This outstanding bilingual autobiography encapsulates the life-changing power of having a goal and the will to achieve it.
Working the fields of California’s Central Valley by day and staring up at the stars by night, young José M. Hernández had an impossible dream: to become an astronaut.
Even though the U.S.–born migrant farmworker didn’t speak English until he was 12, José swore he would realize that dream. With his Mexican parents’ support, he followed his father’s “recipe” for success: “Identify my goal, determine how long it would take me to achieve it and create a plan to reach it.” His mother added that he should strive for excellence in school, and José contributed his own special ingredient: “never ever give up!” After earning degrees in electrical engineering, he applied to NASA and was rejected—11 times. In order to better his chances of entering the program, he became a pilot, was certified as a scuba diver, and learned Russian. NASA finally accepted his 12th application, and in 2009 he blasted into space. Hernández’s descriptive narrative flows effortlessly in both English and Baeza Ventura’s Spanish translation and is easily accessible. Petruccio’s colorful and detailed paintings bring this amazing adventure to life, hazy backgrounds giving the scenes a pleasing dreamlike quality. Hernández closes his account with a heartfelt exhortation to readers to pursue their own dreams, asking them “Which stars do you want to touch?”
This outstanding bilingual autobiography encapsulates the life-changing power of having a goal and the will to achieve it. (Bilingual picture book/biography. 7-12)Pub Date: May 31, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-55885-882-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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