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MY WASHINGTON, DC

Name: MY WASHINGTON, DC
Author: Kathy Jakobsen
ISBN: 978-0-316-12612-0

by Kathy Jakobsen ; illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2016

Nevertheless, the visuals and rather challenging hide-and-seek component will make this a popular introduction to or...

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From Union Station to the Lincoln Memorial, Jakobsen’s double-page spreads depict the monuments and structures in Washington, D.C., that are highest in child appeal.

Readers are invited to search each diverse, Where’s Waldo–esque crowd for two white tourists named Becky and Martin, a cat, and a total of 40 eagles and 300 stars. It is the oil paintings, however, that make this book memorable. The artist captures the grandeur of the city’s classical marble columns and ornamentation as found inside the Capitol and the Library of Congress. Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin and fireworks behind the Washington Monument are enlivened through vivid patches of pointillism; a gatefold opening offers scale regarding the obelisk. Jakobsen mentions selected items from three of the most popular museums and, in a current detail, includes a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. She wisely chooses not to portray a particular president (thus immediately dating the presentation) but employs a folk-art style to squeeze an enormous quantity of presidential pets on the White House grounds. The narrative combines a rather contrived, first-person-plural travelogue with facts and legends; the seams show. It is also highly unlikely that two kids would visit 12 sites in one day, much less alone.

Nevertheless, the visuals and rather challenging hide-and-seek component will make this a popular introduction to or souvenir from the nation’s capital. (map, facts, websites, artist’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-12612-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

- BOOK REVIEW
MY NEW YORK
by Kathy Jakobsen & illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen

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THE PEARL

by Nan Richardson & illustrated by Alexandra Young ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2011

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This unusual presentation of a tale of class-crossed lovers recounts a true 18th-century Russian romance. Nicolas Cheremeteff, the richest man in the land, loves music more than gold. He travels the world to hear the finest performers, but it is Praskovia, a peasant girl working on his estate who captures his heart with her singing. He takes her to his palace, where he teaches her to be a lady and nurtures her singing. Crowned “The Pearl” for her luminous talent, she even sings for the Empress, Catherine the Great. Naturally, Nicolas and Praskovia fall in love and live in a simple cottage. Years go by, and Praskovia still sings like a nightingale, but she’s still a serf and unmarried. Nicolas does the unthinkable and marries her, making her a countess. Their happiness is short-lived, as Praskovia dies after giving birth. Tributes to her remain today. The dramatic story is matched with stylized, theatrical artwork. Vibrant reds, golds and blacks are backlit with broad expanses of white space that frame Praskovia. Heavy, glossy paper adds to the book’s opulence. This historical mesh of "Cinderella" and My Fair Lady is a rich nugget of history for sophisticated readers and as beautiful as a Fabergé egg. (brief author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-884167-24-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Umbrage

Review Posted Online: April 6, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORY

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THE PRESIDENT'S STUCK IN THE BATHTUB

POEMS ABOUT U.S. PRESIDENTS

by Susan Katz & illustrated by Robert Neubecker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2012

In the end, however, they all testify to something important: Presidents are only men (so far, anyway) and capable of every...

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This gathering of presidential foibles and fancies covers the gamut, from George W. the First to Barack.

Each is set as either a poem (rhymed and free verse) or a prose poem, and all display a handling of language that both is comfortable and exhibits a certain degree of flash. Of one-eyed James Buchanan: “So he cocked his head to focus. / He could tilt his view toward a distant star, / ogle an ash on a nearby cigar, / or peer halfway to Zanzibar. / Was there anything he didn’t notice?” Neubecker’s illustrations are wonderful puddles of colorful personality, true to the text but amplifying it (or further poking a sharp stick into the presidential eye). The only concern here is that some of the presidential tics are a bit dull. Of course, no one will deny the import of blubbery William Howard Taft wedging himself into the White House tub and needing a team of assistants to extricate him. Or T. Jefferson the inventor, J.Q. Adams the skinny dipper or Z. Taylor’s nearly missing the presidency for want of a stamp. But that J. Adams was chubby, J. Madison was small and M. Fillmore is forgotten? There’s little to spark even a muted guffaw or a sympathetic nod.

In the end, however, they all testify to something important: Presidents are only men (so far, anyway) and capable of every mortal weakness and weirdness. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)