An inspiring story for any young girl waiting to make her mark on society
A novel for young readers that celebrates the life of bold, black self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker.
Sarah Breedlove is the first child born in her family after slavery, but she is orphaned at 8. After living with her older sister and unkind brother-in-law, Sarah decides to take her future into her own hands. At 14, she marries Moses, a man she meets at church, and together they have a little girl, Lelia. Moses is lynched when Sarah is 20, and she decides to leave the Deep South, settling in St. Louis and then Denver. Although mentions of hair are threaded throughout the quick-moving tale, Sarah does not begin working with hair-care products until years later, when she enters the upper echelon of black society. Readers will learn about the sensitive topic of black women’s hair, the lesser-known Annie Turnbo’s important role in encouraging natural hair, and Sarah’s brilliant business savvy and determination. No one can deny that when barriers stood strong for both women and blacks, Sarah stood firm in rising to meet those challenges and providing opportunities to blacks. Bright, matte illustrations, dominated by deep greens, brick reds, and rich browns, appear every few pages and extend the book’s message. Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code publishes simultaneously, and both books have several pages of activities in the backmatter.
An inspiring story for any young girl waiting to make her mark on society . (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7331761-9-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Timbuktu
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both.
Flash, Batman, and other characters from the DC Comics universe tackle supervillains and STEM-related topics and sometimes, both.
Credited to 20 writers and illustrators in various combinations, the 10 episodes invite readers to tag along as Mera and Aquaman visit oceanic zones from epipelagic to hadalpelagic; Supergirl helps a young scholar pick a science-project topic by taking her on a tour of the solar system; and Swamp Thing lends Poison Ivy a hand to describe how DNA works (later joining Swamp Kid to scuttle a climate-altering scheme by Arcane). In other episodes, various costumed creations explain the ins and outs of diverse large- and small-scale phenomena, including electricity, atomic structure, forensic techniques, 3-D printing, and the lactate threshold. Presumably on the supposition that the characters will be more familiar to readers than the science, the minilectures tend to start from simple basics, but the figures are mostly both redrawn to look more childlike than in the comics and identified only in passing. Drawing styles and page designs differ from chapter to chapter but not enough to interrupt overall visual unity and flow—and the cast is sufficiently diverse to include roles for superheroes (and villains) of color like Cyborg, Kid Flash, and the Latina Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz. Appended lists of websites and science-based YouTube channels, plus instructions for homespun activities related to each episode, point inspired STEM-winders toward further discoveries.
Contentwise, an arbitrary assortment…but sure to draw fans of comics, of science, or of both. (Graphic nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77950-382-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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