A superior telling of Yousafzai’s life and work thus far.
This detailed picture book celebrating Malala Yousafzai shows how she has used her position in the global spotlight to advocate for children’s rights.
The story opens with Yousafzai’s speech at the U.N. in 2013: “Our words can change the world.” It then moves back in time to ask, “Where did Malala learn that her voice and words could change the world?” With a beautiful collage of green land rising to purple and white mountaintops, her upbringing in the Swat Valley of Pakistan is described as nourishing and happy, with a strong family unit. Her words from the blog the BBC began to host in 2009 appear, as do words from her later writings, to describe life under Taliban rule. The latter are pictured as rows and crowds of men in baggy shalwar kameez with scarves tied around their faces and dark holes for eyes. Her family’s brief move out of Swat is included, as is her National Youth Peace Prize awarded in Pakistan, details that show both the devastation within Pakistan and her own country’s appreciation of her work. The text appears on ruled notebook paper, and paper-and-fabric–collage artwork alternates between focusing on Yousafzai and crowd scenes that show her impact. The cloudy black around the eyes on some faces may be a bit distracting, but the illustrations work well overall, with strong use of color and shadow to convey emotion and energy. A Spanish version is available as well, in a translation by Eida de la Vega. An earlier version of the text was published under the same title in 2014 with illustrations by L.C. Wheatley.
A superior telling of Yousafzai’s life and work thus far. (historical notes, activist resources, sources) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62014-838-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments.
The junior senator from California introduces family and friends as everyday superheroes.
The endpapers are covered with cascades of, mostly, early childhood snapshots (“This is me contemplating the future”—caregivers of toddlers will recognize that abstracted look). In between, Harris introduces heroes in her life who have shaped her character: her mom and dad, whose superpowers were, respectively, to make her feel special and brave; an older neighbor known for her kindness; grandparents in India and Jamaica who “[stood] up for what’s right” (albeit in unspecified ways); other relatives and a teacher who opened her awareness to a wider world; and finally iconic figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley who “protected people by using the power of words and ideas” and whose examples inspired her to become a lawyer. “Heroes are…YOU!” she concludes, closing with a bulleted Hero Code and a timeline of her legal and political career that ends with her 2017 swearing-in as senator. In group scenes, some of the figures in the bright, simplistic digital illustrations have Asian features, some are in wheelchairs, nearly all are people of color. Almost all are smiling or grinning. Roe provides everyone identified as a role model with a cape and poses the author, who is seen at different ages wearing an identifying heart pin or decoration, next to each.
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-49-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world.
In an inviting picture book, Chelsea and Hillary Clinton share personal revelations on how gardening with a grandmother, a mother, and children shapes and nurtures a love and respect for nature, beauty, and a general philosophy for life.
Grandma Dorothy, the former senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate’s mother, loved gardens, appreciating the multiple benefits they yielded for herself and her family. The Clinton women reminisce about their beloved forebear and all she taught them in a color-coded, alternating text, blue for Chelsea and green for Hillary. Via brief yet explicit remembrances, they share what they learned, observed, and most of all enjoyed in gardens with her. Each double-page spread culminates in a declarative statement set in italicized red text invoking Dorothy’s wise words. Gardens can be many things: places for celebration, discovery and learning, vehicles for teaching responsibility in creating beauty, home to wildlife large and small, a place to share stories and develop memories. Though operating from very personal experience rooted in class privilege, the mother-daughter duo mostly succeeds in imparting a universally significant message: Whether visiting a public garden or working in the backyard, generations can cultivate a lasting bond. Lemniscates uses an appropriately floral palette to evoke the gardens explored by these three white women. A Spanish edition, Los jardines de la abuela, publishes simultaneously; Teresa Mlawer’s translation is fluid and pleasing, in at least one case improving on the original.
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11535-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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