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LANGSTON’S TRAIN RIDE

Name: LANGSTON’S TRAIN RIDE
Author: Robert Burleigh
ISBN: 0-439-35239-8

by Robert Burleigh & illustrated by Leonard Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004

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Stunning illustrations cannot rescue a deeply flawed text that purports to capture Langston Hughes’s excitement upon writing “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and its subsequent publication. Leonard Jenkins’s richly colored multi-media illustrations leap and dance, never standing still on the page. He evokes both Jazz Age Harlem and the great American Midwest with bold brushstrokes and a combination of print and collage, granting the subjects an appropriately mythic quality. But Burleigh’s text, delivered as if in Hughes’s own voice, goes way beyond invented dialogue—it’s an entirely invented stream-of-consciousness that takes readers from Hughes’s first publication party back to the train ride that sparked the great poem. This narration is almost painfully disingenuous, if not downright phony: “I’m on my way—to one of the best days of my young life.” The author’s presumption in appropriating what is unknowable—Hughes’s thoughts at these times—is breathtaking. There are no references whatsoever to sources in the back matter, although there is a brief biographical note, and Hughes’s poem itself is printed in full. Unfortunately, this offering does its subject a grievous injustice. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-439-35239-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
ICE BEARS AT ICE EDGE
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor

- BOOK REVIEW
BREAKING WAVES
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor

- BOOK REVIEW
WILBUR WRIGHT MEETS LADY LIBERTY
by Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Wendell Minor

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REACHING FOR THE MOON

by Buzz Aldrin & illustrated by Wendell Minor ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2005

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In first-person voice, Aldrin highlights points from his childhood that led to his dream of being an astronaut and making the historic moon landing. Coincidental details like his mother’s maiden name, “Moon,” and his favorite movie hero, the “Lone Ranger,” suggest clues to his destiny. After West Point, he joined the Air Force because “he wanted to fly more than anything.” Minor’s usual beautiful and realistic illustrations effectively convey spatial perspectives and movement, adding depth to the narrative. However, the cover design and type layout are confusing, indicative of a biography instead of an autobiography—a brief intro could have clarified it. Aldrin’s message in an author’s note avows, “If you set your sights high, you may accomplish more than you ever dreamed.” Pair this with Don Brown’s One Giant Step for a child’s-eye view on space exploration. (Flight/space exploration chronology) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-055445-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
TO THE MOON AND BACK
by Buzz Aldrin & Marianne Dyson ; illustrated by Bruce Foster

- BOOK REVIEW
LOOK TO THE STARS
by Buzz Aldrin and illustrated by Wendell Minor

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POCKET POEMS

edited by Bobbi Katz & illustrated by Marylin Hafner ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2004

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With an eye toward easy memorization, Katz gathers over 50 short poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Valerie Worth, Jack Prelutsky, and Lewis Carroll, to such anonymous gems as “The Burp”—“Pardon me for being rude. / It was not me, it was my food. / It got so lonely down below, / it just popped up to say hello.” Katz includes five of her own verses, and promotes an evident newcomer, Emily George, with four entries. Hafner surrounds every selection with fine-lined cartoons, mostly of animals and children engaged in play, reading, or other familiar activities. Amid the ranks of similar collections, this shiny-faced newcomer may not stand out—but neither will it drift to the bottom of the class. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)