with the youngster barely able to peer over. The rest of the class seemingly soars ahead, turning page after page, but the books (in the protagonist’s mind) give chase, flying menacingly like a scene from Hitchcock: “And they were coming for me! / So many words! So many pages!” Talbott expertly captures the claustrophobic crush of unknown vocabulary, first as a downpour of squiggles from the sky, then as a gnarled, dark forest with words lining the branches. But reading slowly doesn’t mean not reading at all. The youngster learns to search for familiar words, using them as steppingstones. And there are advantages: “Slow readers savor the story!” There is even a “Slow Readers Hall of Fame” included, featuring Albert Einstein, Sojourner Truth, and many others. Talbott excels at evincing concepts visually, and this talent is in evidence here as his protagonist first struggles then gains mastery, surfing confidently down a wave of words. Patience and curiosity (along with some fierce determination) can unlock incredible stories. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-399-54871-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
