Interesting but never compelling or heartfelt.
In 1903, 8-year-old millworkers Aiden and Gussie carry pickets demanding an end to child labor practices.
To provide needed income for their families, young children toiled 12 hours a day, six days a week in workplaces that were dangerous and demoralizing. Without access to education, they had no chance for betterment. In Kulling’s tale of protest, when union activist Mother Jones plans a 100-mile march all the way to Oyster Bay, New York, to confront President Theodore Roosevelt, Aiden and Gussie go with her. The march is arduous, with long days of walking, campouts, train rides, some recreation, and speeches that elicit moral and practical support along the way. In the end, the president refuses to meet them, and they must return home. The tale is based on true events and people; it is told here from fictional Aiden’s point of view, wide-eyed and admiring of Mother Jones, enjoying the adventure, and ever hopeful. Kulling follows the path of the march, quoting Jones extensively, but even Aiden and Gussie’s presence doesn’t really bring the events to life. The main characters are white, though there are some brown-skinned people depicted in the crowd scenes. Sala’s illustrations are much too bright and cheerful, with even the cotton mill appearing clean and airy.
Interesting but never compelling or heartfelt. (author’s note, websites) (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-325-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Despite awkwardness, this is a welcome window into an important American life
Pants: Women were not supposed to wear them.
Mary Walker not only got her medical degree in 1855, but found it much easier to do her work dressed smartly in men’s trousers and tailored jacket. She was not accepted in the Union Army at first, but as an unpaid hospital volunteer, she tended the Civil War sick and wounded in Washington, D.C., and field hospitals. She was finally commissioned in late 1863, then captured and imprisoned by the Confederates. She was exchanged for a Confederate officer, and in 1866, she was given the Medal of Honor, the first and only woman to receive it. Harness tries valiantly to work this complicated story into one comprehensible for the early grades, but it makes for some difficult phrasing. Calling her, as some did, a “pesky camp follower” has very negative implications that adults, at least, will get. “Many Americans, especially in the South, firmly believed that enslaving people from Africa was a normal thing to do,” is an awkward encapsulation of the reason for the Civil War. Molinari’s images are richly colored and drawn in an old-fashioned but very compatible style and do a lot toward fleshing out the text.
Despite awkwardness, this is a welcome window into an important American life . (Picture book/biography. 7-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8075-4990-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Parents and (more likely) grandparents who want to introduce children to their favorite band would do better to play a song...
Many adult readers will agree wholeheartedly with the title of this heartfelt paean to the Fab Four, but unfortunately, Krull and Brewer don’t quite manage to offer enough evidence to effectively convey to children the Beatles’ unique appeal and immense contributions to pop culture.
The narrative is straightforward. From their early years in Liverpool through their first big hit, the rapturous response they received in the U.S. and their eventual decision to go their separate ways, the trajectory of the Beatles’ incredible success is clearly plotted. Quirky details suggest that serious research informs the text. Unfortunately some sweeping statements may leave young listeners wondering just why the Beatles were considered “so cool, so funny, so fab.” Innerst’s accomplished acrylic-and-ink illustrations also seem more geared toward nostalgic adults. Exaggerated features and odd perspectives abound. Visual jokes and references enrich the paintings and extend the text, as when the band appears on a roller coaster formed by a guitar case plastered with stickers, but will almost certainly go over the heads of the intended audience.
Parents and (more likely) grandparents who want to introduce children to their favorite band would do better to play a song or two on whatever device is handy—though as Brewer and Krull note, the transformative impact of the Beatles was such that kids may not even recognize the originality of their music. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-50991-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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