by Richard Panchyk ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2018
With its generous sampling of primary sources and detailed accounts of historical events, this volume offers much for the...
Panchyk offers a 400-year history of Boston, covering the arrival of European settlers through the Boston Marathon bombing.
The book’s timeline begins in 1614 with Capt. John Smith exploring the Massachusetts coast. Chapter 1, “Roots,” describes the first European settlers and their arrival in Massachusetts, Boston’s geology, and the origins of the city’s name. Native Americans are mentioned only once in passing, until the last page of the chapter, which offers an activity that discusses the origins of the name Massachusetts and encourages readers to search for Native names of places near them and to see “which tribes lived in your area in centuries past.” Chapter 2, “Early Roots,” describes early Colonial government and laws, the 1638 earthquake, the smallpox outbreak, and the witch trials. A small column tells of the banning of Native Americans from Boston in 1675 after King Philip’s War, a ban that was not repealed until 2005, and the mass jailing of Native people on the harbor’s islands. Chapters on the Revolution, the post-Revolution period of development and immigration, and modern Boston detail major events, development of the city, and cultural notes, with almost all of the highlights placing the contributions of white Americans at the center. Suggested activities range in nature from creative writing (write a poem inspired by Emerson, write newspaper headlines) to science (an archaeological dig), architecture, and math (home-run percentage). Some of the activities offer a deeper level of critical thinking suitable for older children, while others are simplistic.
With its generous sampling of primary sources and detailed accounts of historical events, this volume offers much for the young history enthusiast, but it misses an opportunity to incorporate Indigenous people and non-Europeans in a meaningful way. (timeline, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-61373-712-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Bob Staake
by Linda Coombs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2023
A poignant and powerful look at identity, change, and resiliency.
An Indigenous perspective on the impact of European settlement.
Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag) uses two distinct voices to share information. The alternating chapters prefaced with “When Life Was Our Own” demonstrate the intergenerational sharing of knowledge about Wampanoag life based on oral traditions and research. Within these narratives, she teaches specific lessons: For example, readers learn how cedar was harvested with respect, “in a way that encouraged the growth of new saplings.” Later, they hear about how a sachem, or tribal leader, would resolve conflicts through a football game in order to avoid fighting. The voice of the remaining chapters “is inclusive of all tribal nations in southern New England,” covering history from the 1400s to the present. These chapters define and explore racism and provide facts about the devastating effects of the Europeans’ presence. Explorers’ 1524 arrival in present-day Rhode Island was followed by the Great Dying that wiped out entire Indigenous villages between 1616 and 1618. Europeans then proceeded to extract profits from natural resources, in contrast to Indigenous beliefs that “only the Creator who made the land could own it.” The epilogue describes the situation for Wampanoag people and other southern New England tribes in their territories today. Text boxes labeled “Let’s Think About This” pose critical thinking questions about the communities’ opposing viewpoints and engage readers. Black-and-white photos and artwork support the text. Together, the two intertwined narratives form a cohesive, engaging whole.
A poignant and powerful look at identity, change, and resiliency. (bibliography, resources, image credits) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9780593480434
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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