A solid addition to the early biography shelf.
This autobiographical picture book highlights the challenges and achievements of six-time Olympic medalist Pryce.
Young Shelly Ann, she tells us, is both tiny and fast, with big dreams of winning great races. It is her grandmother who first introduces her to the idea that she is “a promise.” Puzzled by this but hearing it from others, she runs. Running “to be free,” running “without fear,” Shelly Ann outpaces every competitor in her school-age years. As Pryce’s mother struggles to provide for her family, people in her community continue to validate the promise invested in her by her grandmother. Representing her country, Jamaica, Pryce realizes the promise that so many have recognized in her. “I was a promise to my country and to all who have supported me. A promise to myself and to all those who have loved me.” Writing with Rousseau, Pryce offers a text that’s accessible to new readers, repetition both underscoring her tirelessness and supporting decoding. Firmly outlined in black and opaquely colored, Moss’ images complement this moving story while highlighting both Pryce’s determination and the spirit of Jamaica, especially the support of a loving community (all depicted as black, like Pryce). Backmatter includes further facts about Pryce (athletic achievements and other activities) and a short biography.
A solid addition to the early biography shelf. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61775-764-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Black Sheep Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston...
A memorable, lyrical reverse-chronological walk through the life of an American icon.
In free verse, Cline-Ransome narrates the life of Harriet Tubman, starting and ending with a train ride Tubman takes as an old woman. “But before wrinkles formed / and her eyes failed,” Tubman could walk tirelessly under a starlit sky. Cline-Ransome then describes the array of roles Tubman played throughout her life, including suffragist, abolitionist, Union spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. By framing the story around a literal train ride, the Ransomes juxtapose the privilege of traveling by rail against Harriet’s earlier modes of travel, when she repeatedly ran for her life. Racism still abounds, however, for she rides in a segregated train. While the text introduces readers to the details of Tubman’s life, Ransome’s use of watercolor—such a striking departure from his oil illustrations in many of his other picture books—reveals Tubman’s humanity, determination, drive, and hope. Ransome’s lavishly detailed and expansive double-page spreads situate young readers in each time and place as the text takes them further into the past.
A picture book more than worthy of sharing the shelf with Alan Schroeder and Jerry Pinkney’s Minty (1996) and Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson’s Moses (2006). (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2047-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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