Still, this will suffice as an introduction for die-hard pirate fans and add an interesting, quirky footnote to American...
Who knew that some pirates in the old days were Jewish and fought on the side of the good guys? Mateys, meet Jean Laffite, a real pirate of the Caribbean.
Rubin’s slim book begins in what is now Haiti with Laffite’s early days as a descendant of Spanish Jews. She moves on to his “career” as a successful privateer and smuggler and then to his fighting alongside Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. Wise to the ways of the bayous and marshes, knowledge crucial to American defenses, Laffite also supplied Jackson with troops and ammunition. Amazingly, the fierce battle was over quickly and the British trounced. Thereafter, all was forgiven, as Lafitte and his pirates were proclaimed heroes and lauded for bravery and patriotism. Details about the rest of his life remain spotty in the historical record. While several of Laffite’s nefarious exploits are recounted here, they’re told in a matter-of-fact tone that doesn’t make them sound as exciting and dangerous as they had to have been. The paintings rendered in muted colors are fairly stiff, though some add atmosphere and rousing flavor. Lafitte is depicted as heavily buckled in the illustrations; too bad he doesn’t come across as more swashbuckling.
Still, this will suffice as an introduction for die-hard pirate fans and add an interesting, quirky footnote to American history. (author’s note, bibliography, index) (Picture book/biography. 8-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8109-9733-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
Readers who have just discovered Anne Shirley of Green Gables and are wondering where she came from will find at least the beginnings of an answer in this fresh, frank picture-book biography. Montgomery comes across as a generous spirit, with both an independent streak and a strong sense of duty. MacLeod sketches both her public and private lives, pointing out real people, places, or incidents that appeared later in her books. She quotes income figures ($12,000 in 1914: as much as the Canadian Prime Minister) and describes, among other details, her youthful infatuation for one man, her secret engagement to another, and, years later, her long struggle to keep her husband's mental illness a secret. On every spread, montages of contemporary photos, portraits, book covers, quotes, memorabilia, manuscript pages, reviews, and film stills add a visual backdrop to this engaging glimpse of Canada's most famous author. A sketched figure of Maud points to important opinions or pieces of information. Montgomery's other books get a glance too, and there is a complete list at the end, along with lists of sites to visit, both in Canada and on the Web. A terrific format for an appealing subject. (index) (Biography. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-55074-487-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An immensely popular figure in his day, the Brazilian-born Alberto Santos-Dumont invented a personal dirigible that he...
So the Wright Brothers were the first to fly? Au contraire, asserts Griffith in this rare portrait of a little-known (in this country, at least) early aviator.
An immensely popular figure in his day, the Brazilian-born Alberto Santos-Dumont invented a personal dirigible that he steered around the Eiffel Tower and drove out to run errands. Griffith’s prose isn’t always polished (“If Blériot succeeded to fly first….”), but her narrative makes her subject’s stature clear as she takes him from a luncheon with jeweler Louis Cartier, who invented the wristwatch to help his friend keep track of his time in the air, to his crowning aeronautical achievement in 1906: He beat out both the secretive Wrights and pushy rival Louis Blériot as the first to fly an aircraft that could take off and land on its own power. The author covers his career in more detail in a closing note (with photos), ascribing his eventual suicide in part to remorse that, instead of ushering in an era of peace as he had predicted, aircraft were being used in warfare. Montanari’s genteel pastel-and-chalk pictures of turn-of-the-20th-century Paris and Parisians don’t capture how much larger than life Santos-Dumont was, but they do succeed in helping Griffith bring him to American audiences.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0011-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
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