Roots the Bible in the four elements; the sparse text and overly simplistic ending disappoint, but the images save the day.
The biblical story, from Creation through the Resurrection and beyond, summarized.
Focusing on the four elements, aka Them, Perkins begins with Creation: “One day, Creator came— / to sort the mess, / using Them to make Us. / Air. / Water. / Earth. / Fire.” Several spreads of the first man and woman enjoying the Garden of Eden and its flora and fauna follow. But then, “We said, ‘No, Creator,’ ” after which They also rose up against the couple: “Tornado. / Flood. / Earthquake. / Inferno.” Thus begins a war between nature and humans…until Redeemer comes, “using Them to serve Us.” The next spreads show Jesus’ ministry, using dirt to heal a blind man, water to wash feet, air to draw a last breath on the cross, and fire to cook fish for his friends after his resurrection. A final page, requiring a 90-degree turn of the book, shows an idyllic scene of people of various races and ages enjoying a park: “At peace— / Them and Us,” a rather misleading statement amid today’s natural disasters, climate change, and pollution that many children will recognize as patently facile and false. The illustrations by the Howdeshells, a married couple, are beautiful and full of meaning that partially fills in the vital missing pieces that Perkins’ spares verse leaves out. Still, those without a solid religious background will be lost. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Roots the Bible in the four elements; the sparse text and overly simplistic ending disappoint, but the images save the day. (Religious picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5064-8284-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beaming Books
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Lively, lucid, and timely.
Updated for a modern audience, the pre-eminent first lady’s views on what government is and does and why having a voice in it all matters.
The female and nonwhite firefighters, garbage collectors, public officials, and jurors in Lin’s bright, racially and gender-diverse illustrations—not to mention references in the narrative to calling 911, to “alderpersons,” and “selectpeople”—were likely not in the original 1932 edition. It’s easy, though, to hear Roosevelt, or at least her voice, in the pellucid descriptions of how local, state, and national governments are organized and the kinds of services they are charged with providing, both in the common-sense tone (“What seems good to you might not be good for the rest of the nation”) and in the inspirational message: “Marking your ballot is one of the most important—and exciting—things you’ll ever do.” Also at least partly new are descriptive notes about each amendment to the Constitution and each position in contemporary presidents’ cabinets, plus an eye-opening explanation of how electoral results can be manipulated through gerrymandering (using “blue” and “purple” voters as examples). Further comments by Roosevelt on citizenship and a brief biography focusing on her causes and character lead in to a short but choice set of more detailed sources of information about her life and work.
Lively, lucid, and timely. (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-879-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers...
Caldecott Medalist Raschka examines the writings of the Apostle Paul, an early missionary of Christianity, with this interpretation of some selected words from his epistles.
A brief first page introduces Paul and his belief in the teachings of Jesus, but that is the only mention of Jesus, and God is never mentioned in the book. The book’s attractive design includes a double-page spread for each of the 14 books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible traditionally attributed to Paul. Each spread is structured as a letter, offering Paul’s advice from the relevant book on how to live a good life. As these recommendations do not specifically refer to Jesus or God, it is not clear from the text that Paul was spreading the new religion of Christianity in his letters. The text consists of a few short quotes from each book, rephrased and condensed, with pertinent chapter and verse references at the bottoms of the pages. While many of the rephrased quotations are familiar passages, other widely known verses attributed to Paul are not included, such as the famous words from 1 Corinthians often read at weddings. The words of Paul are hand-lettered in pleasing arrangements, with related elements such as palm trees and columns integrated within the text and a view of Paul on each spread in the act of writing his letters. Raschka’s loose watercolor illustrations show Paul as an aged man with brown skin and a white beard on the front and back covers; internal illustrations show him in different solid, pastel shades.
This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers understand a key figure in the spread of Christianity. (map) (Picture book/religion. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5494-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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