A highly recommended addition to this stellar series.
In this series of chapter-book biographies, the common theme is persistence, and that word certainly applies to Oprah Winfrey.
Born to a single mother in Kosciusko, Mississippi, during the Jim Crow era, Oprah was raised by her grandparents on their farm. Once she started school, it was obvious she was bright. However, Oprah’s life was unsettled, as she moved to Wisconsin to join her mother, then two years later to Tennessee to live with her father. Her father was strict about school and church attendance, two areas that gave Oprah opportunities to excel. Her love of reading was noticed, and she was recommended for the Upward Bound program and a rigorous high school. Nevertheless, she struggled with her behavior. During those tumultuous years, Oprah discovered the writings of poet Maya Angelou, and they helped her settle in to schoolwork and speech tournaments. That led to her getting an after-school job at a radio station, then a TV station during college. A move to a Baltimore station led to her success in the interview format and ultimately The Oprah Winfrey Show and international fame. This is a lively introduction to the life of a woman who beat many odds to become successful. Award-winning author Watson describes Oprah’s triumphs as well as her difficulties, including sexual abuse, in age-appropriate prose. Young readers who know only the accomplished philanthropist will take inspiration from knowing of her beginnings. Flint’s black-and-white illustrations enhance the text.
A highly recommended addition to this stellar series. (suggested activities, acknowledgments, references) (Biography. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11598-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
An attractive volume created out of an insubstantial historical anecdote.
Abraham Lincoln gets himself into big trouble and ends up facing a political opponent in a duel.
Two fellows with razor-sharp swords are on a boat together headed to Bloody Island. This may sound like the plot for a pirate adventure tale, but no, this is a true story of Abraham Lincoln and fellow Illinois politician James Shields out to settle a score in 1842, when Lincoln was a young Springfield lawyer. Shields took offense when Lincoln wrote a letter as “Aunt Rebecca” to the Sangamo Journal, a Whig paper, calling Shields a fool and a “conceity dunce.” Following a rash of other letters from the fictitious lady, Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel, and off they went to Bloody Island. Lincoln didn’t want to kill Shields, nor did he care to die himself, so, as the challenged man, Lincoln got to name the weapons and set the rules. He came up with a clever plan that, as things turned out, wasn’t even necessary, as the duel never happened. It was an “almost-duel.” Bowman’s upbeat telling is infused with folksy humor, and Schindler’s superb watercolor-and-ink illustrations effectively capture the period (populating scenes with an all-white cast). After all the setup, though, the conclusion is a letdown, albeit one that is true to history. A rather limp allusion to the Emancipation Proclamation attempts to connect this minor episode to what Lincoln’s best known for. Backmatter offers further information and discusses the political careers of Lincoln and Shields.
An attractive volume created out of an insubstantial historical anecdote. (sources) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-56145-852-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
Well-intentioned but misses the mark.
In an era of renewed attention to feminism comes a biography of the co-founder (along with Dorothy Pitman Hughes) of Ms. magazine.
Author/illustrator Lewis portrays Steinem’s consciousness-raising journey to adulthood using short declarative sentences in the present tense (“This is Gloria. She has big dreams”), striking a decidedly young narrative tone. Pink predominates in the flowery illustrations, beginning with a young Gloria dancing across a pink typewriter’s keys. Later, after having “a big idea,” she stands, arms akimbo, on the same machine, with the unfortunate result that the scale makes her look like a Barbie. Such infantilization of Steinem and her cause permeates the book, from the persistent use of her first name to text that oversimplifies social concepts. Hearing about the “women’s liberation movement[,] Gloria is curious!” Lack of context will puzzle uninformed children. Underutilized as a journalist, “Gloria feels like a typewriter without a ribbon.” What’s a typewriter ribbon? What does “Ms.” mean, and why was it chosen as a magazine title? Steinem also comes across as a white woman rushing to the rescue, both in India and with her “fearless friend Dorothy,” a black woman, posing next to her with raised fist. The only clue to the sophistication of the subject is backmatter with unsourced biographical detail and “page-by-page notes” that are themselves simplistic: “She learned that change comes from the people and in order to learn, you must listen.”
Well-intentioned but misses the mark. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2666-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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