Another volume to enrich every household, school, and library and inspire another generation of dreamers.
This illustrated collection of diverse biographies profiles women from around the world and throughout history who dreamed big and then lived those dreams.
Using the same winning format as her beloved first volume, Little Leaders (2017), Harrison expands her focus. In chronological order and spread by spread, from philanthropist Fatima Al-Fihri of ninth-century North Africa to contemporary artist and architect Maya Lin, each “dreamer” is presented, with a page of text about her youth, her environment, and her accomplishments facing a full-page portrait. The portraits feature cherubic faces (with eyes always closed), clothing and objects representing the woman being honored, and a background that reflects her achievements. A few familiar names (Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo) are included among many that will be new to readers, such as Esther Afua Ocloo, an entrepreneur from Ghana, and Asima Chatterjee, an organic chemist from India. The thread that ties them together is their pursuit of opportunities to use their talents even when the world they were born into wasn’t ready for them. While the book’s flawless design matches that of Little Leaders, the reading level is higher, perhaps because many of the women led intellectual pursuits and so may be less easily explained. Still, readers who value science and discovery as much as art and activism will be delighted to find this follow-up volume. Eighteen further figures are briefly profiled before the backmatter.
Another volume to enrich every household, school, and library and inspire another generation of dreamers. (further resources, sources, glossary) (Collective biography. 9-13)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-47517-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
More a historical narrative than a character portrait, this account of Tecumseh’s efforts to create a tribal confederacy in the Old Northwest focuses on the great Shawnee leader’s many battles and negotiations with then–Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison and then his disastrous—ultimately fatal—alliance with the British during the War of 1812. Replete with side essays on such varied subtopics as the Northwest Territory, the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 and the Battle of Lake Erie, it also boasts often–full-color illustrations from archival sources (many of these later paintings and old prints that are inaccurate, as the discursive captions often rightly note, and sometimes too small to make out anyway). In all, this will provide students a coherent view of events if not a clear understanding of Shawnee culture or Tecumseh’s heroic personal qualities. If it's not the 100-page holy grail of middle-grade biographies, it is still pretty close. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6847-7
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hopping wraps her cogent account of how the Nee-mee-pu (Nez Perce) were rooted out of their homeland and only subdued after a long and heroic pursuit around twin character portraits of the group and of its most renowned member. While presenting Joseph as one chief among several—and not a war chief, as sometimes depicted, but “a peace chief, a civil leader” whose greatest skill was the ability to “sway others with well-chosen words”—she places him in a peaceable, prosperous and steady society that enjoyed good relations with encroaching “So-ya-pu” until broken promises, profound misunderstanding and outright aggression escalated into violence. Joseph argued for peace before and during the tragic “War of 1877” and in later years too as he became a nationally known figure. His tale has been told plenty of times to young audiences, but this iteration comes in an appealingly compact format, with plenty of contemporary photos and maps, plus a generous selection of backmatter. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6842-2
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
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