Essential reading for any and all future (and current) freedom fighters.
A biography of Ghana’s first prime minister and the story of his country’s road to independence.
The book opens with Kwame Nkrumah gazing at the British Union Jack while waiting alongside thousands of spectators. The Adinkra symbol for fawohodie (independence) is patterned into the blue of Nkrumah’s shirt and also in the stands that hold the crowd waiting to see, at the stroke of midnight, the joyous raising of the red, yellow, and green flag with a black star embedded in the center, the flag of a sovereign Ghana. Nkrumah’s proclamation, “And thus Ghana, your beloved country is free forever,” helps introduce the story of a tenacious man who fought for and gained freedom for his homeland. Illustrations of Nkrumah speaking, learning, and listening at various stages of his life are intentional and bold, chronicling the journey of an activist determined to speak out against British imperialism. Freeman uses bright colors and prints to find focus in her artwork. In one double-page spread a shadowed profile of Nkrumah is positioned opposite an image of the African continent rendered in different kente patterns, Nkrumah’s powerful words linking Ghana’s freedom with the liberation of all African countries from colonialism. Thoughtful backmatter that includes a timeline of Nkrumah’s life and accomplishments shows the care poured into sharing the words and works of a leader dedicated to his country and his people.
Essential reading for any and all future (and current) freedom fighters. (author's note, glossary of Adinkra symbols) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-940975-86-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Just Us Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments.
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. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
IN THE NEWS
Sage, soothing ideas for a busy, loud, sometimes-divisive world.
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. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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