A somewhat thoughtful but unnecessary adaptation.
The 2019 guide to grammar and usage from the copy chief of Random House is adapted for young readers.
Why should young readers care about usage? Because, writes Dreyer, “What you write and how you write it tells readers as much about you as a selfie. You don’t post every selfie you take, do you?” This observation sets the tone for the tweaks and massages made to refashion the proudly fussbudgety original for a presumably more skeptical audience. Most of the author’s adventures in copy editing have been excised from this volume, though many of the discursive footnotes remain. Also deleted is any mention of sex, even though the original treatment is fairly nonprurient, and excising gonorrhea and syphilis from the chapter on oft-misspelled words is arguably an irresponsible favoring of prudery over health literacy. But most of the changes appear aimed at making the content seem relevant: “Great writers of the twentieth century like Edith Wharton, Theodore Dreiser, and William Faulkner” is now “Great writers of the twenty-first century like Louis Sachar, Rebecca Stead, and Lois Lowry.” Some of these swaps smack of desperation: “ ‘Hey Ya!’ is a classic pop song by OutKast” instead of “ ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ is a classic pop song by the Beach Boys.” Long, syntactically complicated sentences abound, calling into question the whole enterprise. Readers eager to tackle them will be just as happy, if not happier, with the original.
A somewhat thoughtful but unnecessary adaptation. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17680-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Ultimately adds little to conversations about race.
A popular YouTube series on race, “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man,” turns how-to manual and history lesson for young readers.
Acho is a former NFL player and second-generation Nigerian American who cites his upbringing in predominantly White spaces as well as his tenure on largely Black football teams as qualifications for facilitating the titular conversations about anti-Black racism. The broad range of subjects covered here includes implicit bias, cultural appropriation, and systemic racism. Each chapter features brief overviews of American history, personal anecdotes of Acho’s struggles with his own anti-Black biases, and sections titled “Let’s Get Uncomfortable.” The book’s centering of Whiteness and White readers seems to show up, to the detriment of its subject matter, both in Acho’s accounts of his upbringing and his thought processes regarding race. The overall tone unfortunately conveys a sense of expecting little from a younger generation who may have a greater awareness than he did at the same age and who, therefore, may already be uncomfortable with racial injustice itself. The attempt at an avuncular tone disappointingly reads as condescending, revealing that, despite his online success with adults, the author is ill-equipped to be writing for middle-grade readers. Chapters dedicated to explaining to White readers why they shouldn’t use the N-word and how valuable White allyship is may make readers of color (and many White readers) bristle with indignation and discomfort despite Acho’s positive intentions.
Ultimately adds little to conversations about race. (glossary, FAQ, recommended reading, references) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-80106-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
It’s an eye-opening case study in how history and folklore can intertwine.
With assistance from Aronson, a veteran author/editor and nabob of nonfiction, Nelson recasts his adult title Steel Drivin’ Man: The Untold Story of an American Legend (2006) into a briefer account that not only suspensefully retraces his search for the man behind the ballad, but also serves as a useful introduction to historical-research methods.
Supported by a generous array of late-19th- and early-20th-century photos—mostly of chain-gang “trackliners” and other rail workers—the narrative pieces together clues from song lyrics, an old postcard, scattered business records and other sources, arriving finally at both a photo that just might be the man himself, and strong evidence of the drilling contest’s actual location. The author then goes on to make speculative but intriguing links between the trackliners’ work and the origins of the blues and rock-’n’-roll, and Aronson himself closes with an analytical appendix.
It’s an eye-opening case study in how history and folklore can intertwine. (maps, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0000-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
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