by Karen Kostyal & photographed by Lori Epstein Renda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2009
Renda’s bright color photographs of a squeaky-clean Colonial Williamsburg—the living history museum—belie the serious intent of this fine volume, which portrays 18th-century Williamsburg as more of a multicultural and fluid society than previously thought. Though the popular image of the gentry with their powdered wigs and fancy houses is true, so is the fact that over half of the city’s population was slaves, “with families, traditions, and dreams of their own.” The photo-essay is a clearly written and concise portrait of revolutionary Williamsburg, determined not to leave African Virginians, Indians and women out of the picture. The straightforward presentation, brief chapters and vivid photographs, along with a look at recent archaeological discoveries, make this an important volume for libraries and classrooms. A more extensive bibliography, especially with materials for young readers, would be useful, but this is another fine work in the “A New Look at” series, which includes the excellent 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac, with photographs by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson (2001). (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0517-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
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by Peggy Thomas & illustrated by Layne Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2008
A pleasing new picture book looks at George Washington’s career through an agricultural lens. Sprinkling excerpts from his letters and diaries throughout to allow its subject to speak in his own voice, the narrative makes a convincing case for Washington’s place as the nation’s First Farmer. His innovations, in addition to applying the scientific method to compost, include a combination plow-tiller-harrow, the popularization of the mule and a two-level barn that put horses to work at threshing grain in any weather. Thomas integrates Washington’s military and political adventures into her account, making clear that it was his frustration as a farmer that caused him to join the revolutionary cause. Lane’s oil illustrations, while sometimes stiff, appropriately portray a man who was happiest when working the land. Backmatter includes a timeline, author’s notes on both Mount Vernon and Washington the slaveholder, resources for further exploration and a bibliography. (Picture book/biography. 8-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59078-460-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
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by Chris Newell ; illustrated by Winona Nelson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 2021
Essential.
A measured corrective to pervasive myths about what is often referred to as the “first Thanksgiving.”
Contextualizing them within a Native perspective, Newell (Passamaquoddy) touches on the all-too-familiar elements of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and its origins and the history of English colonization in the territory now known as New England. In addition to the voyage and landfall of the Mayflower, readers learn about the Doctrine of Discovery that arrogated the lands of non-Christian peoples to European settlers; earlier encounters between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Europeans; and the Great Dying of 1616-1619, which emptied the village of Patuxet by 1620. Short, two- to six-page chapters alternate between the story of the English settlers and exploring the complex political makeup of the region and the culture, agriculture, and technology of the Wampanoag—all before covering the evolution of the holiday. Refreshingly, the lens Newell offers is a Native one, describing how the Wampanoag and other Native peoples received the English rather than the other way around. Key words ranging from estuary to discover are printed in boldface in the narrative and defined in a closing glossary. Nelson (a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa) contributes soft line-and-color illustrations of the proceedings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-72637-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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