A visually exciting introduction to a famous spy case and a name synonymous with “traitor.” (aftermath, timelines, places to...
During the Revolutionary War, Maj. John André and Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold each sought glory, but instead both found ruin.
André was in charge of British secret intelligence. Arnold was the American hero of the Battle of Saratoga. But Arnold felt slighted. Maimed in the battle, capable of no further battlefield heroics, and denied official reward and recognition from Congress, he sought fame and fortune in an unusual way: plotting with André, he would hand over the American stronghold of West Point and its 3,000 soldiers to the British. This would hasten the end of the war, and Americans would be grateful. However, this was treason. André was caught and hanged, and Arnold lived in exile for the rest of his life. It’s a complicated story, and Castrovilla’s choice of telling it in alternating third-person points of view diffuses dramatic tension and pacing. Even the concluding gallows scene is kept at a distance, in both words and image. The illustrations, however, are stellar, employing O’Brien’s signature squiggly ink lines and watercolor for an effect akin to 18th-century hand-colored woodcuts. The effective alternation of framed illustrations and full-bleed spreads adds necessary drama to the tale. Overall, a volume that young history buffs will find absorbing.
A visually exciting introduction to a famous spy case and a name synonymous with “traitor.” (aftermath, timelines, places to visit, resources) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62979-341-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Superficial at best.
Readers are introduced to 10 notable expeditions through history and challenged to identify anachronisms in as many tableaux.
From Marco Polo’s 13th-century trek to China to Apollo 11, each journey is presented in two double-page spreads. The first is an expansive cartoon scene that imagines the principal players and is glossed by a short paragraph. Planted in each of these are 20 anachronisms. Two children, one white and one black, act as guides and drop the occasional hint: “What’s that Viking doing here?” says one in a scene introducing Zheng He’s 15th-century treasure fleet. The subsequent spread offers a guide to the goofs, explaining what’s out of place and briefly discussing what might have been there instead. A steel-drum band welcomes Columbus to Hispaniola, for instance, but readers are told that actual 15th-century “Taino would have used simple drums fashioned from wood and leather.” Some planted errors are obvious, such as Capt. Cook’s “I [heart] NY” T-shirt, but other elements may not jump out at readers, such as the red and white club held by a Maori chief—readers must peruse the key to discover it’s an aluminum baseball bat and not an authentic carved and painted artifact. The repeated use of a Plains Indian in feathered headdress reinforces stereotypes and could well fuel confusion, as when he appears in the Missouri River encounter between the Lewis and Clark expedition and unidentified Native Americans.
Superficial at best. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78603-130-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Andy Warhol once said, “I am a deeply superficial person,” and he sure comes across that way.
Readers can explore just what makes art art with Andy Warhol.
A fictional Andy Warhol discusses career highlights as he introduces readers to the existential question “What is art?” The story unfolds in a nonlinear fashion with loose-lined illustrations of Warhol’s life. Early on the artist asks readers: “What does a real artist look like anyway?” From there, the story veers from career highlight to career highlight, hitting the Campbell’s Soup series, the Marilyn Monroe silkscreens, the Velvet Underground (not mentioned by name), and Interview magazine. Along the way, the fictional Andy challenges readers to consider the paradigms of fame, art, and celebrity. It’s a cool challenge, but it’s also one that may be a little too hip and a little too glib for readers. Like the real Warhol, the book drops names without explanation and then flits on to a different topic as if it’s a little bored with the old one. The short, blasé sentences and questions to readers that assume answers combine into a slightly condescending tone that might be very Warhol but isn’t very engaging in a biography section. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Andy Warhol once said, “I am a deeply superficial person,” and he sure comes across that way. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-77715-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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