by Meike Roth-Beck ; illustrated by Klaus Ensikat ; translated by Laura Watkinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 11, 2017
An excellent, historically accurate account of the beginnings of the Lutheran denomination of Protestantism.
The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation occasions a new biography of its prime mover.
In 1517, Martin Luther revolutionized church doctrine when he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, to protest the sale of indulgences in Rome. This biography, set against the backdrop of the late Middle Ages, progresses chronologically toward this event and its aftermath through well-defined stages of Luther’s life. From the cover art’s graphic depiction of the world being turned on its head, through pages reminiscent of a family album, the design is particularly well-suited to the subject. Illustrations resembling etchings are based on archival portraits of Luther, his family, and leading European figures of the 15th and 16th centuries. (Two pages of concluding notes describe their subjects.) While skewed toward a young Lutheran audience, the book has a strong narrative structure that focuses on the profound impact that Luther had on his times, including his translation of the Bible into the vernacular so that ordinary Germans could read it themselves. Luther’s religious life, from becoming a monk to being outlawed by the emperor after he uttered his famous phrase, “Here I stand,” is dramatically conveyed through text and illustration. The underpinnings of Luther’s philosophy are clearly articulated in explanations of several individual theses.
An excellent, historically accurate account of the beginnings of the Lutheran denomination of Protestantism. (Biography. 7-12)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5495-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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by Andrew Young & Paula Young Shelton ; illustrated by Gordon C. James ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2022
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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