A fascinating and inspiring tale.
Born in Massachusetts, Peter Seibert loved to ski. It was only natural that he would enlist during World War II in the 10th Mountain Division to serve as a soldier who fought on skis.
In spare, brief free-verse lines that will enable readers’ eyes to slide effortlessly down the pages, Borden relates the story of a boy who grew up skiing, doing whatever he could to get out on the snow. Talented and skillful, Seibert was winning races in his teens. After enlisting, followed by many months of training in the Rocky Mountains, he was sent to war in Italy’s Apennines, towering heights that were held by the Germans in seemingly unassailable positions. Hiking up in darkness and snow, Seibert’s division positioned itself for a surprise dawn attack, described with ample suspense. Although that attack was successful, only days later Seibert would be badly injured in another battle, ending his war but beginning a long recuperation driven by his determination to ski again. Like many members of the Mountain Division, Seibert was a pioneer in the American ski industry and would go on to found the ski resort of Vail. An accurate, high-interest narrative focused on a mature topic but written at an accessible reading level is a rare gem. Many period photographs are included (revealing Seibert and his fellows to be white), as is excellent backmatter.
A fascinating and inspiring tale. (Verse nonfiction. 10-16)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62979-674-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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