A valuable story of family, community, new beginnings, and perseverance.
After his family is forced to flee Nigeria and adjust to the United States while living in a homeless shelter, Tani wins a chess championship.
Tani lived “in a home that felt as secure as a castle, in a fine neighborhood in Nigeria.” But one day, his father, who owns a print shop, sneaks away from members of the terrorist group Boko Haram after they ask him to make posters, and the whole family, now in danger, must flee. They move to a home six hours away, but Boko Haram members find them. They must leave Nigeria quickly. They land in New York City and move into a homeless shelter, where Tani and his brother must sleep on a separate floor from their parents. At school, Tani joins the chess club and practices with his brother in their room at the shelter. In his first tournament, he scores the lowest of all players, but he studies and practices and keeps competing, and a year later, he wins the New York State championship. Headlines bring his story to readers around the world, who respond with encouragement and large donations to his family. Tani’s story is narrated in a lovely childlike voice that retains the wonder of learning new things. The turn of events that can cause happy families to need asylum will enlighten young readers and open minds. The generous view of the United States feels optimistic but genuine. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.8-by-21-inch double-page spreads viewed at 65.1% of actual size.)
A valuable story of family, community, new beginnings, and perseverance. (afterword) (Picture book/biography. 4-9)Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4002-1828-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Memorable art earns this biography a respectable place on the shelf.
George Washington Carver tended a secret garden of flowers before becoming known for his skill in agriculture.
The book opens in 1921 as Carver addresses the U.S. Congress, astounding them with dozens of uses for the peanut. The narration then takes readers back to Carver’s childhood to discover how he reached that career highlight. As a child, he loved flowers, but he was warned not to waste time on plants that couldn’t be eaten or sold, so he kept his colorful garden hidden in the woods. Shut out of schools because he was black, he studied nature independently and learned through experimentation. Eventually, he started caring for neighbors’ sick plants, becoming known as “the Plant Doctor.” At 12, he left the farm on which he was raised and attained a formal education, after which he taught students at the Tuskegee Institute and farmers with a mobile classroom mounted on a wagon. This journey through Carver’s childhood and accomplishments ends with Carver’s simple but memorable words, “Regard Nature. Revere Nature. Respect Nature.” The substantial text holds readers on each spread long enough to appreciate not only the subject matter of the painted illustrations, but Morrison’s artistic techniques—strong strokes and careful dots, artful combinations of textures and shapes—which create lush forest scenes and portraitlike human faces and forms. The childhood story feels more cohesive than the final pages, which list his adult accomplishments but lack the narrative thread.
Memorable art earns this biography a respectable place on the shelf. (timeline, bibliography, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 4-9)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-243015-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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