No dissent here—this is a solid introduction to a beloved feminist icon.
A child-friendly retrospective of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and legacy.
While a life as meaningful as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s cannot possibly fit in a board book, this admirably distills her story and achievements into the most accessible form possible. Yes, the text is lengthy for the format, and conceptually, some topics are above the comprehension of the targeted audience, but the message that defined Ginsburg’s career, that a girl is “just as important as a boy,” shines clear. Starting with Ruth’s origins as a young Jewish girl, the text follows her as she becomes a lawyer and parent, discusses a smattering of her glass-ceiling–shattering jobs and legal rulings, before ending with her on the Supreme Court. Though the unvarnished language reads like early-reader text, the austere words convey a certain poignancy. The companion text on Martin Luther King Jr. is warm and welcoming but too often relies on generic statements about his “big, strong heart” while his civil right accomplishments remain implied rather than clearly stated. In a nod to the intended listeners, Dr. King’s assassination goes unmentioned. In each, a concluding biographical paragraph with a photograph is largely rehash. The flat, angular, caricature-style art is stylish but borders on lifeless. The cast in the Ginsburg book defaults to mostly White characters while, unsurprisingly, that of the King title defaults African American.
No dissent here—this is a solid introduction to a beloved feminist icon. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22274-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Will be welcomed by caregivers looking for heroines to inspire young children.
An earnest board-book introduction to a strong female role model for young feminists.
Actually, this book is more for caregivers eager to raise a feminist than it is for children. Membrino addresses her readers familiarly, equally casually referring to her subject as simply “Michelle” following the first-page introduction. She focuses on the former first lady’s key messages: working hard, being healthy, having fun, getting an education. In the patterned presentation, a sentence from Membrino about how Obama lives her values is followed by a quote. Burke’s vivid, playful illustrations use bold colors against patterned backgrounds. Obama is almost always dressed in bright pink. The illustrations get her stance and posture right; her eyes are exaggerated, looking directly at the reader. Her famous arms are proudly flexed on the page about “BEING HEALTHY.” The type uses contrasting colors and all-caps for emphasis. A companion book, I Look Up to…Ruth Bader Ginsburg, follows the same format. Again, Burke nails Ginsburg’s posture; her eyes look exactly like Obama’s, but she gazes from square-framed glasses. Ginsburg also wears her iconic decorative collar in every illustration, even when she is shown exercising.
Will be welcomed by caregivers looking for heroines to inspire young children. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57954-0
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
This book falls short of its promise.
A compendium of profiles of people of color who have changed the world.
Each page of this colorful board book contains between four and nine profiles of people of color whose activism and leadership have changed the world. The descriptive text for each leader chosen is extremely short—only one sentence long—quickly outlining each person’s background, heritage, accomplishments, and little else. Each profile is accompanied by a bobbleheadlike cartoon illustration of the leader in question, rendered with bold colors and nearly identical in their simplified facial features. The heroes chosen are diverse in terms of their race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and areas of expertise, including African American athlete and artist Ernie Barnes, Dominican fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, Kwakwaka’wakw artist Ellen Ka’kasolas Neel, and president of Ecuador Lenín Moreno, who uses a wheelchair. Although the range is impressive, it is also confusing: A few sentences of additional text sporadically appear, serving little purpose and breaking the flow, nor does there seem to be any unifying threads to the groupings. Additionally, some of the choices of heroes are questionable: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, for example, was often criticized for engaging in corruption and doing little to further the cause of women’s rights, while “spiritual leader” Sudehanshu Biswas is hardly known even in his home country of India.
This book falls short of its promise. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32642-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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