A fascinating look at a thoughtful, courageous woman.
The story of an unusual woman who printed the Declaration of Independence.
Mary Katharine Goddard was determined to be recognized. Though she didn’t attend school, she was fortunate to have a mother who tutored her in reading and math. When Mary and her mother worked in brother William’s print shop, she could see another option for her life, beyond marriage and motherhood. She became immersed in her profession, relishing the hard physical work. She printed newspapers, books, advertisements, and more, as well as information about events that were moving the 13 colonies toward independence from Britain. When the Revolution began, she was fully aware that she was committing treason, proudly placing her name, M.K. Goddard, on every paper she issued. Mary was chosen to print the first official copies of the Declaration of Independence, which showed the names of the signers. She made her own statement by adding her full name as printer. “That was Mary.” The tale is filled with details of America’s revolutionary period, insights into Mary’s character, and facts about the printing process—“Whoosh!” “Pound!” “Crank!”—all greatly enhanced by bright, sharply delineated illustrations accompanied by sepia insets that provide further historical information. Mary was white, but some workers and townspeople have darker skin. In the backmatter, the author notes that upon her death, Mary freed the enslaved woman she owned, Belinda, and left her all her possessions.
A fascinating look at a thoughtful, courageous woman. (about Mary Katherine Goddard, printing history of the Declaration of Independence, printing and publishing in colonial times, select bibliography, author’s note) (Picture book-biography. 6-10)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781626723115
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
A reasonably solid grounding in constitutional rights, their flexibility, lacunae, and hard-won corrections, despite a few...
Shamir offers an investigation of the foundations of freedoms in the United States via its founding documents, as well as movements and individuals who had great impacts on shaping and reshaping those institutions.
The opening pages of this picture book get off to a wobbly start with comments such as “You know that feeling you get…when you see a wide open field that you can run through without worrying about traffic or cars? That’s freedom.” But as the book progresses, Shamir slowly steadies the craft toward that wide-open field of freedom. She notes the many obvious-to-us-now exclusivities that the founding political documents embodied—that the entitled, white, male authors did not extend freedom to enslaved African-Americans, Native Americans, and women—and encourages readers to learn to exercise vigilance and foresight. The gradual inclusion of these left-behind people paints a modestly rosy picture of their circumstances today, and the text seems to give up on explaining how Native Americans continue to be left behind. Still, a vital part of what makes freedom daunting is its constant motion, and that is ably expressed. Numerous boxed tidbits give substance to the bigger political picture. Who were the abolitionists and the suffragists, what were the Montgomery bus boycott and the “Uprising of 20,000”? Faulkner’s artwork conveys settings and emotions quite well, and his drawing of Ruby Bridges is about as darling as it gets. A helpful timeline and bibliography appear as endnotes.
A reasonably solid grounding in constitutional rights, their flexibility, lacunae, and hard-won corrections, despite a few misfires. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54728-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
