This indisputably timely book makes a solid case for greater recognition.
Profiles a virologist who was among the first to photograph and identify the coronavirus family.
Almeida’s own family has a significant presence in this account of her career and discoveries. Slade begins with her Glasgow-born subject’s early love of science and the death of her little brother, continues through marriage, divorce, and single parenting to track her growing reputation for expertise in microphotography and electron microscopy, then highlights the watershed human coronavirus paper she co-authored in 1967. A specific description of how she used “negative staining” to prepare her coronavirus specimens adds a laudatory glimpse of technical detail to the plain-language explanations of her discoveries. Incorporating memories and material supplied by the researcher’s daughter, the author of A Computer Called Katherine (illustrated by Veronica Miller Jameson, 2019) presents another underrecognized woman scientist as a role model. In this case, Almeida is not seen as a crusader breaking down barriers of race (she was White) and sexism but more generally as a smart, hard worker doing her best in both private and professional lives. If her character remains hard to pin down, a bit of verse preceding the expansive afterword (“Virus, Virus, shining bright / In the phosphotungstic night”) hints at a sense of humor. Single scientists of color in two group scenes are the only non-White figures in Paganelli’s clean, precisely drawn cartoon illustrations. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 77% of actual size.)
This indisputably timely book makes a solid case for greater recognition. (timeline, adult bibliography.) (Picture book/biography. 8-10)Pub Date: March 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1132-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ambitious attempt to chronicle the life of a complex artist that falls short.
A glimpse into the life of an iconic sculptor.
The son of a Japanese poet and an American writer, Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) struggled for acceptance in both Japan and the United States; he "felt like a snail and called himself one," most at home in his own shell. Hughes uses Noguchi’s creation of an akari light sculpture for an exhibition as a device to dive into the artist’s development. Curves are a motif throughout—as Noguchi works on the curves of the sculpture, he recalls being ostracized in Japan as a child for his curly hair, but he also remembers the fern tendrils of his beloved garden. He remembers the tension between his parents, each believing his future was in a different land, and he’s reminded of World War II and its destruction, when he was seen as the enemy by both America and Japan. But the akari’s paper brings comfort. Noguchi emerges from the creative process anew, at peace with himself and with the knowledge that he and his creations can’t be categorized—that they are astounding, new, and uniquely him. Though the illustrations, which use graphite to delicately render his life, are effective, the text jumps across time and space and may at times confuse readers unfamiliar with the artist. In particular, it isn’t clear why Noguchi was able to leave an imprisonment camp while other Japanese Americans remained. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An ambitious attempt to chronicle the life of a complex artist that falls short. (author’s note, photo) (Picture-book biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-467-3
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Effectively raises the profile of an African American crusader who was stigmatized for more than his race alone.
A rare tribute to a heroic figure of the civil rights movement.
Distinctly underrecognized in books aimed at younger audiences (in large part because he was gay—which the authors note repeatedly), Bayard Rustin well merits the credit he gets here not only for organizing the renowned March on Washington (and speaking at it, too), but for actually introducing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the principles of nonviolent protest after learning pacifism at his Quaker grandmother’s knee, being imprisoned as a conscientious objector during World War II, and traveling to India to learn from Gandhi’s followers. As a younger man, he also sang in a touring quartet, and that musical theme is picked up with a playlist of spirituals and civil rights songs posted throughout. Notable in the generous backmatter is an image of the march’s official program and an excerpted history of peaceful protest (post-Thoreau). McCray captures both a sense of the time’s widespread turmoil and of the march’s grand “mosaic of Americans” in collages that incorporate acrylics, scraps of newspaper, music, and decorated papers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Effectively raises the profile of an African American crusader who was stigmatized for more than his race alone. (timeline, information on music and the march, further reading) (Picture-book biography. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-77950-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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