Heartening.
One determined man brings two villages together with a hammer, chisel, and an iron will.
Deep in the heart of India, a mighty mountain separates two villages. Manjhi lives on one side, where nothing grows. On the other, rice and wheat flourish. The people there are affluent, while Manjhi’s village struggles with hunger. Manjhi climbs to the top of the mountain to ponder this problem. When he throws a stone, it triggers a sprinkle of powder, which gives him an idea. Manjhi trades his trio of goats for a hammer and chisel. Hurrying back to the top of the mountain, he positions the chisel and strikes it with the hammer. Powdered rock and tiny chips spray. He continues until he’s exhausted, but he’s also filled with hope. Even though people tell him he’s “crazy,” day after day Manjhi returns to the mountain. After a year, Majhi is a little stronger, and the hole he has made a little deeper. He perseveres and, when he returns to his task each day, notices that others have continued his work. It takes 22 years, but Manjhi lives to see the day that two villages become one, sharing water, hopes, and dreams. Churnin’s prose has an elegance appropriate for her inspiring tale, which is based on a true story. Popovich’s double-page illustrations use a warm palette and are nicely composed.
Heartening. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-939547-34-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A title sure to attract ballet aficionados, with added appeal for its depiction of an adoptive family and a ballerina who...
This autobiographical title for newly independent readers will reward efforts with an inspiring story about ballerina Michaela DePrince’s life and passion for dance.
Orphaned as a young child in Sierra Leone, Michaela is a shy girl whose vitiligo causes a loss of pigmentation on parts of her body. This makes her an easy target for teasing, but another child at the orphanage, Mia, befriends her. Another bright spot occurs when she is transfixed by a magazine picture of a ballerina. When an American family adopts her and Mia, their new mother promises that they will study ballet. Michaela’s dreams come true, and she overcomes her shyness in order to perform as a ballerina. The narrative is broken up into chapters detailing her ongoing achievements, and difficult vocabulary is followed by parenthetical phonetic spellings to support decoding. Photographs document Michaela’s life, including images of her time in the orphanage and of her participation in a film entitled First Position, among other highlights. These are interspersed with illustrations that depict ballet positions and Michaela on stage and in class. At its heart is the core message that hard work and determination are the keys to making any dream come true.
A title sure to attract ballet aficionados, with added appeal for its depiction of an adoptive family and a ballerina who just happens to be black. (Early reader/memoir. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-75516-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Weatherford and Colón’s beautiful book does children a service by giving them one more African-American performer to applaud.
Rising from the Mississippi Delta to the stages of the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala, Price had a groundbreaking operatic career.
Weatherford introduces a less familiar name to children, laying out the major events in her life with poetic brevity. Encouraged by her musically gifted parents, the young Price played the piano and listened to Saturday-afternoon opera broadcasts. She heard Marian Anderson’s legendary 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial, but even so, she did not believe that she could become a performer because of her color. The turning point came when a college teacher encouraged her to study music, and gradually a career took shape. Porgy and Bess on Broadway was among her first national performances, and Aida on the opera stage was her triumph. Awards and accolades followed. The poetic text highlights Price’s firsts as an African-American opera singer. Colón employs his signature watercolor, crayon and pencil paintings with scratchboard texturing and a palette of warm teals, greens and oranges that swirl across the pages to capture the grandeur of her performances. One beautiful double-page spread features Price in the costumes of three major roles: the regal Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra, the tragic Cio-Cio from Madame Butterfly and Minnie, the feisty saloon keeper from The Girl of the Golden West.
Weatherford and Colón’s beautiful book does children a service by giving them one more African-American performer to applaud. (author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-375-85606-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
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