bookshelf

PAPERBOY

Name: PAPERBOY
Author: Mary Kay Kroeger
ISBN: 0-395-64482-8

by Mary Kay Kroeger & Louise Borden & illustrated by Ted Lewin ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 1996

bookshelf

A championship fight sells newspapers, especially the 1927 rematch between the thinking man's fighter, Gene Tunney, and iron- fisted former champ, Jack Dempsey. Paperboy Willie Brinkman is so sure that Dempsey, the ``workingman's hero,'' will win his title back from ``Gentleman Gene'' (so-called because he reads a lot of books) that he signs up to hawk a late edition, the ``Fight Extra.'' (Oddly, the authors don't dispute the notion—an oversimplification of attitudes of the era—that the ``workingman's hero'' is not the one who reads.) When Dempsey loses, Willie is stuck with newspapers no one wants, but his perseverance pays off when he is rewarded with a busier street corner where he can earn more money for his family. The Brinkmans (including the four girls, all of whom have contemporary hair styles) gather around the radio for a blow-by-blow broadcast; silhouettes of Dempsey and Tunney appear in some of the illustrations for (once all the atmospherics are stripped away) a rather ordinary story of a hardworking boy who makes good. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 18, 1996

ISBN: 0-395-64482-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FLY HIGH!
by Louise Borden & Mary Kay Kroeger & illustrated by Teresa Flavin

bookshelf

AND IN THE BEGINNING...

by Sheron Williams & illustrated by Robert Roth ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 1992

bookshelf

After Mahtmi created the world—``a mind-provokin' task''— he modeled Kwanza, the first man, from the black earth near Mt. Kilimanjaro—``Intelligent company at last, he thought.'' Kwanza wanders off to explore; when he comes back, he finds that Mahtmi has created more people, from the sands of Normandy, red Georgia clay, and other elements. Seeing his tears of envy, Mahtmi heats his fingers in Old Faithful and curls Kwanza's hair, promising that he and his descendants will always bear this special token of love. Williams writes in a sprightly, natural style, casting this original folktale as one told by her grandmother, Shammama; Roth's strong-featured figures and rich, glowing palette reflect both the story's bright humor and its serious themes. A fine debut for both author and illustrator, well suited for reading alone or aloud. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 31, 1992

ISBN: 0-689-31650-X

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
IMANI’S MUSIC
by Sheron Williams & illustrated by Jude Daly

bookshelf

THE TROJAN HORSE

‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 1992

bookshelf

Again, Hutton's verbal and visual simplicity will evoke complex responses. In a brief retelling of Troy's fall, he offers a subtle comment on the whole subject of war: Paris, fleeing with Helen (they look more like dancers than fugitives), looks out at the reader with a knowing Archaic smile that reappears on the faces of the serpents as they crush the life out of Laocoîn and his sons, and again on the huge, round-bellied horse. Some of the Trojans' clothing has a modern look, and the text closes on an ironic note—the horse towers over the ruined city, but ``Everyone had forgotten Paris and Helen, who had started it all.'' Occasionally, the spareness of the illustrations backfires—in one scene the Trojans are pulling the horse toward a gate that looks small rather than distant—but the focus of the action is always plain, even when the human figures are dwarfed by the city walls. A thoughtful, multilayered introduction to this ancient tale. (Picture book. 6-9)