According to Lady Bird Johnson, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
Born into a wealthy, White family, Claudia Alta Taylor was shy and loved nature, which likely accounted for her nickname: Lady Bird, bestowed by the children of her Black nanny. Vivid, colorful, if stiffly posed illustrations and accessible text with well-chosen anecdotes (her future husband, Lyndon Baines Johnson, proposed to her on their first date) are accompanied by summarizing questions tied to the refrain “Lady Bird Johnson, that’s who!” The text describes how she struggled with shyness yet ran a company and managed the family finances, supported her husband’s political campaigns, and eventually became first lady of the United States. The relative limitations she faced are briefly mentioned: Women in the mid-20th century didn’t typically own businesses, and most first ladies didn’t work to support legislation. Overall, she is portrayed as a conservationist who tried to bring people together through her highway-beautification campaigns during a time when the American people were divided about the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement. While her attempts can be seen as either visionary or superficial depending on the beholder, and other environmental advocates may have achieved more, children interested in the environment and climate change will easily see how her actions played a role in the history of environmentalism. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 78.6% of actual size.)
A portrait of a first lady who hoped to make America beautiful. (notes, bibliography, acknowledgements) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-24036-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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The junior senator from California introduces family and friends as everyday superheroes.
The endpapers are covered with cascades of, mostly, early childhood snapshots (“This is me contemplating the future”—caregivers of toddlers will recognize that abstracted look). In between, Harris introduces heroes in her life who have shaped her character: her mom and dad, whose superpowers were, respectively, to make her feel special and brave; an older neighbor known for her kindness; grandparents in India and Jamaica who “[stood] up for what’s right” (albeit in unspecified ways); other relatives and a teacher who opened her awareness to a wider world; and finally iconic figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley who “protected people by using the power of words and ideas” and whose examples inspired her to become a lawyer. “Heroes are…YOU!” she concludes, closing with a bulleted Hero Code and a timeline of her legal and political career that ends with her 2017 swearing-in as senator. In group scenes, some of the figures in the bright, simplistic digital illustrations have Asian features, some are in wheelchairs, nearly all are people of color. Almost all are smiling or grinning. Roe provides everyone identified as a role model with a cape and poses the author, who is seen at different ages wearing an identifying heart pin or decoration, next to each.
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-49-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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IN THE NEWS
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IN THE NEWS
In an inviting picture book, Chelsea and Hillary Clinton share personal revelations on how gardening with a grandmother, a mother, and children shapes and nurtures a love and respect for nature, beauty, and a general philosophy for life.
Grandma Dorothy, the former senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate’s mother, loved gardens, appreciating the multiple benefits they yielded for herself and her family. The Clinton women reminisce about their beloved forebear and all she taught them in a color-coded, alternating text, blue for Chelsea and green for Hillary. Via brief yet explicit remembrances, they share what they learned, observed, and most of all enjoyed in gardens with her. Each double-page spread culminates in a declarative statement set in italicized red text invoking Dorothy’s wise words. Gardens can be many things: places for celebration, discovery and learning, vehicles for teaching responsibility in creating beauty, home to wildlife large and small, a place to share stories and develop memories. Though operating from very personal experience rooted in class privilege, the mother-daughter duo mostly succeeds in imparting a universally significant message: Whether visiting a public garden or working in the backyard, generations can cultivate a lasting bond. Lemniscates uses an appropriately floral palette to evoke the gardens explored by these three white women. A Spanish edition, Los jardines de la abuela, publishes simultaneously; Teresa Mlawer’s translation is fluid and pleasing, in at least one case improving on the original.
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11535-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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