Though Whitman’s sophisticated 19th-century vocabulary may tax today’s youth, this dynamic volume proves a seminal addition...
The third installment in the hard-core Poetry for Kids series again weds top-notch scholarship with visual artistry in introducing children to the poetic wonders of another American treasure: Walt Whitman.
Here, Whitman scholar Karbiener (Liberal Studies, New York Univ.) and illustrator Evans harmoniously capture the immediacy of Whitman’s verse, and perhaps in no other instance does this series’ 8-inch-wide format serve better, affording readers the rare pleasure of seeing Whitman’s seemingly endless lines run clear across the page, unenjambed as he intended. In her preface, Karbiener explains that she seeks to provide a rough biographical sketch of Whitman, fleshed out in endnotes. For example, “Come Up from the Fields Father” depicts the moment a family receives the news its only son has been injured in battle: “O this is not our son’s writing, yet his name is sign’d; / O a strange hand writes for our dear son—O stricken mother’s soul!” Karbiener’s notes on the poem describe how that “strange hand” often belonged to Whitman, who, as a volunteer during the Civil War, “wrote hundreds of letters that briefed families on soldiers’ conditions.” Evans’ deeply expressive earth-toned watercolors match both the poet’s exacting attention to detail and his proclivity for cataloging vast states of nature and cityscapes.
Though Whitman’s sophisticated 19th-century vocabulary may tax today’s youth, this dynamic volume proves a seminal addition to any library. (glossed terms in margins) (Picture book/poetry. 10-16)Pub Date: July 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63322-150-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Moondance/Quarto
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with...
Advice on writing from one of the best writers around.
“I’m a writer and I’m on your side,” Gantos says, as if he’s putting an arm around a young writer’s shoulder and guiding them through a door to a new life. With a snappy voice, his own funny ink drawings, and expertise drawn from a career full of great books, he covers just about everything: where to find ideas and characters, how to structure a story, why to keep a journal, and even what to write with. Every step of the way he includes examples from his own writing. As humorous as he is, Gantos is authoritative and serious about his craft, careful to include every building block for constructing a good story—characters, setting, problem, action, crisis, resolution, and the need for a double ending (physical and emotional). Chapter 2 (“Getting Started”) ought to be read by all teachers and parents: it’s a manifesto on how to raise a reader (and writer) by reading aloud excellent picture books to young children and placing good books in the hands of children as they get older, and he offers a handy list of just what some of those books should be. While his list of picture books is not a particularly diverse one, the middle-grade titles suggested are nicely inclusive.
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with Jack. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-30456-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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