This adapted story of a Kindertransport survivor doesn’t hang together.
A young teen goes on the Kindertransport from Austria to England and makes a new life.
Lisa, 14, is studying piano when she must leave Vienna in late 1938 because of the Nazis. She eventually lands in London, living in a Willesden Lane hostel with 32 other young people while she awaits her sister’s arrival. She works in a clothing factory but never forgets her passion for music. Luckily, there is a piano in the hostel, and after learning about auditions for the Royal Academy of Music, Lisa wins a spot. Without parents or money, she eventually makes her debut with the assistance of the Academy and her friends. Only in the epilogue is the sad story of her parents told. This true story was recounted by pianist Golabek—Lisa’s daughter—and Cohen in The Children of Willesden Lane (2003). Adapted by Robbins as a chapter book from Emil Sher’s 2017 young readers’ edition, the text reads like a novel and is punctuated by abundant unsourced and likely fictionalized dialogue, both internal and external. Occasional nonfiction insets offer context but are too cursory to help readers really understand “What is Nazism?” and other topics—though robust backmatter will help those children who avail themselves of it. The faces in the Ivanovs’ black-and-white illustrations feel too jaunty and cartoonlike for this somber topic. The book does, however, effectively portray Lisa’s love for her instrument and her will to live and find her family members.
This adapted story of a Kindertransport survivor doesn’t hang together. (map, photographs, discussion questions, activities, timeline, historical note, resources) (Biography. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-46307-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
An illuminating introduction to both a significant era in the history of science and one of its brightest stars.
A glowing tribute to one of Islam’s—and the world’s—greatest early scientists.
Born in Basra in 965 C.E., Ibn al-Haytham (known in Western Europe as “Alhazen”) grew into a polymath whose experiments, notably with a camera obscura, demonstrated several properties of light. Among other achievements, he also mapped the eye’s main structures, invented a water clock, and outlined the modern scientific method. Though Romero doesn’t describe this last, and possibly most significant, contribution in any detail, even newly independent readers will find her simply phrased descriptions of his studies in light, optics, and other fields illuminating. The illustrations mix historical images and color photos of locales as they look today with painted reconstructions created for a recent film and related traveling exhibit. If some of this new art is likely idealized—in one scene a group discussing some scientific notion includes both men and women—views of the handsome, realistically drawn genius experimenting and recording results add immediacy to the narrative. The author doesn’t provide much biographical detail, but she does highlight his role as a luminary of Islam’s “Golden Age” and, along with a page of “Cool Facts,” supplies peeks at his influence on other early researchers.
An illuminating introduction to both a significant era in the history of science and one of its brightest stars. (review quiz, index) (Biography. 8-11)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2500-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: National Geographic Kids
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Apart from the peculiar posthumous narration, a useful addition to the artist-biography shelf.
This Spanish import describes well-known events in van Gogh’s career
Readers first see him as a child and then as an assistant in his uncle’s art dealership, followed by a brief spell as a minister, during which he witnessed and drew mining families living in terrible poverty. Constantly dogged by disapproval and humiliation in the provincial towns, the painter moved to Paris. Here he was exposed to contemporary art movements that were central to the evolution of his distinctive style. His removal to the Arles countryside, the inspiration for many of his most famous works; his complicated friendship with Gauguin; and his eventual descent into madness and suicide are described and illustrated with García’s soft watercolor illustrations and a few reproductions. Sidebars provide background information about art movements, places, and people that influenced van Gogh. The entire book, including the concluding timeline, is in the first person. This is potentially confusing for children who have a limited understanding of chronology. Some of the statements seem particularly jarring owing to this choice of narrative voice. The timeline states: “in a moment of despair, [I] shot myself in the chest. Two days later, I died.” It will be obvious to most readers that he could not be writing when dead, and this adds a layer of absurdity that derails the otherwise factual tone.
Apart from the peculiar posthumous narration, a useful addition to the artist-biography shelf. (list of paintings, websites) (Biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-59572-770-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Star Bright
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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