A well-crafted, feline-centric Franklin tale for young readers.
In this children’s novel, Benjamin Franklin’s cat tells the real stories behind the man’s greatest accomplishments.
No one knows a man like his cat. That’s the premise behind this portrait of America’s most colorful Founding Father, as related by his black-and-white cat, Missy Hooper. “Dr. Franklin and I worked together for a great many years,” demures Missy in the book’s foreword. “I taught him many things he didn’t know. He taught me many things, some of which I didn’t know and some of which I forgot I knew. Together we changed the course of history.” Missy meets Ben when he is just a 23-year-old printer’s assistant. He’s never met a cat who could speak before, and she immediately becomes a source of inspiration for his signature aphorisms. With Missy’s help, Ben soon starts founding institutions—a library, a hospital, a fire department—and developing inventions. Missy even witnesses Ben discover electricity. But their greatest collaborations begin decades later (Missy’s breed of cat can live for nearly a century) when Ben takes up the cause of American liberty. In fact, to hear Missy tell it, if it wasn’t for her (and Ben), the United States of America never would have existed. Written in Missy’s voice, the prose is sassy and humorous, building up the cat at the expense of her owner: “Too many buttery sauces and too much caviar and goose liver paste. Both Ben and I had put on a lot of weight. I carried it well. With all my fur you could barely tell I’d put on any weight at all.” The enjoyable tale is accompanied by stylish, uncredited black-and-white illustrations as well as a glossary of words in Cattish (the language in which the book claims to have been originally written). The jokes largely fit in with the humor one associates with cat owners (for example, felines are adorable divas with an inflated sense of their own importance), but Greenburg manages to blend this perspective effectively with Franklin’s unusual life story. Young readers who come for the cat material will learn a lot about this famous figure, and if what Missy has to say about the Feline Historical Society is true, there may be more cat-authored biographies in the future.
A well-crafted, feline-centric Franklin tale for young readers.Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63411-010-5
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Thunderstone Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A poignant, beautiful story of family, endurance, and appreciation.
A young Mexican immigrant tells the story of his family and the lives of other migrant farm workers in this graphic novel adaptation of a classic 1997 memoir that won multiple awards.
Panchito, whose family left the Guadalajara area and crossed la frontera in the late 1940s, is growing up with his parents and five siblings. As the seasons pass, they move around California—Selma, Visalia, Bakersfield, Corcoran, and Santa Maria, among other places—finding work picking different crops. Panchito’s story unfolds in chronologically arranged, self-contained short stories, and readers follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots and thinning lettuce. They experience significant sorrows, such as when baby Torito ends up near death due to a lack of health care. The narrative doesn’t dwell on these moments, instead sharing the truth of hardship: that even where there’s sadness, there’s also joy to be found. Panchito’s time with older brother Roberto, the advice he receives from his mamá, and little moments with his friends allow readers to experience life’s simple pleasures alongside the family’s struggles. The exquisite illustrations are warm and weathered, perfectly complementing the emotional storytelling and evoking the mid-20th-century setting. Each person introduced serves a purpose, adding greater insights into Panchito’s life, and carefully relayed sensory details and seamlessly integrated Spanish words pull readers into the setting. The touching author’s note helps frame the memoir and its significance.
A poignant, beautiful story of family, endurance, and appreciation. (glossary) (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780358348214
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stellar collaboration that introduces an important and intriguing individual to today’s readers.
Two bestselling authors imagine the boyhood of the man who became the legendary boxing icon Muhammad Ali.
Cassius was a spirited child growing up in segregated Louisville, Kentucky. He had a loving home with his parents and younger brother, Rudy. Granddaddy Herman also was an important figure, imparting life lessons. His parents wanted him to succeed in school, but Cassius had difficulty reading and found more pleasure in playing and exploring outdoors. Early on, he and Rudy knew the restrictions of being African American, for example, encountering “Whites Only” signs at parks, but the brothers dreamed of fame like that enjoyed by Black boxer Joe Louis. Popular Cassius was especially close to Lucius “Lucky” Wakely; despite their academic differences, their deep connection remained after Lucky received a scholarship to a Catholic school. When Cassius wandered into the Columbia Boxing Gym, it seemed to be destiny, and he developed into a successful youth boxer. Told in two voices, with prose for the voice of Lucky and free verse for Cassius, the narrative provides readers with a multidimensional view of the early life of and influences on an important figure in sports and social change. Lucky’s observations give context while Cassius’ poetry encapsulates his drive, energy, and gift with words. Combined with dynamic illustrations by Anyabwile, the book captures the historical and social environment that produced Muhammad Ali.
A stellar collaboration that introduces an important and intriguing individual to today’s readers. (bibliography) (Biographical novel. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-316-49816-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown and HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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