A dispensable supplement to the nondigital likes of James Cross Giblin’s When Plague Strikes (1995), superficial of content...
A mobile version of a much more expensive online visual aid that maps the spread of the 14th-century pandemic.
Above a row of seven fixed buttons on a timeline that runs from 1346 to 1351 is a pale, sparsely labeled map that shows most of Africa and Eurasia. Tapping the buttons changes the display. A blot of solid black spreads from an area north of the Caspian Sea in 1346 to encompass, by 1351, southern Japan to western Africa. Overlaid on that, viewers can opt to see about two dozen cities, plus major trade routes; by tapping scattered “I” icons, they can bring up general information in side windows about the time’s major political entities and regional economics, brief quotes from contemporary chroniclers, details of the plague’s spread and some of its long-term consequences. Along with some typos, claims that rats (rather than their fleas) were plague carriers and the implication that the church always opposed pogroms against European Jews are, at best, simplistic. Furthermore, there is no audio, video or (aside from the aforementioned blot) animation, and the extensive review questions supplied by the online version have been trimmed away (a set of discussion/essay topics labeled “Learning Challenges” remains).
A dispensable supplement to the nondigital likes of James Cross Giblin’s When Plague Strikes (1995), superficial of content and, by current standards, feature-poor. (iPad informational app. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: TimeMaps
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers...
From the author of the Animorphs series comes this earnest novel in verse about an orphaned Sudanese war refugee with a passion for cows, who has resettled in Minnesota with relatives.
Arriving in winter, Kek spots a cow that reminds him of his father’s herd, a familiar sight in an alien world. Later he returns with Hannah, a friendly foster child, and talks the cow’s owner into hiring him to look after it. When the owner plans to sell the cow, Kek becomes despondent. Full of wide-eyed amazement and unalloyed enthusiasm for all things American, Kek is a generic—bordering on insulting—stereotype. His tribe, culture and language are never identified; personal details, such as appearance and age, are vague or omitted. Lacking the quirks and foibles that bring characters to life, Kek seems more a composite of traits designed to instruct readers than an engaging individual in his own right.
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers interested in the plight of war refugees. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-312-36765-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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