by Troon Harrison ; illustrated by François Thisdale ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 2019
While this picture book is far from perfect, Ross was a multitalented helper whose story is well worth knowing.
Canadian ornithologist Alexander Milton Ross, a white man, dedicated years of his life to helping enslaved people escape from the American South.
Ross was raised in Upper Canada, where he roamed the natural landscape and learned the names of birds and plants from his mother. One day, Ross’ father brought home a group of exhausted travelers whose ship had blown off course as they were escaping from slavery in the United States. Ross’ parents treated the escapees as guests, and Ross learned of the cruelty of slavery and lessons of compassion. Ross trained to become a doctor, and his life changed again when he read Uncle Tom’s Cabin and began to work in earnest with abolitionists and free blacks to help enslaved people escape, endangering his own life and livelihood. He often gained access to speak with enslaved people by entering plantations with permission to study birds; hence his nickname, Birdman. The earth tones and blues of the soft-focus illustrations become monotonous, but the maps and grids lightly overlaid and the details of place and dress successfully evoke the time period. Some awkwardness creeps into the text. Harrison frequently refers to people as “escaped slaves” or just “slaves” and quotes Ross’ rather turgid writing: “I was struck with their individuality and kindness.” Worse, she uses painfully stereotypical dialect for the enslaved characters’ speech: “Massa, is we near heaven yet?” Still, the book introduces an important perspective and example to young readers.
While this picture book is far from perfect, Ross was a multitalented helper whose story is well worth knowing. (historical note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-88995-506-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
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by Chris Newell ; illustrated by Winona Nelson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 2021
Essential.
A measured corrective to pervasive myths about what is often referred to as the “first Thanksgiving.”
Contextualizing them within a Native perspective, Newell (Passamaquoddy) touches on the all-too-familiar elements of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving and its origins and the history of English colonization in the territory now known as New England. In addition to the voyage and landfall of the Mayflower, readers learn about the Doctrine of Discovery that arrogated the lands of non-Christian peoples to European settlers; earlier encounters between the Indigenous peoples of the region and Europeans; and the Great Dying of 1616-1619, which emptied the village of Patuxet by 1620. Short, two- to six-page chapters alternate between the story of the English settlers and exploring the complex political makeup of the region and the culture, agriculture, and technology of the Wampanoag—all before covering the evolution of the holiday. Refreshingly, the lens Newell offers is a Native one, describing how the Wampanoag and other Native peoples received the English rather than the other way around. Key words ranging from estuary to discover are printed in boldface in the narrative and defined in a closing glossary. Nelson (a member of the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa) contributes soft line-and-color illustrations of the proceedings. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Essential. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-72637-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic Nonfiction
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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by Jonah Winter ; illustrated by Jeanette Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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