Simple poems and thoughtful, child-appropriate context make for a worthy kids’ intro to American history.
Willetts presents a collection of poems for young children about the accomplishments of historic and contemporary Americans.
These poems, featuring 25 notable figures from America’s historic and recent past, are presented in a child-friendly style of couplets and quatrains that provide an understanding of how each subject fits into the mosaic of American history. Most of the choices are unsurprising: founding fathers and presidents (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln among them); inventors including Thomas A. Edison and Samuel Morse; and activists for human and civil rights like Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Martin Luther King, Jr. More unexpected selections include marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson and Indigenous Americans Sitting Bull and Sequoyah. The book begins with Benjamin Franklin: “He invented lightning rods and bifocal glasses; / He built elementary schools and college classes. / His Franklin Stove kept us warm at night. / He even found money for our freedom fight.” The collection ends with Neil Armstrong, who “landed the Eagle on Tranquility Base. / He was first on the moon for the human race.” The introduction includes recommendations for ways parents can use the book to teach children “from infancy into elementary school.” Each poem is followed by a “Teachable Moment” section about the lives, times, and historic influence of each subject; activities and questions are included to inspire readers to think beyond the poetry. (Regarding reporter Ida M. Tarbell, one suggested question is, “Should we believe everything we hear or read?”; questions following the poem on Frederick Douglass ask children to ponder the meaning of fairness and equality.) The author takes pains in a forthright afterword to acknowledge that “one can, no doubt, find flaws in some of those depicted in this book,” and that some adults may have preferred other choices. But Willetts notes that the deliberate emphasis here is on the achievements and positive qualities of the subjects. Sasheva’s lavish, full-page, painterly illustrations of each person featured provide visual interest for all ages and are incorporated into suggested seek-and-find activities.
Simple poems and thoughtful, child-appropriate context make for a worthy kids’ intro to American history.Pub Date: April 22, 2019
ISBN: 9781732728301
Page Count: 59
Publisher: Phidactic Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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