The pride of any bookshelf, this is a delightful introduction to LGBTQ+ history.
There's pride everywhere!
This stirring work affirms that LGBTQ+ people have existed for centuries. Caldwell notes that ancient cultures—Greece, Rome, Egypt, India, and China—all reflect stories of queer love and offers profiles of queer people throughout history—Oscar Wilde, Lili Elbe, and Audre Lorde, for example—who have embraced their authentic selves. “Have You Heard Of” boxes scattered throughout shed light on lesser-known people who advanced LGBTQ+ rights, such as AIDS activist Cecilia Chung (b. 1935), former drag performer and political hopeful José Sarria (1922-2013), and openly lesbian suffragette Lettice Floyd (1865-1934). Each of the seven chapters includes essays from young people articulating why they're proud members of the LGBTQ+ community. Moments of history are explored in brief vignettes that range in length from a paragraph to approximately two pages. Bright digital illustrations, color and black-and-white photographs, and bold background colors that mirror various pride flags decorate the pages. As a whole, the information provided is far from exhaustive, but it serves to inspire, educate, and bolster—and it does these things exceedingly well. Curious readers will find a springboard for further research—and more potential role models.
The pride of any bookshelf, this is a delightful introduction to LGBTQ+ history. (timeline, glossary, index, further reading) (Nonfiction. 9-13)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38294-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
An introduction to ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs buried in the Valley of the Kings. The authors begin with how archaeologist Howard Carter found the tomb of King Tut, then move back 3,000 years to the time of Thutmosis I, who built the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally they describe the building of the tomb of a later Pharaoh, Ramses II. The backward-forward narration is not always easy to follow, and the authors attribute emotions to the Pharaohs without citation. For example, “Thutmosis III was furious [with Hatshepsut]. He was especially annoyed that she planned to be buried in KV 20, the tomb of her father.” Since both these people lived 3,500 years ago, speculation on who was furious or annoyed should be used with extreme caution. And the tangled intrigue of Egyptian royalty is not easily sorted out in so brief a work. Throughout, though, there are spectacular photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts, monuments, tomb paintings, jewels, and death masks that will appeal to young viewers. The photographs of the exposed mummies of Ramses II, King Tut, and Seti I are compelling. More useful for the hauntingly beautiful photos than the text. (brief bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7922-7223-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
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