An enlightening and visually superb bookshelf addition.
Diamondstein celebrates Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and her lifelong love of reading in this debut illustrated children’s book.
Following a tidy biographical timeline, the author shows the impact that literature had on Jackie throughout various stages of her life and how a passion for reading deepened the first lady’s personal connections. Readers first meet Jackie as a bookish youngster who forgoes naptime for reading, writes stories, and memorizes poetry with her grandfather, who encourages her to write poems of her own. Jackie’s spirited rhyme “Sea Joy” appears in the book (“I can think of nothing I want more / Than to live by the booming blue sea / As the seagulls flutter round about me”). In her teens, Jackie writes for the school newspaper, and her college essay (“People I Wish I Had Known”) wins a Vogue magazine contest. Later, while working as a journalist, she meets her future husband, fellow book enthusiast and then-senator John F. Kennedy. Readers learn about Jackie’s weekly newspaper column (which boosted her husband’s profile during his presidential campaign), the White House guidebook she helped create as first lady, and the ways in which she instilled a love of reading in her children. When she is widowed in 1963, Jackie and her children make a fresh start in New York City and she eventually secures her first publishing job, editing nearly 100 books throughout her career. Langley’s whimsical illustrations, rendered in realistic colors, capture the sparkling creativity of Jackie’s world, while Diamondstein’s quiet, no-frills text reflects the informed and calm demeanor of the crisply tailored subject herself. Excellent additional details can be gleaned from the artwork, such as a selection of books Jackie edited (including Amy the Dancing Bear by singer-songwriter Carly Simon and My Book of Flowers by the late Princess Grace of Monaco). The author, a school library media specialist and teacher, uses age-appropriate language to introduce early readers to a captivating female historical figure and handles delicate themes with care. History fans and book lovers of all ages will adore this.
An enlightening and visually superb bookshelf addition.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781510776425
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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