by Yona Zeldis McDonough & illustrated by Malcah Zeldis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Bright folk-art–inspired illustrations accompany a lucid account of the great man’s life. The straight narrative is a little wordier than most picture-book biographies, which allows for an impressive amount of detail to be packed in; the text flows well enough, however, that it is not burdensome for the audience. The chronological account folds Ben’s many activities in as they happened as much as possible, with just enough backing and filling to keep the reader on track. McDonough includes both the admirable—Franklin refused to patent his lightning rod, instead making the designs available to all—and the less-than-admirable—“Ben had a son, William, whose mother was never named”—with equal straightforwardness. The highly saturated illustrations are dominated by the primary colors, page borders picking up one color to frame all—a pleasing design choice. Zeldis’s plain primitive style suits the subject to a T, although her decision to color noses a distinct reddish-pink has the unfortunate effect of making Franklin look like a drunk from boyhood forward. As one of what is sure to be many this year, this offering stands as an additional purchase. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-8050-7856-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
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by Yona Zeldis McDonough ; illustrated by Chiara Fedele
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by Chris Paul ; illustrated by Courtney Lovett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 10, 2023
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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by Chris Paul & illustrated by Frank Morrison
by Dan Yaccarino & illustrated by Dan Yaccarino ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2009
This second early biography of Cousteau in a year echoes Jennifer Berne’s Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau (2008), illustrated by Eric Puybaret, in offering visuals that are more fanciful than informational, but also complements it with a focus less on the early life of the explorer and eco-activist than on his later inventions and achievements. In full-bleed scenes that are often segmented and kaleidoscopic, Yaccarino sets his hook-nosed subject amid shoals of Impressionistic fish and other marine images, rendered in multiple layers of thinly applied, imaginatively colored paint. His customarily sharp, geometric lines take on the wavy translucence of undersea shapes with a little bit of help from the airbrush. Along with tracing Cousteau’s undersea career from his first, life-changing, pair of goggles and the later aqualung to his minisub Sea Flea, the author pays tribute to his revolutionary film and TV work, and his later efforts to call attention to the effects of pollution. Cousteau’s enduring fascination with the sea comes through clearly, and can’t help sparking similar feelings in readers. (chronology, source list) (Picture book/biography. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 24, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85573-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2009
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by Andrea Zimmerman ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
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by Margie Palatini illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
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by Margie Palatini ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
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