Simplistic in spots but engagingly tongue-in-cheek.
A lightweight survey of what Jesus—or at least his local contemporaries—ate, drank, wore, cultivated, celebrated, and venerated.
Aiming to remind young readers that “Jesus was a real person who lived in a real place during a specific time in history,” this overview offers general pictures of first-century life and society in what Olson calls Palestine, with particular attention paid to the era’s Jewish practices and Scriptures (properly noting that the latter, at that time, were not yet “firmed up”). Though the author uses depersonalized terms like “peasants and slaves” in assigning people to social classes, he also casts sidelights on plenty of crowd-pleasing topics such as the “amazing and scary” Roman army, how grape juice was fermented to make it “safe-ish” for drinking, and execution methods from (natch) crucifixion to stoning: “the go-to punishment for sins against God.” Along with simplified maps and diagrams, Maybank adds stylized cartoon images of characteristic flora, fauna, common goods, artifacts, and people (with slight but perceptibly varied tones of brown or olive skin) in diverse styles of period dress. A closing gallery of everyday items mentioned in the Gospels, with chapters and verses, serves as at least a partial source list.
Simplistic in spots but engagingly tongue-in-cheek. (Informational picture book. 10-13)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5064-2500-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Sparkhouse
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
This mixed-format profile of the Great Soul sandwiches a concise narrative account of his life—enhanced by plenty of photos and sketched illustrations, plus side boxes and a spread on Hindu theology and customs—between a look at formative experiences in his early career presented in graphic panels and closing spreads of short passages from his works arranged by major themes (“Civil Disobedience,” “Love”). Urging readers to “listen to his words and consider whether some of his goals are also our own,” de Lambilly follows Gandhi from birth to assassination, focusing especially on the development of his philosophy, his methods of nonviolent protest and the relentless courage with which he took on the forces of racial, national and religious prejudice. Though the author’s fact checking could have been better—Pakistan was not “the world’s first Muslim country,” nor was her subject the “first person to use non-violence in politics”—Gandhi’s inspiring example and message is conveyed here with eloquence and simplicity in an appealingly designed package. The resource list includes works for both adults and younger audiences. (index) (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59270-094-3
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
Barnard’s brave effort to cram such an immense subject into 40 pages leads to some debatable claims. He opens with a sweeping history of Muslim expansion (“Early Muslims knew they had a lot of catching up to do to equal or surpass the great civilizations that preceded and surrounded them”) and continues generalizing throughout (“Until the twentieth century, most buildings in most cities owed much of their look to Islam”). Single-topic spreads cover the development of Arabic calligraphy and the mass production of paper, revolutions in mathematics and medicine, artistic and architectural motifs, astronomy and navigation, plus the importation of new foodstuffs, ideas (e.g., marching bands, hospitals) and technology to the West. The array of street scenes, portraits, maps, still-lifes and diagrams add visual appeal but sometimes fall into irrelevancy. Labored stylistic tics stale (the Caliph’s pigeon post was “the email of the day,” the astrolabe was “the GPS device of its day,” the translation of Classical texts was “the Human Genome Project of its day”). The author winds down with a discussion of how the dismissive attitude of Renaissance “Petrarchists” led to a general loss of appreciation for Muslim culture and scholarship, then finishes abruptly with a page of adult-level “Further Reading.” Enthusiastic, yes; judicious and well-organized, not so much. (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-84072-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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