A stirring tale of grit and perseverance.
The true story of Maryam Faruqi, an Indian woman who fought for girls’ education rights.
When Maryam—called Milloo—reads, her “thoughts dance…, her mind breathe[s], and her heart hum[s].” Shy Milloo doesn’t speak up in class, though—until the day her teacher doesn’t show up and she takes control of the class, awakening a desire to teach. Though in 1930s India, girls weren’t expected to pursue an education, she finishes not only school, but also college. Her teaching plans are dashed when her husband says she can’t work. But that doesn’t stop her—as she often says, “Enough is enough!” Milloo eventually moves to Karachi, Pakistan, and founds Happy Home Schools, helping thousands of girls to follow her example and obtain educations. This biographical picture book is elegantly told and splendidly illustrated. Powerful prose underscores Milloo’s determination and the importance of gender equity in education. Rose-ringed parakeets fly across the endpapers as a graduation robe flaps in the wind, and floral and faunal motifs can be found throughout. The detailed art invites readers to linger over each page, poring over collaged outfits and patterns, all of which evoke a strong sense of place. In an appended note, the author—Maryam Faruqi’s granddaughter—offers more information about Milloo’s life and work. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A stirring tale of grit and perseverance. (glossary) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-305661-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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