Powerfully expressive imagery will sweep young viewers into this suspenseful journey along the Underground Railroad. Accompanied by a commentary of, usually, just two or three words per spread, the scenes track a small group of escapees stealing through darkness beneath a thin crescent moon. They are seen running, crawling, resting tensely, taking brief shelter with “new friends,” then wearily keeping on until sunrise at last brings them to their goal: “I am free. He is free. She is free. We are free.” Underscoring the sense of fear and urgency with broad, slanted strokes of thinly applied paint, Evans limns his hunched, indistinct figures in dark lines and adds weight with scribbled fill and jagged bits of paper or cloth. His palette of midnight-dark blue lit only by the occasional yellow torch- or lantern light and white stars draws attention to the whites of the frightened escapees’ eyes and makes sunlit Freedom all the more precious when attained. Lengthier accounts of travel on the Underground Railroad abound, but few if any portray the experience with such compelling immediacy. (afterword) (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-538-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Utterly compelling.
The authors of Fatty Legs (2010) distill that moving memoir of an Inuit child’s residential school experience into an even more powerful picture book.
“Brave, clever, and as unyielding” as the sharpening stone for which she’s named, Olemaun convinces her father to send her from their far-north village to the “outsiders’ school.” There, the 8-year-old receives particularly vicious treatment from one of the nuns, who cuts her hair, assigns her endless chores, locks her in a dark basement and gives her ugly red socks that make her the object of other children’s taunts. In her first-person narration, she compares the nun to the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, a story she has heard from her sister and longs to read for herself, subtly reminding readers of the power of literature to help face real life. Grimard portrays this black-cloaked nun with a scowl and a hooked nose, the image of a witch. Her paintings stretch across the gutter and sometimes fill the spreads. Varying perspectives and angles, she brings readers into this unfamiliar world. Opening with a spread showing the child’s home in a vast, frozen landscape, she proceeds to hone in on the painful school details. A final spread shows the triumphant child and her book: “[N]ow I could read.”
Utterly compelling. (Picture book/memoir. 5-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55451-490-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
A stirring tale that fosters respect for Native peoples.
Anishinaabe creators Fairbanks and George encourage young people to consider the history behind the land they live on.
At home, surrounded by family, a white-presenting child with long red hair contemplates the past. “Before us, another family lived here. Before that, another family lived here, too. And another. And another.” The unnamed narrator recounts how European colonizers expelled Native Americans from their homes and forced them onto reservations. An Anishinaabe boy named TJ, who’s friends with the protagonist, and his grandmother Noko have taught the young narrator to honor Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land. They remind the protagonist that “Indigenous people have always been here, and they’re still here, wherever we go.” The child reflects on these principles often: “Now, whenever my family goes somewhere, I ask, ‘Who lived here before the people who live here now?’” Thoughtful backmatter urges readers to take land acknowledgments seriously and to find ways to act beyond merely cultivating awareness. Though the book’s lessons will resonate more with non-Native audiences, many young Native readers will appreciate the reverence shown to Indigenous people (past and present). Accompanied by engaging, comic-style artwork, this is a gentle, age-appropriate introduction to Indigenous history and cultures.
A stirring tale that fosters respect for Native peoples. (discussion questions, learn more about Indigenous people in your area) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593651445
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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