In her signature style, Harness (Remember the Ladies, 2001, etc.) joins the contemporary effort to bring John Adams to his rightful place in history. “The United States is a proper, living monument to intense, cranky, warm, heart-on-his-sleeve John Adams—America’s champion.” George Washington was the first president and father of our country and Thomas Jefferson the author of our essential political manifesto, but John Adams was “the champion of its government.” Adams was the one who led Congress through its turbulent early days from revolution to nationhood. He was an ardent believer in the machinery of government created by the founders. Harness takes readers through the essential people and events of Adams’s life and focuses on his role in keeping the revolution going, writing the Declaration of Independence, and keeping the army functioning throughout the war. Adams, John Jay, and Ben Franklin negotiated the peace treaties that officially ended the war in 1783. And as the second president, Adams managed to keep the young country out of war with England and France, thus preserving its independence. This handsome volume has 53 full-color illustrations, maps, and excerpts from Adams’s letters. The text manages to relay the details of Adams’s life while emphasizing what is essential about his legacy. Back matter indicates that the liberal quotes throughout come from letters, diaries, and papers—but whose? Who knew about the conversation between Adams and his father as they discussed his being a farmer? And who knew that he had “a stomach full of butterflies” as he rode off to Harvard? The solid information and lively format will make this a boon to report writers and a must for library collections, but the skimpy bibliography will not be useful to young researchers. (author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-7922-6970-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.
A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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