The life of one of America’s best-loved entertainers gets top-notch treatment in this highly enjoyable and eminently simpatico biography. Told in a vernacular worthy of the great man himself, the narrative recounts the adventures of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain from birth through his travels in America’s Wild West, switching nomenclature from Clemens to Twain as the context demands. According to Fleischman, Twain “loosened up the language for us,” a fact apparent in the biographer’s own delivery. To hear him tell it, Twain’s accomplishments “…changed literature forever. He scraped earth under its fingernails and taught it to spit.” The former magician-turned-novelist intrepidly meets the challenge of recording the life of a man who once notably said, “A lie well told is immortal,” always noting when a fact or situation may or may not have actually occurred. All this makes for a more spirited and engaging biography than your average rote declaration of facts and dates. No worthier Twain bio will cross a child’s path than this feisty title, filled to the brim with ample grins and sly, knowing winks. (Biography. 9-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-134431-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
Informative and engaging.
An exploration of the lives of Black people throughout American history who were inspired, guided, and fortified by their Christian faith as they challenged injustice.
This comprehensive book spans centuries, beginning in 1625 with William, who may have been “the first child born to an African couple in British-settled North America,” and ending with modern-day figures such as Brenda Salter McNeil, a university professor, pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and author of Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage To Pursue Racial Justice Now. The eight chronological sections include an attractive full-page portrait of each subject, followed by short biographies that highlight their achievements and the role of Christianity in their lives. The activists include both well-known names, like Phillis Wheatley, Benjamin Banneker, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisholm, and Toni Morrison, and those who will be new (and equally fascinating) to many readers. Tisby provides helpful context for the biographical sketches, describing how racial segregation and the institution of slavery took hold in the U.S. He uses accessible language that presents his subjects in a humanizing way and effectively illustrates the challenging conditions they endured, but he doesn’t make their situations seem completely hopeless. Readers are encouraged to reflect on how they believe they would have acted in various situations. A strong sense of justice and defiance shines through, showing that there is always hope, even when it seems like things will never get better.
Informative and engaging. (author’s note, bibliography, source notes) (Nonfiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780310145592
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself.
Middle school drama hits hard in this coming-of-age graphic memoir.
Natural competitor Misty has faced off against the boys for years, always coming out on top, but now they’re moving on without her into the land of full-contact football. Never one to back away from a challenge, Misty resolves to join the team and convinces her best friend, Bree, to join her. While Misty pours herself into practicing, obviously uninterested Bree—who was motivated more by getting to be around boys than doing sports—drifts toward popular queen bee Ava, creating an uneasy dynamic. Feeling estranged from Bree, Misty, who typically doesn’t think much about her appearance, tries to navigate seventh grade—even experimenting with a more traditionally feminine gender expression—while also mastering her newfound talent for tackling and facing hostility from some boys on the team. Readers with uncommon interests will relate to the theme of being the odd one out. Social exclusion and cutting remarks can be traumatic, so it’s therapeutic to see Misty begin to embrace her differences instead of trying to fit in with frenemies who don’t value her. The illustrations are alive with color and rich emotional details, pairing perfectly with the heartfelt storytelling. The husband-and-wife duo’s combined efforts will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale. Main characters present as White; some background characters read as Black.
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself. (Graphic memoir. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-306469-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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