Well-meaning but flawed.
An original tale based in folklore about a Native American girl’s willingness to help her people through the power of a mysterious stone.
Set before horses were introduced to the Cheyennes, here is the story of Stands-by-Herself, a girl who lives with her grandmother and “her people on the great plains.” True to her name, she is a solitary child, and the other children constantly tease her, causing her to wish she could “fly away with the ducks.” In an attempt to soothe the girl, her grandmother references the Creator, assuring her that someday she will find the power to do good. Soon she comes across the titular artifact, which will send her down the foreshadowed path soon enough, as her people, come summer, are hungry, undergoing drought and sickness. The author builds an affecting story that centers on his Native American protagonist and her love for her people, though he never names that people within it. The soft, pastel-hued watercolor illustrations evoke the pre-Colonial Plains and its peoples; unusually detailed notes provide further information in the backmatter. In his afterword, Myers contextualizes his position as an outsider, his interest in the story, and its fictional content. Although Myers’ research is evident, his omission of a specific tribe’s and Creator’s names within the story are problematic, as they reinforce a limited and monolithic view of Native Americans.
Well-meaning but flawed. (bibliography) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-937786-39-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A robust lead-in to Cheryl Harness’ They’re Off! (2002) and other more detailed histories.
Horses and rider tackle time, distance, and the elements in this tribute to a legendary Pony Express gallop.
As Rose freely admits, “legendary” may be just the word for Cody’s claim to have been a Pony Express rider. Nonetheless, in galloping rhyme she sends him on his way across Wyoming and back in a dawn-to-dawn dash that Lillington illustrates with scenes of the teenager pounding along past buttes and buffalo, through heavy rain, beneath orange and star-speckled skies in turn. It’s a horsey sort of episode, as both words and pictures specify breeds or types with each change of mount along the trail: “Trade a Mustang for a Morgan, / ’Loosa for a Thoroughbred. / Racing, flying, / ever riding, / hurry, hurry on ahead.” A double-page spread that presents eight separate vignettes of Cody on eight different horses as the sky darkens provides effective visual counterpoint to the verse. A final view of the horse and rider wearily finishing their long route as the sun begins to rise once again gives way to a painted portrait of the grown Buffalo Bill resplendent in his buckskins. The author fills in the historical details in an afterword with period illustrations. Human figures in all the pictures are white.
A robust lead-in to Cheryl Harness’ They’re Off! (2002) and other more detailed histories. (afterword) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7068-5
Page Count: 37
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
A timely theme to emphasize America’s promise for each generation of newcomers.
In Depression-era America, Pavel, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, joins the Civilian Conservation Corps and learns to blend his new American identity with his Jewish one.
On the advice of his rabbi, Pavel decides to take a job planting trees all over the country as part of the new program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Arriving in Idaho, Pavel’s first impression is that this empty landscape seems quite foreign compared to a bustling, busy New York City, but Pavel is encouraged by the prospect of three meals a day and hard-earned money to help support his family. However, some of the men he meets on his team scrutinize Pavel’s accent and claim he cannot be a real American. Pavel wonders how he can prove that he is just as American as his co-workers. As the Fourth of July approaches, Pavel and his fellow immigrant workers learn the words to the newly declared national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and sing it at the fireworks display, proudly declaring their new American status. Demonstrative, stylized paintings feature an assortment of sturdy, earnest young men (all pale-skinned) dressed in blue/green uniforms planting a plethora of tree saplings. The author’s not-so-subtle metaphor illustrates how Pavel’s work allows him to feel rooted in his new country just as his plantings grow and thrive in today’s national parks and forests.
A timely theme to emphasize America’s promise for each generation of newcomers. (author’s note) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5124-4446-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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