by Rose Viña ; illustrated by Gloria Félix ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2021
A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more.
Many readers are familiar with Misty Copeland, but how many know about Alicia Alonso?
Viña begins this appealing biography in 1929 in Havana, Cuba. Excited to learn ballet, Alonso trains daily in “the only pair [of pointe shoes] available in the whole country.” She is a girl with a dream to practice an art that does yet exist fully in her homeland. In 1937 she leaves for New York City, in spite of her father’s disapproval, to train, with limited English, at the American Ballet Theatre. There she faces unimpressed teachers but nonetheless receives praise for her technique. When faltering vision causes her to pause training to undergo multiple surgeries to save her eyesight, she eventually ends up on bed rest for a year after a final operation. Alonso relies on her imagination and memory to keep dancing—a remarkable example of her determination. Viña chronicles Alonso’s recovery and eventual stardom as a principal ballerina in Giselle, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote in spite of living with low-vision disabilities, concluding with Alonso’s return to Cuba in 1958, which marks the founding of Ballet Nacional de Cuba. With Spanish words infused so that they flow naturally throughout, Viña adds an authentic cultural layer to an inspiring artist’s career. Félix’s illustrations, while straightforward and simple, add colorful richness that brings Viña’s engaging storytelling to life.
A solid introduction to a Cuban ballet legend that will inspire readers to learn more. (author’s note, resources) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1454-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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by Kamala Harris ; illustrated by Mechal Renee Roe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2019
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments.
The junior senator from California introduces family and friends as everyday superheroes.
The endpapers are covered with cascades of, mostly, early childhood snapshots (“This is me contemplating the future”—caregivers of toddlers will recognize that abstracted look). In between, Harris introduces heroes in her life who have shaped her character: her mom and dad, whose superpowers were, respectively, to make her feel special and brave; an older neighbor known for her kindness; grandparents in India and Jamaica who “[stood] up for what’s right” (albeit in unspecified ways); other relatives and a teacher who opened her awareness to a wider world; and finally iconic figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley who “protected people by using the power of words and ideas” and whose examples inspired her to become a lawyer. “Heroes are…YOU!” she concludes, closing with a bulleted Hero Code and a timeline of her legal and political career that ends with her 2017 swearing-in as senator. In group scenes, some of the figures in the bright, simplistic digital illustrations have Asian features, some are in wheelchairs, nearly all are people of color. Almost all are smiling or grinning. Roe provides everyone identified as a role model with a cape and poses the author, who is seen at different ages wearing an identifying heart pin or decoration, next to each.
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-49-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Carme Lemniscates ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world.
In an inviting picture book, Chelsea and Hillary Clinton share personal revelations on how gardening with a grandmother, a mother, and children shapes and nurtures a love and respect for nature, beauty, and a general philosophy for life.
Grandma Dorothy, the former senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate’s mother, loved gardens, appreciating the multiple benefits they yielded for herself and her family. The Clinton women reminisce about their beloved forebear and all she taught them in a color-coded, alternating text, blue for Chelsea and green for Hillary. Via brief yet explicit remembrances, they share what they learned, observed, and most of all enjoyed in gardens with her. Each double-page spread culminates in a declarative statement set in italicized red text invoking Dorothy’s wise words. Gardens can be many things: places for celebration, discovery and learning, vehicles for teaching responsibility in creating beauty, home to wildlife large and small, a place to share stories and develop memories. Though operating from very personal experience rooted in class privilege, the mother-daughter duo mostly succeeds in imparting a universally significant message: Whether visiting a public garden or working in the backyard, generations can cultivate a lasting bond. Lemniscates uses an appropriately floral palette to evoke the gardens explored by these three white women. A Spanish edition, Los jardines de la abuela, publishes simultaneously; Teresa Mlawer’s translation is fluid and pleasing, in at least one case improving on the original.
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11535-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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by Hillary Rodham Clinton ; illustrated by Marla Frazee
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