Inspiring portraits of accomplished Indigenous women.
Twelve profiles of Native American and First Nations women are collected in this engaging work.
The individuals included here have achieved success in many fields, from Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna), a U.S. Representative from New Mexico, to the late Mary Golda Ross (Cherokee), an elite aeronautical engineer at Lockheed. Each profile begins with an inspirational quote, features approximately six to eight pages describing the subject’s early life and later achievements, and concludes with a list of their awards and honors. Photographs enhance the text. While their lives and talents are diverse, the women share strong beliefs in the sanctity of family and the preservation of their cultures and languages. Some of the women grew up on a reserve, some moved around in their youth, but all faced challenges. The book shows how they have overcome racial and gender discrimination, poverty, abuse, and other obstacles to become leaders in their professions and communities. Highlighting how each found a way to keep a positive outlook, it also shows that when their goals seemed unachievable, there was a family member or a teacher who believed in them and pushed them to move beyond the expectations of Indigenous women in the non-Native world. These remarkable stories, relayed in straightforward and accessible prose, will serve as catalysts, propelling young people to seek the potential they have within themselves.
Inspiring portraits of accomplished Indigenous women. (references, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-939053-32-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: 7th Generation
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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