A charming, sensitive story about the trials of health care and the importance of social welfare.
A disabled boy at the turn of the 20th century takes a bold step towards healing, finding friendship and dignity in the process in Rosenbaum’s illustrated children’s book.
The author draws on the true stories of Georgie Titus, a 10-year-old boy with clubfoot in Uxbridge, Ontario, who hitched his dog to a sled and rode 40 miles to Toronto in the winter of 1898, as well as other patients at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. Georgie is home in Uxbridge when he first hears his parents whispering about a “miracle surgery” that could straighten his legs and allow him to walk. He and his dog, Darby, regularly go on a paper-delivery route, but this time, they sled along the train tracks that head all the way to the big city. At the hospital, Georgie is introduced to the other kids in the care of kindly Nurse Underhill. They have simple conditions, such as cleft palate; accidental injuries, such as burns; and diseases, such as tuberculosis—all often exacerbated by poverty. The conventional treatment for Georgie’s condition is a monthslong process involving plaster casts; the doctor turns down his requests for surgery, saying that the boy is too old. “But no one has tried it on someone my age,” Georgie protests later. He doesn’t want to be an object of pity, despite the grim fact that putting on a pitiable spectacle generates more donations for the hospital. His hope for a surgical cure is effectively shown to be tied to his hope for a life of independence. Although the story takes place in 1898, the book’s strength lies in how it comments on lived experiences today. Georgie’s world sparkles with historical curiosity, from horse-drawn carts traveling gaslit streets to the children’s diet of stewed prunes, porridge, and “beef tea.” However, it’s the emotional realities—especially characters’ anxiety over the cost of health care, as well as concerns about pride and respectability—that make this a particularity acute and timely tale. Klunder’s occasional pastel illustrations depict a handful of notable characters.
A charming, sensitive story about the trials of health care and the importance of social welfare.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781038333629
Page Count: 144
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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