The life of the real St. Nicholas, patron saint of brides, young boys, and seafarers, is laid out in episodic text and artwork. While St. Nicholas’s generosity led people to celebrate his feast day long before Dr. Clement Moore penned his famous poem, he is largely unknown to most people today. His beneficence began when he heard of a father who could no longer support his three unwed daughters. By throwing bags of money through an open window on three successive nights, he provided the sisters with the dowry they needed to wed, and saved them from being sold into slavery. On almost every page, the reader learns of miraculous occurrences associated with St. Nicholas—from discovering the murderer of three young boys and bringing them back to life, to a time he fed the people during a famine in an event very like the Bible story of the loaves and fishes. Although the text shows several “Santas,” the main focus is on the life of the saint, not on the transition in popularity from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus. The luminous illustrations are reproductions of paintings done in the 13th through 16th centuries. The vibrant pictures glow with an illuminated manuscript-type quality rarely seen in books meant for children. Unfortunately, they are not captioned, but rather listed in the back and indexed by page number—a difficult system when the pages of the book are themselves not numbered. Nonetheless, Mayer’s (The Twelve Apostles, not reviewed, etc.) work is a wonderful tribute to the saint whose generosity is celebrated every year. (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2624-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Paterson (Celia and the Sweet, Sweet Water, 1998, etc.) rings out the 20th century with this ruminative tale of a 10-year-old freethinker, set in a small Vermont town at the very end of the 19th century. Hearing a revivalist preacher’s dark hints of impending doom, Robbie decides to become “a heathen, a Unitarian, or a Democrat, whichever was most fun,” because he “ain’t got the knack for holiness.” As it turns out, he’s not very good at sinning either, bending a few commandments by stealing food for a pair of vagrants, Violet and her abusive, alcoholic pa, Zeb, and feeling a stab of envy over the love his parents lavish on his simple-minded older brother, Elliot. He has a brush with serious evil, nearly drowning a rival who throws his clothes into a pond; the experience leaves him profoundly shocked at himself, and he ultimately earns redemption, in his own eyes, by saving Zeb from a charge of attempted murder. Despite some violence, the tone is generally light; if some situations are contrived, more thoughtful readers will look beyond them to the larger moral questions underlying Robbie’s attitudes and choices. Talky, but nourishing for mind and spirit both. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 23, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-83897-5
Page Count: 165
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author and photographer of Cherokee Summer (p. 531) and other glimpses into our country's alternative cultures follow a Chicago family through the celebration of this modern African- American holiday. Most of Migdale's sharp photos are family scenes, filled with happy moments, bright colors and relaxed-looking people, while 13-year-old narrator Andiey Barnes's description of each day's ritual or festivity is supplemented by sidebars containing the seven principles of Kwanzaa and quotes from famous African-Americans. Kwanzaa is seen as a time for reinforcing bonds, not only domestic and historical but also economic—the Barneses make a special effort to patronize black-owned businesses during the week. Not so much a how-to guide as one family's experience of a holiday celebrated, the author says, by over 18 million people: a colorful supplement to Pinkney's Seven Candles for Kwanzaa (p. 1278) or Deborah Chocolate's books. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1993
ISBN: 0-8234-1048-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
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