More a guide for teachers and parents than for kids, this comprehensive volume offers much information about Native cultures past and present. A timeline, sidebars, lists, maps and a variety of projects and activities involve readers in a broad learning experience, though in trying to cover so much ground about so many Native groups in the introduction and first chapter, the volume starts overly broad and didactic. In the many activities offered, the authors do not include the making of ceremonial objects or clothing, as they don’t want to encourage children to “play Indian,” which is offensive to Native people. However, this spirit seems contradicted in such activities as puppet shows, crafting a Seminole design patchwork baseball cap, sculpting a Pueblo storyteller doll and making an Ojibway seasons apron. Still, the book includes a wealth of information and activities for classroom teachers or parents creating a home learning program. (glossary, list of Native American museums and cultural centers, list of festivals and powwows, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-55652-802-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2009
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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First published in 1968 and newly illustrated by Vitale, this is a history of the Christian celebration of Easter that, after briefly recounting the story of the Resurrection, links the holiday to other spring festivals, covers the ancient custom of giving the gift of an egg (a symbol of the new life of spring), and includes contemporary customs, such as the fashionable stroll down New York City's Fifth Avenue after church on that day. Also included are instructions for egg decoration and a recipe for hot cross buns. Even the recipe demonstrates the clear, informative prose of Fisher, whose expert organization leads from topic to topic. Vitale's illustrations are a marvel; each full-page picture is filled with details that reflect the times, the flora, and the culture of the era shown, colored with a range of appropriate earth tones. Every element of design makes this an inviting addition to the holiday shelf, even for those already owning the original book with Ati Forberg's illustrations. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1997
ISBN: 0-06-027296-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
Categories: CHILDREN'S HISTORY | CHILDREN'S RELIGION
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An extraordinary athlete was also an extraordinary hero.
Gino Bartali grew up in Florence, Italy, loving everything about riding bicycles. After years of studying them and years of endurance training, he won the 1938 Tour de France. His triumph was muted by the outbreak of World War II, during which Mussolini followed Hitler in the establishment of anti-Jewish laws. In the middle years of the conflict, Bartali was enlisted by a cardinal of the Italian church to help Jews by becoming a document courier. His skill as a cyclist and his fame helped him elude capture until 1944. When the war ended, he kept his clandestine efforts private and went on to win another Tour de France in 1948. The author’s afterword explains why his work was unknown. Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum, honored him as a Righteous Among the Nations in 2013. Bartali’s is a life well worth knowing and well worthy of esteem. Fedele’s illustrations in mostly dark hues will appeal to sports fans with their action-oriented scenes. Young readers of World War II stories will gain an understanding from the somber wartime pages.
What makes one person step into danger to help others? A question worthy of discussion, with this title as an admirable springboard. (photograph, select bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68446-063-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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