A tale of endurance and mystery in the Arctic. A little boy grows up fascinated by the far north; this fascination results in an expedition to Greenland mounted by the grown narrator and an Australian friend. It is a grueling experience, as the two men kayak along the coast: “We felt tiny among the huge icebergs, big waves, and rocky cliffs. Maybe we had made a mistake by coming to Greenland. We kept paddling, but each day we grew more tired. We were ready to quit.” At the darkest moment, the narrator encounters a raven whose foot is tangled in musk ox fur, and whose gift of a rock prompts him to look outside his own misery to the beauty and power of the land and of himself. Newcomer Dupre spins a quiet tale of extreme hardship and perseverance, illustrated with linoleum block prints that stand out starkly against the white page, complementing the simple text beautifully. Occasional block-print sidebars deliver tidbits of Greenlandic information, on topics such as the adaptations Arctic mammals have made to their harsh environment and the migratory patterns of Greenland’s birds, making this a surprisingly informative book without interfering with the basic narrative line. While the full mystic import of the narrator’s epiphany will likely escape most young readers, the appealingly primitive illustrations and the fundamental lure of the unknown will draw children in to this most unusual and pleasing offering. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-01171-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
A beautifully designed book that will resonate with children and the adults who wisely share it with them.
An inspirational ode to the life of the great South African leader by an award-winning author and illustrator.
Mandela’s has been a monumental life, a fact made clear on the front cover, which features an imposing, full-page portrait. The title is on the rear cover. His family gave him the Xhosa name Rolihlahla, but his schoolteacher called him Nelson. Later, he was sent to study with village elders who told him stories about his beautiful and fertile land, which was conquered by European settlers with more powerful weapons. Then came apartheid, and his protests, rallies and legal work for the cause of racial equality led to nearly 30 years of imprisonment followed at last by freedom for Mandela and for all South Africans. “The ancestors, / The people, / The world, / Celebrated.” Nelson’s writing is spare, poetic, and grounded in empathy and admiration. His oil paintings on birch plywood are muscular and powerful. Dramatic moments are captured in shifting perspectives; a whites-only beach is seen through a wide-angle lens, while faces behind bars and faces beaming in final victory are masterfully portrayed in close-up.
A beautifully designed book that will resonate with children and the adults who wisely share it with them. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-178374-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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