Interesting and accessible way to learn about early U.S. history through a remarkable young woman’s life.
The life and times of Theodosia Burr (1783-1812), daughter of Aaron Burr, third vice president of the United States, best known today from the hit musical Hamilton.
In presenting the story of Burr, the author uses correspondence and memoirs of contemporaries to provide a portal to the past. Readers learn that Theodosia had an unusual childhood. Her father believed in Mary Wollstonecraft’s feminist theories; Theodosia studied a curriculum equal to that of boys. As an upper-class girl from a prominent New York family, she had opportunities to meet and mingle with men who became household names in the early history of the U.S. Details about Theodosia’s upbringing, education, and activities are interspersed with information providing additional historical context. The writing is crisp, clear, and engaging. Full-color illustrations add visual appeal. The book does not delve much into issues of racial or ethnic diversity; there is a brief note about the Lenape, and the book notes that although Burr married a Southerner and lived on a plantation, there is no record of her thoughts on slavery. Although she died young under tragic and mysterious circumstances, Burr’s prominence as an educated, modern woman made her a role model for her time.
Interesting and accessible way to learn about early U.S. history through a remarkable young woman’s life. (timeline, glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4275-4
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Paterson’s legions of fans, young and old, will welcome this peek into her life and process.
The noted writer offers both stories about her life and insights into where her book ideas came from.
In a volume that could just as easily have been titled Becoming Katherine Paterson, the award-winning author offers personal stories of special interest to “the people I care about, a lot of whom are the readers of my books.” Katherine Womeldorf was born in China, in 1932, to American Christian missionaries. China was to be her home for most of her childhood, and she grew up in a time of political unrest, warfare and famine. She writes of her life as a missionary, education in American schools and her teaching career, and she tells stories of her parents, her marriage to a Presbyterian minister, becoming a mother and adopting two of her four children. Along the way, she shows how her novels were informed by the people she met and events she experienced. Not shaped as a memoir with a cohesive narrative, the stories read more as valentines to family, friends and readers. Though she almost didn’t become a writer for fear of adding “another mediocre writer to the world,” Paterson has won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards, among other honors. Despite the accolades, her voice is chatty and engaged, with not a hint of literary hauteur.
Paterson’s legions of fans, young and old, will welcome this peek into her life and process. (timeline, family tree) (Memoir.14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-4043-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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True to its title, this gallows-humor–inflected memoir offers a frank look at life as a lucky young man with a potentially fatal disease.
Burcaw sets the tone of his candid memoir with a memorable introduction: the view of his brother Andrew’s ankle hair as Andrew helps him to urinate. Burcaw has spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive disease affecting his whole body. Fortunately, he’s also surrounded by supportive family and friends. He’s parlayed his experiences—from a broken femur and feeding tubes to romance—into a popular Tumblr also called Laughing at My Nightmare, leading him to start a nonprofit. With snark, swagger and self-deprecation, Burcaw explains from the beginning (“I was the laziest fetus you’d ever meet”) how SMA has shaped his mission. Expository vignettes jump from childhood to college and back to high school, detailing how his mischievous nature and sense of humor have set him apart from other students with disabilities and eased his insecurities. Teens with and without disabilities should be able to relate to Burcaw’s obsession with appearing as typical as possible, though his judgment of other students with disabilities—disclaimers notwithstanding—gets old. Boys in particular, perhaps, will appreciate his unflinching discussion of sex and disability, a rarely explored question. When things get too heavy, quips in speech bubbles lighten the mood.
With reflections camouflaged in wisecracks, Burcaw demonstrates that a little humor goes a long way. (Memoir. 14-18)
Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62672-007-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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