A small slice of history on a very big plate. Walvoord takes the story of Rosetta, the oldest daughter of Frederick and Anna Douglass, in a few weeks at a private school and turns it into a chapter book. When Rochester public schools insist that Rosetta attend the “colored” school across town, Mr. Douglass enrolls his daughter in a nearby private school. When the nervous girl arrives on the first day, the headmistress insists that she learn and play by herself. Though the students and most of the parents stand behind Rosetta, one parent doesn’t, so the headmistress expels her. With an older Rosetta reflecting on her life, readers do feel her pain and humiliation, but much of the emotion is lost in the leaden prose, filled with gratuitous references to Frederick Douglass. Walvoord has done her research—and the story feels like a vehicle for it—rehashing much of it in the 20-plus pages of endnotes and four-page time line. A nonfiction picture book would have been a better format for this interesting bit of civil rights history so that invented dialogue wouldn’t have been necessary. (historical notes, timeline, author’s notes, primary and secondary source references) (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7614-5171-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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