A stirring, suspenseful true story of dangerous adventure and remarkable survival.
In this true, thrilling adventure story, 55-year-old former president Theodore Roosevelt joins an expedition to explore an uncharted river deep in the Amazon jungle and barely makes it out alive.
Long before he was president of the United States, Roosevelt was famous as an intrepid adventurer. While on a speaking tour of South America, Roosevelt receives an offer he cannot refuse: lead an expedition deep into a mostly unknown region of the Amazon to chart an unmapped river. Accompanying him are his son Kermit and renowned Brazilian explorer Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, quite similar to Roosevelt in stamina and temperament. The expedition is plagued with difficulties from the beginning. Besides having to trudge through thick, unforgiving jungle and navigate an unpredictably dangerous river with raging rapids and steep waterfalls, Roosevelt and his companions must endure myriad threats such as ferocious insects, malaria, near starvation, bloodthirsty piranhas, poisonous snakes, and hostile indigenous peoples. Seiple’s crisply written, briskly paced narrative brings the constant state of danger to the fore, smoothly weaving in quotations from primary sources. As close to death as he has ever been, Roosevelt characteristically remarks, "I did have a murderous trip down South, but it was mighty interesting." One unfortunate oversight is an absence of specific source notes for these quotations.
A stirring, suspenseful true story of dangerous adventure and remarkable survival. (photos, “Teddy’s Travel Tips,” timeline, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-70916-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
A solid choice for school and public libraries, with special appeal for animal lovers.
Throughout history, animals working with humans have played important roles in human warfare.
The author of Dogs at War (2017) broadens her look at the use of animals in war by introducing other species—elephants, horses, mules, camels, pigeons, and marine mammals—as well as animal mascots, experimental subjects, and 21st-century considerations of animal rights. Teen readers may particularly enjoy the specific stories, but they might learn something of world history in the process. Goldsmith (Pandemic, 2018, etc.) opens with the example of Judy, a dog who rescued drowning British POWs and stayed with one in prison camp until the end of World War II. Like many of the animals introduced, Judy won Britain’s Dickin Medal for animal heroism. In chapters generally focused on specific species, she discusses the roles animals played historically as well as today and mentions current use of bomb-sniffing rats and drone-attacking eagles. Quotations from handlers attest to the animals’ strong connections with humans and their importance in these roles. Each spread includes a well-captioned photograph and plentiful section heads to break up the text. Occasionally, specific examples are set off on a differently designed page. Extensive backmatter includes suggestions for further exploration of the topic in varied formats.
A solid choice for school and public libraries, with special appeal for animal lovers. (source notes, glossary, selected bibliography, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-9804-2
Page Count: 140
Publisher: Twenty-First Century/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
The book’s tonal missteps make it an unnecessary addition to an already crowded field.
This latest addition to the rapidly expanding genre of compilations of biographies of pioneering women focuses on extraordinary teens.
Beginning with Cleopatra in 69 B.C.E. and concluding with 21st-century heroes such as Emma González, readers learn about young women who accomplished extraordinary things as teenagers. Each brief biography is accompanied by appealing full-color illustrations, including a portrait of the subject and inspirational quotes. The book also includes ideas for becoming involved in community activism. While 12 profiles feature nonwhite women, only three are from the global south (Cleopatra, Frida Kahlo, and Malala Yousafzai), thus erasing important historical context for Western readers. The section on African-American poet Phillis Wheatley calls her emancipation a “pleasant surprise” handed to her by a benevolent slave owner. Sacagawea, the Shoshone girl who guided Lewis and Clark on their expedition, is called out for representing “the interests of the U.S. government,” but there is no mention that this same government decimated her people. Particularly unfortunate is the use of an insensitive quote from Lewis’ journal about this likely traumatized young woman—kidnapped at 12 and married to a white man who won her through gambling—to praise her resilience: “ ‘If she has enough to eat and a few trinkets to wear, we believe she would be contented anywhere.’ Which is to say, Sacagawea rolled with the punches.”
The book’s tonal missteps make it an unnecessary addition to an already crowded field. (Nonfiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-20020-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Castle Point Books/St. Martin's Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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