This is a comprehensive, fact-filled, and stunningly illustrated history of the Statue of Liberty. It begins with an explanation of why the French came up with the idea in the first place, and how the brilliant young sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi became interested in the project that was to be his obsession for the next 15 years. Bartholdi decided where the statue must stand as soon as he laid eyes on what is now Liberty Island. “Here . . . my statue must rise; here where people get their first view of the New World.” A brief description of neoclassicism is followed by the history of the statue’s construction and the engineering feats it required. The statue was constructed in separate stages and, after the head was built, it was exhibited in the Paris Universal Exposition of 1878. The head was pulled through the streets of Paris in a cart pulled by 13 horses (the double-page spread of Liberty’s head crossing a bridge in Paris is alone worth the price of the book). There are hardly any women mentioned or pictured in the book, and Curlee addresses this by pointing out the irony that the statue exemplifying the spirit of liberty was erected at a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote. Acrylic paintings reproduced in full color from photographic transparencies are the artistic medium, and the appealing, interesting palette of blues, blacks, and bronzes captures the ambition and majesty of the project. While the text is occasionally pompous, and perhaps not as much fun as the Betsy and Guilio Maestro book on the same subject, Liberty is an engaging and useful resource for the classroom and library. (specifications, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82823-3
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2000
Eleven-year-old Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” If something needs doing, Griffin carefully plans a fix and his best friend Ben usually gets roped in as assistant. When the town council ignores his plan for a skate park on the grounds of the soon-to-be demolished Rockford House, Griffin plans a camp-out in the house. While there, he discovers a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. His family’s money worries are suddenly a thing of the past, until unscrupulous collectables dealer S. Wendell Palomino swindles him. Griffin and Ben plan to snatch the card back with a little help. Pet-lover Savannah whispers the blood-thirsty Doberman. Rock-climber “Pitch” takes care of scaling the house. Budding-actor Logan distracts the nosy neighbor. Computer-expert Melissa hacks Palomino’s e-mail and the house alarm. Little goes according to plan, but everything turns out all right in this improbable but fun romp by the prolific and always entertaining Korman. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90344-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs.
Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls’ 30th-floor classroom haven’t changed a bit.
The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn’t either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened “Ultimate Test” allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind them—even to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue (“Arithmetic makes my brain numb,” complains Dameon. “That’s why they’re called ‘numb-ers,’ ” explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school’s contents “like a deck of cards,” and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush’s improvised “Rainbow Stew.” Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-296538-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
