An unusually strong volume—a smorgasbord for young nonfiction readers (both boys and girls) and a good pick for the...
A stellar lineup of nonfiction writers offers true stories, which, like the previous volumes in the Guys Read series, are written to appeal especially to boys.
Steve Sheinkin leads off with a survival tale, as Capt. James Riley and his crew are shipwrecked off the coast of West Africa in the summer of 1815 and survive the Sahara desert by drinking their own urine and eating their peeling, sunburned skin. Enslaved, they are eventually saved by Muslim traders, and Riley joins the anti-slavery movement upon his return to the United States. Sy Montgomery writes a beautiful ode to the rain forest of French Guiana and profiles tarantulas and Sam Marshall, a scientist who studies them and who is featured in Montgomery’s The Tarantula Scientist (2004). Jim Murphy delivers an unsettling history of dental horrors from 6,500 years ago to the present day (or at least his second visit to the dentist); Candace Fleming profiles Jumbo, the world’s largest elephant; Elizabeth Partridge writes about Alan Lomax and Muddy Waters; and T. Edward Nickens is almost killed canoeing frigid Alaskan waters. The stories—prose, poetry and a graphic story—are full of action and lively, sometimes-gross details that make their subjects come alive.
An unusually strong volume—a smorgasbord for young nonfiction readers (both boys and girls) and a good pick for the classroom. (Short stories. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-196382-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
She has been a ballerina, a teacher, a Cuban and a role model for those with handicaps. Truly a noteworthy life, poignantly...
A biography in poems and pictures of the prima ballerina assoluta of Cuba, who thrilled audiences for decades with her extraordinary technique and beautiful interpretations of Giselle and other classics.
Alonso danced flamenco as a child, but because “ballet dancing / tastes better / than chocolate ice cream,” she chose it as her lifelong passion. Loss of peripheral vision early in her career and, years later, near total blindness never deterred her. After wooing audiences in New York City and across America, she returned to Cuba in 1959 when Fidel Castro funded her Ballet National de Cuba and remained steadfastly and controversially loyal to him and his government. America closed its doors to her until a triumphant return to New York in 1975 in Swan Lake. Bernier-Grand writes in short, free-verse vignettes that beautifully capture each step in Alonso’s personal life and career. Particularly touching is the poem "Dancing Fingers," which describes Alonso dancing Giselle with her fingers as she lies in bed with bandaged eyes after surgery. Colón’s signature scratchboard illustrations in warm tones of blue, green and gold capture the colors of Cuba, the ethereal stage settings of Alonso’s greatest triumphs and her elegance and grandeur.
She has been a ballerina, a teacher, a Cuban and a role model for those with handicaps. Truly a noteworthy life, poignantly rendered here. (notes, bibliography) (Picture books/biography. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5562-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
Demi says in a note that she studied illuminated manuscripts and stained glass, and read “all” the children’s books on St....
Joan of Arc’s story told in the ravishing line and color of Demi’s art.
Demi says in a note that she studied illuminated manuscripts and stained glass, and read “all” the children’s books on St. Joan. The pictures are intricately framed in a style to reflect medieval French illumination, and the pictures within use pattern, repetition, sinuous line and jewel-like color that recall cathedral windows and illuminated manuscripts. The text unequivocally treats the 15th-century Joan as a saint, casting the craven King Charles VII as the villain he was. Joan’s life is recounted with a strong emphasis on prayer and the will of God, from her beginnings as a devout peasant girl who heeded angelic and saintly voices through her victories and defeats to her imprisonment, trial and martyrdom at the stake. There is dialogue, including Joan's initial conversation with the Archangel Michael, but these quotes are not sourced or authenticated in any way. Joan always appears in the images within a nimbus of gold rays; gold is used lavishly to brilliant effect. The text is cast squarely as a battle between the will of God and the lack of will of the king and the French; the pictures allow readers to see Joan’s choices and to comprehend and relate to them.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5953-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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