by Robert Burleigh & illustrated by Bruce Strachan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004
From October 1621 (the first Thanksgiving) to October 2001 (a vigil commemorating 9/11), 18 scenes from US history are presented in clay tableaux. The expected and even hackneyed (Washington crossing the Delaware, Neil Armstrong on the moon) share space with the less clichéd (Susan B. Anthony sentenced for attempting to vote, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington playing together), each tableau accompanied by a breathless, present-tense evocation of the moment. “An Immigrant Arriv[ing] at Ellis Island” tells his son he isn’t sure what they’ll do, but “[w]hen you grow up, though, who knows? This is America. Much is possible.” Burleigh’s text shamelessly wrings the emotion out of the event, frequently passing over from evocative to mawkish and favoring legend over fact (Rosa Parks’s history as an activist is strangely absent). Strachan’s dioramas feature oil-painted clay figures, whose often outsized heads situate themselves along a scale from cartoonish to grotesque. Endnotes (in a teeny-tiny typeface) go into more detail on each scene, but continue the one-note sentimentality. More well-meaning propaganda than real nonfiction. (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8050-7082-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Share your opinion of this book
More by Robert Burleigh
BOOK REVIEW
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor
BOOK REVIEW
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor
BOOK REVIEW
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor
by Ruby Shamir ; illustrated by Matt Faulkner ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017
A reasonably solid grounding in constitutional rights, their flexibility, lacunae, and hard-won corrections, despite a few...
Shamir offers an investigation of the foundations of freedoms in the United States via its founding documents, as well as movements and individuals who had great impacts on shaping and reshaping those institutions.
The opening pages of this picture book get off to a wobbly start with comments such as “You know that feeling you get…when you see a wide open field that you can run through without worrying about traffic or cars? That’s freedom.” But as the book progresses, Shamir slowly steadies the craft toward that wide-open field of freedom. She notes the many obvious-to-us-now exclusivities that the founding political documents embodied—that the entitled, white, male authors did not extend freedom to enslaved African-Americans, Native Americans, and women—and encourages readers to learn to exercise vigilance and foresight. The gradual inclusion of these left-behind people paints a modestly rosy picture of their circumstances today, and the text seems to give up on explaining how Native Americans continue to be left behind. Still, a vital part of what makes freedom daunting is its constant motion, and that is ably expressed. Numerous boxed tidbits give substance to the bigger political picture. Who were the abolitionists and the suffragists, what were the Montgomery bus boycott and the “Uprising of 20,000”? Faulkner’s artwork conveys settings and emotions quite well, and his drawing of Ruby Bridges is about as darling as it gets. A helpful timeline and bibliography appear as endnotes.
A reasonably solid grounding in constitutional rights, their flexibility, lacunae, and hard-won corrections, despite a few misfires. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54728-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Gavin Newsom
BOOK REVIEW
by Gavin Newsom with Ruby Shamir ; illustrated by Alexandra Thompson
BOOK REVIEW
by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey ; adapted by Ruby Shamir
BOOK REVIEW
by Ruby Shamir ; illustrated by Gillian Flint
by Fran Hodgkins & illustrated by Y Kelley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2007
Hodgkins’s entry in the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science series draws a visual timeline from centuries back, when humans’ dreams of flying evolved into reality. The succinct, simplified text cites human efforts to fly like birds and describes the aeronautical physics of gliding using drag force, thrust and lift. Kelley’s breezy illustrations convey a buoyant tone and keep the explanations understandable for curious young minds. Two pages of backmatter provide “Flying Facts” and instructions for making a paper airplane. Lightly touching on everything from the days of imagining the winged Icarus and dreaming of wings to today’s nonchalance about air travel, this is a welcome addition to easy science books about humans and flight. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-029558-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Collins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
Share your opinion of this book
More by Fran Hodgkins
BOOK REVIEW
by Fran Hodgkins ; illustrated by Dan Tavis
BOOK REVIEW
by Fran Hodgkins illustrated by Donnachada Daly
BOOK REVIEW
by Fran Hodgkins & illustrated by Karel Hayes
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.