A smart, inclusive and evocative account of a mountain, its character and its past.
A solid introduction to the world’s highest mountain has a you-are-there feel.
The Athanses have collaborated in a most fruitful way: Sandra as a narrative Sherpa of sorts and Pete as the raconteur of riveting adventure stories from his 14 attempts, in which he succeeded in summiting a staggering seven times. Sandra has lots of stunning facts to display—the 250 mph gusts of wind, the deadly snowstorms, the killer illnesses that can strike climbers—as well as notorious landscapes to explore: the Khumbu Icefall, the Death Zone, the Hillary Step. And certainly there are important questions to address, from the mountain’s name in Tibetan and Nepalese to how one goes to the bathroom when there is no bathroom to go to. It all smoothly gathers, like snowflakes into a glacier, and a bright, dangerous and humbling portrait of Everest/Chomolungma/Sagarmatha takes shape. Pete adds handfuls of colorful episodes, mostly crackerjack moments of mayhem averted, which are made substantive by the many tack-sharp photographs. Local guides and porters are well incorporated into the story, as are regional customs and mountain culture.
A smart, inclusive and evocative account of a mountain, its character and its past. (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-6506-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
An extraordinary tale of sisterhood and survival, told with simplicity.
A true story of two sisters—one Deaf and one hearing—and how they endured a perilous childhood in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
Herta Myers, 8, and Renee, 10, are sisters living in Bratislava, the capital of what was then Czechoslovakia, during World War II. Renee is her family’s ears, as Herta and both of their parents are Deaf. They all communicate using sign language. Renee becomes so good at recognizing the sound of soldiers’ boots outside the window that she can warn her family of any danger. With narration traded between the girls, readers learn that the sisters are hidden on a farm with a couple who are also Deaf. Eventually, separated from their parents, the sisters’ journey leads them to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where their collective resolve is endlessly tested. This is a compelling story, exploring the role that senses play when one is in danger as well as presenting the candid recollections of everyday details of two children navigating appalling conditions during wartime. It is, however, a lot to process for kids who are as young as Herta and Renee were at the time of their most traumatic experiences. In the epilogue, co-author Greene reveals that this book is largely a compilation and interweaving of the transcripts of interviews that these two sisters gave to the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.
An extraordinary tale of sisterhood and survival, told with simplicity. (poem, photographs) (Memoir. 10-14)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-75335-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
A crucial re-education in a likely unfamiliar history and an immersion in noteworthy art all at once.
Filling an important void, this picture book delivers stories from a history about which most U.S. children remain woefully ignorant: that of Black Canadian women.
Most American kids know stories of Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Sojourner Truth. But who were their equivalents in Canada? This strikingly illustrated collective biography captures some of the incredible life stories of unsung Canadian heroes who broke racial, social, political, and other boundaries to make life better for other Black Canadians. The Colored Women’s Club, for instance, founded in 1902, “focused on supporting Black communities in Montreal” through services like soup kitchens and clothing giveaways. The organization now provides scholarships for black youth, having remained active since its establishment. Readers meet musicians, educators, gay rights activists, and entrepreneurs who paved the way for other Black Canadian visionaries. Moyer’s unusual, eye-catching illustrations feature brightly colored backgrounds with focal characters whose figures appear in black and white. But while their faces are depicted using black-and-white photographs, paintings, or sketches, they all feature stylized dots and striations on them that resemble tribal markings. These distinctive characteristics invite readers to slow down and carefully consider the faces of these powerful women who dared.
A crucial re-education in a likely unfamiliar history and an immersion in noteworthy art all at once. (Collective biography. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77260-071-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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