Genius doesn’t come out of nowhere, as this loving paean to strong sisterhood exemplifies.
A strong familial bond is the true star of this dual biography.
The life of Marie Curie is viewed through the lens of her relationship with her sister and fellow trailblazer Bronia Dłuska. Raised in Poland, the two were determined to have an education. After participating in secret classes at “the Flying University” (schooling that traveled from home to home), the sisters made a pact. Marie would support Bronia’s education at the Sorbonne, and, once Bronia had graduated and gotten a job, she’d do the same for Marie. Marie almost backed out of her schooling when her turn came, and only her older sister’s urging and support reminded her of their agreement. The story delves into Marie’s accomplishments but never strays far from Bronia, showing how these two lives consistently informed and relied upon one another. Appropriately illustrated by the Balbusso twins (sisters themselves), the artwork is a glorious amalgamation of math, science, and illustration. Everything from atoms to numerals and even radiation symbols are worked seamlessly into the highly detailed images. The sole fly in the ointment is that neither the main text nor the backmatter makes a single mention of the dangers of radiation, leading one to think that Marie’s discovery had no price to pay. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Genius doesn’t come out of nowhere, as this loving paean to strong sisterhood exemplifies. (timeline, bibliography, author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-37758-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
This view into Procter’s brief life connects her early passion for reptiles with her innovative career combining scientific...
Valdez introduces Joan Procter, whose lifelong love of reptiles yielded a career at London’s Natural History Museum and the London Zoo.
Avid for reptiles from childhood, Joan received a crocodile for her 16th birthday. First assisting, then succeeding the museum’s curator of reptiles, Joan surveyed the collections, published papers, and made models for exhibits. Her designs for the zoo’s reptile house incorporated innovative lighting and heating as well as plants and artwork evoking the reptiles’ habitats. Joan’s reputation soared with the arrival of two 7-foot-long Komodo dragons, coinciding with the reptile house’s opening. Presenting a paper at the Zoological Society, Joan brought along one of them, Sumbawa, who ate a pigeon whole and strolled among attendees. Valdez’s narrative alludes to Procter’s poor health obliquely: pet reptiles cheered her “on the days Joan was too sick to attend school,” and a later spread depicts her “riding through the zoo” in a wheelchair. (An appended note explains that a “chronic intestinal illness” led to Joan’s death at just 34.) Sala portrays stylized reptiles and 1920s-era British clothing. People’s skin tones range from stark white to various tans and browns. Indeed, although she was white, Joan’s skin varies throughout, sometimes appearing white and pink and others times various shades of beige.
This view into Procter’s brief life connects her early passion for reptiles with her innovative career combining scientific research, practice, art, and design. (author’s note, bibliography of primary sources, photographs) (Picture book/biography. 6-8)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-55725-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
Well-intentioned but misses the mark.
In an era of renewed attention to feminism comes a biography of the co-founder (along with Dorothy Pitman Hughes) of Ms. magazine.
Author/illustrator Lewis portrays Steinem’s consciousness-raising journey to adulthood using short declarative sentences in the present tense (“This is Gloria. She has big dreams”), striking a decidedly young narrative tone. Pink predominates in the flowery illustrations, beginning with a young Gloria dancing across a pink typewriter’s keys. Later, after having “a big idea,” she stands, arms akimbo, on the same machine, with the unfortunate result that the scale makes her look like a Barbie. Such infantilization of Steinem and her cause permeates the book, from the persistent use of her first name to text that oversimplifies social concepts. Hearing about the “women’s liberation movement[,] Gloria is curious!” Lack of context will puzzle uninformed children. Underutilized as a journalist, “Gloria feels like a typewriter without a ribbon.” What’s a typewriter ribbon? What does “Ms.” mean, and why was it chosen as a magazine title? Steinem also comes across as a white woman rushing to the rescue, both in India and with her “fearless friend Dorothy,” a black woman, posing next to her with raised fist. The only clue to the sophistication of the subject is backmatter with unsourced biographical detail and “page-by-page notes” that are themselves simplistic: “She learned that change comes from the people and in order to learn, you must listen.”
Well-intentioned but misses the mark. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2666-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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