THE BOY WHO TOUCHED THE STARS / EL NIÑO QUE ALCANZÓ LAS ESTRELLAS

Name: THE BOY WHO TOUCHED THE STARS / EL NIÑO QUE ALCANZÓ LAS ESTRELLAS
Author: José M. Hernández
ISBN: 978-1-55885-882-4

by José M. Hernández ; illustrated by Steven J. Petruccio ; translated by Gabriela Baeza Ventura ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 31, 2019

This outstanding bilingual autobiography encapsulates the life-changing power of having a goal and the will to achieve it.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

- BOOK REVIEW
FROM FARMWORKER TO ASTRONAUT / DE CAMPESINO A ASTRONAUTA
by José M. Hernández ; translated by Darío Zárate Figueroa

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UNSTOPPABLE

WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES

by Helen Wolfe ; illustrated by Karen Patkau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 2021

An eclectic, accessible, and upbeat introduction to accomplished disabled women.

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Wolfe, herself physically disabled, introduces 10 contemporary women with disabilities.

As a teacher, writer, and social worker, the author “hardly saw any people like [her]” in her 40-year career: “Imagine how great it would have been to learn about other women with disabilities!” she exclaims. Her conversational profiles of disabled women from various countries and cultures turn her wish into reality. Most subjects’ disabilities are physical, ranging from spina bifida to limb difference; their careers include advocacy, law, and entertainment. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is autistic. Yetnebersh Nigussie, who is blind, co-founded the Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development, which promotes accessibility in employment and public life. Maysoon Zaid, who is Muslim and has cerebral palsy, became a comedian and established the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. A motivational quote from each woman concludes each single-page profile. On the facing pages, Patkau’s vibrant, realistic illustrations spotlight the subjects’ accomplishments: Canadian singer/songwriter Christa Couture, who lost a leg to bone cancer and is of mixed Cree and Scandinavian heritage, appears with a guitar; wheelchair user Zhang Haidi, the head organizer of the 2022 Chinese Paralympians, reads a document as an amputee athlete skis in the background. Noting that a newly disabled adult “asks many questions that a [disabled] child wouldn’t ask,” the author refreshingly explains that congenital disabilities are experienced differently from those acquired later.

An eclectic, accessible, and upbeat introduction to accomplished disabled women. (Collective biography. 7-10)

Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77260-209-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Second Story Press

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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AMAZING FACTS

KAMALA HARRIS

by Clive Gifford ; illustrated by Nathan Daniels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 29, 2024

Topical, if ephemeral.

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A quick flurry of family stories, anecdotes, and career milestones from the life of 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Fluffing up the content with four entries about George Washington, seven about the White House, and further “amazing facts” ranging from the tangential to the banal (“Kamala often needed Band-Aids on her knees when she fell over!” “The Capitol Building’s dome is HUGE”), Gifford dishes up a quick-turnaround buffet of facts about his subject’s background, personal interests, and career, selected to offer humanizing glimpses of Harris’ public and private persona. Along with references to her two college degrees, her favorite brand of sneakers, and what she had for lunch during an official 2021 visit to Singapore, readers will learn that her parents divorced when she was 7, that she struggled to learn French in school in Montreal, and that she had to take the bar exam twice to pass. Coverage of her 2024 presidential campaign ends with her August selection of running mate Tim Walz (who gets three facts). The author closes with a spritz of motivational Kamalisms, from “eat no for breakfast” to “double up your efforts and go for your dream!” An early view of her in a stroller shouting “Fweedom!” captures the saccharine character of the monochrome illustrations, but there is plenty of racial and cultural diversity in the crowd scenes.

Topical, if ephemeral. (Nonfiction. 7-9)