Slight and sketchy.
A habit of careful observation led to the design of today’s N95 medical masks.
Born in 1917 in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish parents, Sara Little Turnbull (nee Finkelstein) paid close attention to small details, like the skin of an onion or the shape of an egg. Working as an editor for House Beautiful and a product designer, she traveled the world for inspiration. Noticing the unwieldy medical masks in the hospital where her sister was being treated for cancer in the 1940s, she designed an alternative that in 1995 was developed into the N95 mask. Lewis makes this fact the climax for an appealingly illustrated but cursory biography. Readers might be intrigued by examples of Turnbull’s creations, such as an upside-down watch pinned to her shirt, “light-as-air space suits,” “good-for-kids sweets,” and a more functional pot lid inspired by a cheetah’s grip on its prey. But they will have to look elsewhere to learn that the pot was part of the ubiquitous CorningWare. Well-composed visuals make vibrant use of texture, elegantly set against white backdrops. One spread highlights an inspirational poster that the writer explains is “a reminder that mistakes can help you grow,” though a more specific example of mistakes in Turnbull’s life would have helped readers understand her mindset, as quoted in backmatter: “Ninety percent of my career was made up of failure, but failure is not defeat….” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Slight and sketchy. (sources and further reading) (Picture-book biography. 5-9)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781665904452
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 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
BOOK REVIEW
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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