Solid research underpins whimsy in McCarthy’s latest historical foray.
In time for the 2016 Summer Olympics, McCarthy spotlights the men’s marathon at the first Olympic Games hosted by the United States, held at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
Representing six countries, the race’s 32 starting athletes included 17 Americans. McCarthy focuses on 10 runners, including two South Africans, a Cuban, a Frenchman, and six Americans. The 90-degree heat and scarce water daunted the athletes—several succumbed to cramps and nausea. Attendees in autos and on bicycles created thick dust clouds that impeded the runners’ vision and breathing. Justifying the titular claim, McCarthy recounts events that contrast with the tightly scripted modern Olympics. Len Tau, chased by an angry dog, ran a mile off course—and still finished ninth. Felix Carvajal, the Cuban, stopped to snack and practice his English with bystanders—and cried to learn that he had finished fourth. American Fred Lorz, driven off in an automobile after suffering cramps, mysteriously showed up first at the finish line—but was quickly disqualified for cheating. Prefiguring today’s doping scandals, Thomas Hicks, the marathon’s winner, begged for water during the race—and was given strychnine by his trainers. Trademark googly eyes notwithstanding, McCarthy’s acrylic compositions of runners are based on period photographs. Endpapers reproduce fairgoers’ handwritten postcards.
Solid research underpins whimsy in McCarthy’s latest historical foray. (historical note, photographs, selected bibliography) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0639-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
This soaringly sentimental resolution notwithstanding, the book is a charming introduction to a widely reproduced,...
In her extensive picture-book–biography oeuvre, Winter has proven to be particularly attuned to selecting the just-right elements of her subjects’ complex lives while making them both accessible to and readily understood by young children.
Here she limns the major biographical details of Matisse’s long life: A French law student recovering and on bed rest after an appendectomy is given a paint set; he discovers his true calling, abandons the law, moves to Paris and embarks on a long career as a member of the Fauvist movement. Many years later, once again bedridden and frail, he begins the final and perhaps most enduring stage of his work. Winter both describes and employs Matisse’s signature, late-career technique of brilliantly colored, hand-painted, cut-paper compositions. She enlivens the simple text with liberal yet judicious quotes from Matisse’s letters and comments from contemporaries. This is a beautifully designed book that will certainly connect with readers, although the closing spreads may be too poetically obscure for the intended school-age audience. Winter writes that at Matisse’s death, “the rainbow of shapes cradled the old artist and carried him into the heavens.” The book’s final question, “Are some of the stars we see at night coming to us from Henri’s scissors?” seems forced.
This soaringly sentimental resolution notwithstanding, the book is a charming introduction to a widely reproduced, child-friendly artist, one that children will assuredly encounter and affirmingly embrace. (author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6484-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Kids who take Ferris wheels for granted should find this history eye-opening.
The invention of the Ferris wheel is explored in story and pictures designed to describe the age of innovation for young readers.
The legendary Ferris wheel was one of myriad inventions that came out of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. was a mechanical engineer who was determined to outdo the star of the previous World’s Fair, the Eiffel Tower. To Ferris, engineering and innovation were part of the American nature, and he set out to prove it by designing a structure that would amaze fairgoers. Working with his engineering partner, Ferris turned his vision into plans but had difficulty convincing officials until they found themselves without a star attraction months before the fair was to open. They agreed to his plan but provided no financing. Ferris was relentless in his efforts to bring his wheel to fruition, and it became one of the fair’s most popular attractions. This straightforward narrative for younger readers provides a good sense of the period of innovation and the type of personal drive it took to bring ideas to reality. Additional pertinent facts that support the story appear in sidebars. The slightly retro, line-and-color illustrations, done in an unexpected, muted palette, enhance the text and provide additional interest.
Kids who take Ferris wheels for granted should find this history eye-opening. (sources, bibliography, websites) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-547-95922-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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