Beautiful, informative, essential.
An inspiring biography of Nelson Mandela, who made ending South African apartheid his life’s work.
Accompanied by Palmer’s rich, full-color acrylic paintings, the substantial text explores Mandela’s life: his youth in a Xhosa village, his time at university, his early political activism and imprisonment, and his rise to the South African presidency. McDivitt offers enough apartheid history to help young readers understand the systematic nature of racism, implemented through restrictive policies, and how it negatively impacted every aspect of life for Black South Africans. Palmer’s illustrator’s note explains that although the images could have conveyed much more negativity, given the violence of apartheid, he wanted to illustrate the hope that Mandela had for his homeland—a recurring theme in the text—and therefore created bright, colorful, and uplifting artwork throughout. The double-page spread of a tearful Mandela, still imprisoned, holding his new granddaughter is especially moving. McDivitt’s author’s note explains that her Afrikaner family, who relocated to the U.S. in 1962, the year of Mandela’s imprisonment, felt such shame about their background that they rarely discussed apartheid: “I learned that educating myself about racism is a lifelong process”—wise words for the contemporary United States, where a reckoning around systemic racism and White supremacy is well underway. Ten pages of age-appropriate backmatter make this an excellent resource for learning about Mandela and apartheid.
Beautiful, informative, essential. (Picture book/biography. 8-12)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5502-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Art lovers of all ages will revel in this vivid, wonderfully affecting book, which is almost as ingenious and memorable as...
A magnificent interactive "face book" portrait of the artist.
This book grew out of a studio visit/conversation between Close and a dozen Brooklyn fifth graders. Through the kids' simple questions and the artist's forthright answers, readers eavesdrop on the event and witness the ongoing dialogue between an artist and his unforgettable, iconographic work. Close discloses struggles with childhood ill health and severe dyslexia. He tells how his early artistic promise was nurtured by caring parents and teachers and how he adjusted for his prosopagnosia (face blindness) by sketching the faces of his students. He also shares how the steady progress of a rewarding career and warm family life was nearly derailed by his near-total paralysis after the 1998 collapse of a spinal artery. He also discloses the many "hows" of his astonishing technique: how he uses gridded photos to build his faces and how he works from his wheelchair and wields his brush with less-abled hands. Readers witness his discipline and see how he works in a dizzying variety of media. At the book's brilliant center is the irresistible opportunity to "mix 'n' match" various eyes, noses and mouths among 14 of the artist's arresting self-portraits.
Art lovers of all ages will revel in this vivid, wonderfully affecting book, which is almost as ingenious and memorable as Close himself. (timeline, glossary, list of resources and illustration credits) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0163-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Thirteen prominent American men and women are briefly profiled in this collection. Chronologically ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Barack Obama, each entry features an inspiring quote from its subject and a concise explanation of his or her context in history. Opposite each page of text is a watercolor painting by the author depicting an image or montage of the notable individual and illustrating the work they achieved or how they lived. Each one evokes the emotions the book is meant to inspire: courage, strength and determination. Franklin Roosevelt gazes reassuringly out at readers above a line of hungry people at a soup kitchen; Rachel Carson smiles at readers against a picture of a soaring bald eagle and an inset of her peering into a microscope. The selection includes four women and five male ethnic minorities. Almost all are familiar faces in collective biographies, including Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but some names may be new to young readers, such as Emma Lazarus and Cesar Chavez. Included in the backmatter are thumbnail biographies of each figure and a list of source notes. The profiles are indeed inspiring, and younger readers will likely learn something new. For deeper research, students will have to look elsewhere but could use this book as an excellent starting point. (Collective biography. 8-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8225-6810-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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