This book belongs in any child’s hands.
Celebrates the lives of 40 women who hail from all over Latin America and from the United States and who dreamed big and worked hard to follow their passion.
They are presented in chronological order, starting in 1651 with writer and philosopher Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz from Mexico and concluding with present-day U.S. Olympic gymnast Lauren Zoe Hernandez. Young readers will find artists, writers, poets, singers, musicians, dancers, engineers, astronauts, scientists, activists, a soccer star, a spy, and a Supreme Court justice, among others. The women represent different nationalities, ethnicities, races, cultural, and economic backgrounds, and life paths followed, but they are all highly successful role models that will inspire young children to follow their own dreams. Each minibiography appears in a double-page spread, with a charming illustration on the verso and the text on the recto. Capturing some essential quality for each person, the earth-toned, contemporary-feeling graphic illustrations have a folk-art sensibility. The biographies are meant to provide but a glimpse into the life of each person. The author thoughtfully connects with her reading audience by including childhood events and influences that sparked lifelong pursuits—hence the diminutive used in the title of the book. A further 10 women are introduced in the backmatter, with a small portrait and sentence of explanation. There is a sprinkling of Spanish words throughout the text; though there is no glossary included, readers unfamiliar with the language should have no problem understanding.
This book belongs in any child’s hands. (selected sources) (Collective biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23462-9
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Apart from the peculiar posthumous narration, a useful addition to the artist-biography shelf.
This Spanish import describes well-known events in van Gogh’s career
Readers first see him as a child and then as an assistant in his uncle’s art dealership, followed by a brief spell as a minister, during which he witnessed and drew mining families living in terrible poverty. Constantly dogged by disapproval and humiliation in the provincial towns, the painter moved to Paris. Here he was exposed to contemporary art movements that were central to the evolution of his distinctive style. His removal to the Arles countryside, the inspiration for many of his most famous works; his complicated friendship with Gauguin; and his eventual descent into madness and suicide are described and illustrated with García’s soft watercolor illustrations and a few reproductions. Sidebars provide background information about art movements, places, and people that influenced van Gogh. The entire book, including the concluding timeline, is in the first person. This is potentially confusing for children who have a limited understanding of chronology. Some of the statements seem particularly jarring owing to this choice of narrative voice. The timeline states: “in a moment of despair, [I] shot myself in the chest. Two days later, I died.” It will be obvious to most readers that he could not be writing when dead, and this adds a layer of absurdity that derails the otherwise factual tone.
Apart from the peculiar posthumous narration, a useful addition to the artist-biography shelf. (list of paintings, websites) (Biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-59572-770-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Star Bright
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A loving homage to the last baseball clown.
Max Patkin had a very long and rewarding career in baseball, but it wasn’t in the way he originally planned.
He was a good-enough pitcher to earn a place in the minor leagues. In 1942 he was sidelined by an injury and joined the Navy. After surgery he was good to go: to Hawaii to play baseball with other professional players as a way of entertaining the troops. He played with and against the likes of Pee Wee Reese and Joe DiMaggio. When DiMaggio hit a very long home run against him, Max followed him around the bases, mimicking his motions and garnering laughs and cheers from players and spectators. After the war he played in the minors again, but injuries ended his playing days. But his comic routines were remembered, and he was asked to perform at exhibition games all over the country. Everyone seemed to love his over-the-top slapstick and hilarious performances. Vernick displays warm affection for Patkin, describing his antics in amusing anecdotes that are followed by quoting his signature line, “True Story!” Bower’s colorful cartoons manage to capture the essence of Max’s goofy appearance and all-out efforts to elicit every bit of fun he could invent in the game he loved so much. It was a different time.
A loving homage to the last baseball clown. (author’s note, sources) (Picture book/ biography. 8-10)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-81377-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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