An exciting if uneven volume that offers much to inquisitive kids seeking LGBTQ+ information.
This colorful compendium covers 50 boundary-breaking LGBTQ+ figures from across history and around the globe.
Starting at A with Adam Rippon, each hero receives a straightforward one-page biography that includes an account of how they changed the world, broke a barrier, or fought for LGBTQ+ rights and is accompanied by vivid, blocky illustrations. This list of potential role models includes big names like Harvey Milk as well as some that may be unfamiliar to many Americans, like Simon Nkoli. The selection showcases a diversity of races, ethnicities, genders, and sexualities, with some gaps; for example, the glossary explicitly includes intersex people, yet none are identified as such within the text of their biography, and the only East Asian included is from the second century B.C.E. Stylistically, many of the sentences are wordy and sometimes awkward, including unclear or unusual constructions and tone shifts. Add a handful of cringeworthy word choices, such as “between her legs” and an instance of “female” used as a noun, and readers may find themselves shaking their heads. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the book’s fundamental value as a resource for young people. Prager presents each figure with enthusiasm and provides lots of interesting details that allow readers a glimpse into that person’s world, be it 1970s San Francisco or 1600s Mexico.
An exciting if uneven volume that offers much to inquisitive kids seeking LGBTQ+ information. (timeline, LGBTQ+ flags and symbols, selected bibliography) (Collective biography. 8-14)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294775-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The melodrama is laid on with a trowel, but it’s nevertheless a thoroughly documented, visually rich presentation of the...
Aiming for a young audience, the popular political pundit pares down his Killing Kennedy (2012) considerably (and leaves out the sexual exploits) while shoveling in sheaves of documentary photographs.
O’Reilly writes in staccato bursts of present-tense prose chopped into short chapters and featuring quick shifts in point of view. This effectively cranks up the suspense despite tinges of purple (“The man with fewer than three years to live places his left hand on the Bible”) and the foreordained outcome. The book chronicles John F. Kennedy’s course from PT-109 through a challenging presidency and positively harps on Lee Harvey Oswald’s determined but doomed quest to become a “great man.” Though he ends with a personal anecdote that hints at the possibility of a conspiracy, the author’s closely detailed account of the assassination itself and its aftermath follows the Warren Commission’s version of events. News photos or snapshots on nearly every page provide views of the Kennedy and Oswald families over time, as well as important figures, places and major world events. Aside from a perfunctory list of “Fun Facts About the Early 1960s” that seems misplaced considering the somber topic, the backmatter is both extensive and helpful for further study of Kennedy’s career and accomplishments.
The melodrama is laid on with a trowel, but it’s nevertheless a thoroughly documented, visually rich presentation of the official version. (timeline, quotes, capsule bios, sites, books, films, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9802-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rewarding story, low-key despite its frank heroics.
Astronaut and physician Hilmers’ life has been one of great variety, color and faith—and even a few missteps.
It is breathtaking to read of what Hilmers has achieved since he left the small town in Iowa where he was born. From college, he becomes a naval flight officer in the Marines, goes on to gain a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, joins the corps of space shuttle astronauts, becomes a doctor and academic, then partakes in fieldwork around the globe, tending the poor and in need. Houston spools this out in Hilmers’ first-person voice in matter-of-fact fashion and with a generous helping of humility. The humility comes in part from his religiosity, which he doesn’t overplay—except, perhaps, in the last few pages—but comes in sincere-sounding, deep-running bursts: “God knew exactly what was best for me and my life. He worked it out for his purpose and glory….” But don’t sell Hilmers short when it comes to personal drive and reflectiveness; he was brought up with an ethic of hard work and curiosity, with the desire to do things well, “but not at the expense of someone else. I was competitive, yes, but only to take away the clouds of doubt in my heart and see how far I could push myself.” And it is plenty far—his energy level is exhausting to witness—despite a few sojourns down wayward paths (“I was a sinner in need of salvation”); it now finds him tangling with the spoils of suffering every day, making a difference.
A rewarding story, low-key despite its frank heroics. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-310-73613-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013
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