by Wanda Langley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 2006
Recent attention paid to pioneer women pilots, long overdue, has produced both individual and collective biographies; this salute to their enterprising spirits flies above the rest. The opening line, “Harriet Quimby started something,” sets the tone as lively, readable text profiles nine women: Quimby, Katherine Stinson, Ruth Law, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden, Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Jacqueline Cochran. A chapter for each details their achievements, the obstacles they overcame and how they lived their lives at full throttle; especially useful is a blocked Timeline for each. Archival photographs, both black-and-white and colorized, put a face on these women, enhancing an attractive format—quality paper, clean type, generous white space. Related in chronological order, their stories provide documentation of their contributions, create a context and continuum and delineate the determination of women aviators who proved the skies were open to women, where they made definitive differences in history. (sources, bibliography, websites, index) (Biography. 9-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2006
ISBN: 1-931798-81-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2005
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by Faith D’Aluisio & photographed by Peter Menzel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2008
Can too much information give readers intellectual indigestion? When is it better to graze through a book rather than consuming it in one sitting? Is it possible to make good-for-you information as delicious as (guilty) pleasure reading? The adapted version of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (2005) raises all of these questions. Intended to inform middle-schoolers of the wide variety of food traditions as well as discrepancies in access to adequate nutrition, this collection of photos, essays and statistics will require thoughtful concentration. Adapted and abridged text, a larger font size, the addition of small maps and basic facts about each country and the deletion of some photos that might have been judged inappropriate or disturbing help to make the wealth of information accessible to this audience. The plentiful photos are fascinating, offering both intimate glimpses of family life and panoramic views of other lands. Whether used for research or received as a gift from socially conscious adults, this version offers children plenty to chew over—but it’ll take them some time to truly digest. (Nonfiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-58246-246-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
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by Abbas Kazerooni ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 21, 2014
Readers are often promised unforgettable protagonists—this memoir delivers one.
Abbas and his mother are about to board a plane for Turkey when authorities order her to remain in post-Revolution Iran with his father, Karim; Abbas, at Karim’s insistence, flies alone to Istanbul to stay and apply for a British visa—he is 9.
Abbas doesn’t speak Turkish; a promised helper fails him; the fleabag hotel he’s deposited in is in a dangerous neighborhood. His intelligence, resilience and cocky charm help (though he owes more to luck and the kindness of strangers). He survives—barely. Karim’s lessons (be wary of strangers, change currency on the black market, eat just one meal a day to save money) go only so far. Here, everyone’s a stranger. Abbas must learn to tell friend from foe. Kazerooni doesn’t dilute harsh events or assign them benign meanings retroactively—there’s no “everything happens for a reason.” Abbas’ anguish and fear, his repeatedly dashed hopes are wrenching. Yet whether he’s crushed or elated, the story itself is uplifting; readers will feel exhilarated when he solves a problem or makes the important discovery that what terrifies him—his vulnerability—is his biggest asset, bringing him notice from kindly adults who offer help. Other accounts of displaced children—China’s “paper sons,” young Central American refugees—have borne witness to ways human-generated calamities harm their weakest victims, but seldom this convincingly. Although Abbas’ account can be harrowing, it is told plainly, and these are not, regrettably, uncommon experiences for children, making this both accessible to and suitable for a middle-grade audience.
Readers are often promised unforgettable protagonists—this memoir delivers one. (author’s note) (Memoir. 9-14)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4783-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Skyscape
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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