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CITIES

Name: CITIES
Author: Libby Walden
ISBN: 978-1-944530-08-2

From the In Focus series

by Libby Walden ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017

A missed opportunity to really excite young readers to learn about the world.

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Ten major world cities—New York, Rio, Paris, London, Rome, Moscow, Cairo, Istanbul, Tokyo, and Sydney—are presented in four-page gatefold sections.

The concept of the book is attractive, but its execution, not so much. Each city is done by a different artist, but the different palettes, styles, and layouts are jarring, with only the typeface, sometimes hard to read on highly saturated backgrounds, as the unifying feature. Some sections stand out: the stylized Tokyo section has a pop-Asian look, and the magical buildings of Moscow catch the eye. The Rome section has a boring dull-brown palette, and a strange, dark-orange haze hangs over Istanbul. Although the book emphasizes the contemporary world, the Cairo section barely mentions modern times. No sub-Saharan African city was selected for this very Eurocentric production, first published in Great Britain. Although the descriptive tagline (“Culture Character Civilization”) implies that this book will focus on themes beyond facts and figures, buildings, bridges, monuments, and their measurements seem to be the top priority. There is very little child-centered material and just minimal information about the people who supposedly created the “culture,” “character,” and “civilization” of these cities. As with any survey of its ilk, the information offered is at best incomplete; the New York City coverage is largely of Manhattan, for instance, and an unglossed picture of "Shakespeare's Globe" does not reveal that it is a modern replica.

A missed opportunity to really excite young readers to learn about the world. (map) (Nonfiction. 9-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-944530-08-2

Page Count: 28

Publisher: 360 Degrees

Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
AS WE GROW
by Libby Walden ; illustrated by Richard Jones

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE MOUNTAIN
by Libby Walden ; illustrated by Clover Robin

- BOOK REVIEW
FEELINGS
by Libby Walden ; illustrated by Richard Jones

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COYOTE TALES

by Thomas King ; illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 3, 2017

Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...

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Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.

One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.

Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BORDERS
by Thomas King ; illustrated by Natasha Donovan

- BOOK REVIEW
A COYOTE SOLSTICE TALE
by Thomas King and illustrated by Gary Clement

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SKYWALKERS

MOHAWKS ON THE HIGH STEEL

by David Weitzman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010

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Weaving together architectural, engineering and Native American history, Weitzman tells the fascinating story of how Mohawk Indian ironworkers helped construct the sprawling bridges and towering skyscrapers that dominate our urban landscape. The book begins with a brief but informative history of the Kanien'kéhaka—People of the Flint. Leaders in establishing the League of the Iroquois, a confederation of Indian nations in the New York region, Mohawks had a longstanding reputation for their sense of tight-knit community, attraction to danger and love for physical challenge, qualities that served them well when hired in the late 1800s to do the most arduous work in railroad and bridge construction. With the advent of the skyscraper, Mohawks possessing agility that seemed gravity-defying worked hundreds of feet above the ground. They were not immune to tragedy, and the author discusses in detail the collapse of the Québec Bridge that killed 31 Mohawk workers. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that capture the daring spirit of these heroic workers, the concise, captivating account offers great insight into the little-known but considerable role Native Americans played in our architectural and engineering achievements. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)