A breezy offering just right for fans of survival tales.
Five true tales of pirates and shipwrecks spare none of the intriguing and grisly details.
Employing a casual, conversational tone that reads easily, McCarthy spins five yarns of bloodthirsty pirates and harrowing shipwrecks. The first offering portrays the terrifying experience of sailors who survive a shipwreck only to land on a beach of decapitated, sun-bleached skeletons. The next, another account of nautical distress, tells of a lost ship, reports of possible cannibalism, and the expedition that set out to learn the truth. The third recounts the tales of two fierce female pirates who were just as ruthless and bloodthirsty as their male counterparts. The fourth and fifth deliver more tales of maritime mayhem and cutthroat (quite literally) pirates, keeping up the lively pace already established. McCarthy shows a good sense for the interesting and gory detail, offering up plenty of blood-soaked action while keeping it appropriate for a young readership. Included after each vignette are other notable facts of the time period, and at the end of the offering is a glossary and resources. Releasing simultaneously is Survival, a volume that follows the same format and offers accounts of events such as the Donner Party disaster. Recommend this to fans of the I Survived… series who might be seeking a bit more fact and a little less fiction.
A breezy offering just right for fans of survival tales. (Nonfiction. 7-12)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61930-471-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Nomad Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
This unusual presentation of a tale of class-crossed lovers recounts a true 18th-century Russian romance. Nicolas Cheremeteff, the richest man in the land, loves music more than gold. He travels the world to hear the finest performers, but it is Praskovia, a peasant girl working on his estate who captures his heart with her singing. He takes her to his palace, where he teaches her to be a lady and nurtures her singing. Crowned “The Pearl” for her luminous talent, she even sings for the Empress, Catherine the Great. Naturally, Nicolas and Praskovia fall in love and live in a simple cottage. Years go by, and Praskovia still sings like a nightingale, but she’s still a serf and unmarried. Nicolas does the unthinkable and marries her, making her a countess. Their happiness is short-lived, as Praskovia dies after giving birth. Tributes to her remain today. The dramatic story is matched with stylized, theatrical artwork. Vibrant reds, golds and blacks are backlit with broad expanses of white space that frame Praskovia. Heavy, glossy paper adds to the book’s opulence. This historical mesh of "Cinderella" and My Fair Lady is a rich nugget of history for sophisticated readers and as beautiful as a Fabergé egg. (brief author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-884167-24-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Umbrage
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
A lighthearted recap of some of our oldest tales.
For her latest cartoon foray into ancient cultures, Williams concocts a brisk dash through Egyptian myth and history.
Drawing figures in traditional Egyptian style but with a more natural range of expressions and gestures, she constructs flat-planed scenes that range from small sequential strips to full-page images and even larger ones on double gatefolds. Her nine episodes begin with a creation myth, end with Cleopatra’s death and in between introduce a select set of major gods and Pharaohs. Large and small, each picture is decked with strings of hieroglyphic-like signs for atmosphere as well as side comments in dialogue balloons to go with the short, legible captions. Though she freely mixes legend and fact without distinguishing one from the other in the main going, a smaller strip running below provides a cat’s-eye view of the subject. The patterns of Egyptian daily life (“Cats are Egypt’s greatest wonder, followed by the river Nile”), how mummies were made (“Yes, we do cats, too!”), early technological advances and general cultural values receive tongue-in-cheek glosses. The colorful, briefly told stories provide nothing like a systematic overview but are easily enjoyed for themselves, and they may well leave young readers with a hankering to find out more about Isis and Horus, Zoser, Hatshepsut, Tutankhamen and the rest.
A lighthearted recap of some of our oldest tales. (map) (Picture book/folklore. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5308-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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