Krakow debuts with a first of its kind: a picture-book biography of an important gay-rights figure. Simply, yet naturally, she tells the story of the man who was “the first openly gay elected city official in the United States.” She begins with his childhood—he loved to be the center of attention—and follows his path through high school where he played sports and was a popular student, through the Navy and into a career as a teacher. Somewhere around the age of 14, he realized that he was gay. But as was typical of the time, he kept it a secret for many years, in fear of what would happen to him if people knew. A first relationship that lasted for six years finally broke apart because of the strain of the secret. His move to San Francisco finally freed him from the closet, and he became an active member of his community in the Castro, eventually running for office. Gardner’s sunny pictures occupy two-thirds of each page, depicting a usually smiling fellow happily engaged in being a part of the bigger world, eventually making “laws to ensure the quality of life for all people.” Approaching the end of the story, the illustrations as well as the text take on a darker, grayer mood until candles light the darkness as “the people of San Francisco wept.” Capturing just the right tone for its audience, this is a significant contribution to the genre and a fitting tribute to an ordinary guy turned extraordinary. (epilogue, author's notes, bibliography, Web sites) (Biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-9674468-3-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
A saint’s biography written by a celebrity author and illustrated by an artist best known for Fairy Wings, one is hard pressed to treat this with respect. Francis of Assisi is so engaging a character—the wealthy merchant’s son who gives up all to serve the poor and bless the beasts of the field. Kennedy treats the story as if it were a legal brief, making sure we don’t miss A Single Point he’s trying to make. Sometimes, though, the facts are unclear: Francis’s mother, named Consuela in this account, is named Pica in the Catholic Encyclopedia and one wonders if a 13th-century Italian would have known British Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The narrative in any case neither flows nor sings. While Nolan’s pictures have a wonderful texture, whether of cloth, stone or landscape, it looks as though a different model for Francis was used in each panel, and the one of Francis falling from his horse is just laughable. Skip the “Frameable portrait inside” and go with Michael Bedard’s The Wolf of Gubbio (2001) or Guido Visconti’s Clare and Francis (2004). (author’s note, timeline) (Picture book/biography. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7868-1875-1
Page Count: 31
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2005
These one-page sketches of 13 Jewish-American figures attempt to serve as an introduction to the one “defining moment” that shaped their lives or professions. Using information taken from books, articles, personal accounts, diaries, journals and interviews, Rappaport recreates, with some drama and undocumented dialogue, momentary accomplishments or significant episodes. While some of her portrayals work well to capture the nuance of the influential event, others are not as obvious. For example, she tells clearly of Asser Levy’s fight against anti-Semitism in colonial New Amsterdam, Ernestine Rose’s participation in the suffrage movement and Jacob W. Davis’s invention of the use of copper rivets on miners’ pants leading to the famous Levi Strauss jeans. But at the same time it’s not obvious as to what Houdini or photographer Solomon Nunes Carvalho’s defining moments really are. Even the last description for Steven Spielberg is a bit muddled, ending with his foremost deed of establishing the “Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.” While many of these figures deserve a broader approach than these snippets, this collection may at least spark some interest for further reading. (sources, bibliography, Web sites) (Nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-688-17150-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2005
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