This inspiring, relatable life story is in the good hands (er, paws) of a biographer.
A cat biographer interviews the first Black female astronaut in this second installment of a children’s book series.
Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison wrote an autobiography, Find Where the Wind Goes (2001), and she has been the subject of many works for children. Now, the true story of her life is told—by her cat, Sneeze (“with hardly any help” from author/humorist Greenburg). In this entertaining and informative book for ages 8 to 12, Sneeze, who speaks English as well as “cattish,” interviews Jemison about her childhood, when she was “always in motion…jumping, climbing, falling, and dancing.” Sneeze also explores influences, events, challenges, and Jemison’s own inexhaustible drive that launched her into space and history. Greenburg’s series opener was The Only True Biography of Ben Franklin by His Cat, Missy Hooper (2020). The author’s light touch in this sequel doesn’t trivialize the serious aspects of Jemison’s story, including her experiences with racism. Greenburg allows Sneeze’s puzzlement over why color should matter to send its own message. Jemison remembers the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and being frightened as much by the violent turmoil that erupted as by the armed National Guardsmen marching past her family’s house. She describes what it was like to be a 16-year-old freshman pursuing chemical engineering at Stanford University and facing dismissive professors. Cornell University Medical College, stints as a young doctor in Asia and Africa, and other notable accomplishments followed before Jemison realized her childhood dream aboard the Endeavor space shuttle in 1992. At Sneeze’s prompting, Jemison describes astronaut training and space travel in absorbing detail. A few diverting digressions from the biography reflect the cat’s interest in such subjects as Africa’s most lethal animals and how a litter box might work (or not) in weightless conditions. (The latter is part of the gross and engrossing chapter “How Astronauts Poop in Space and Do Other Stuff.”) Hill offers black-and-white, cartoony illustrations. The stirring book ends with Jemison’s astonishing post-NASA career.
This inspiring, relatable life story is in the good hands (er, paws) of a biographer.Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63411-011-2
Page Count: 154
Publisher: Thunderstone Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world.
This wide-ranging collection of short biographies highlights 36 Jewish figures from around the globe and across centuries.
Explicitly pushing back against homogenous depictions of Jewish people, the authors demonstrate the ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of Jews. Each spread includes a brief biography paired with a stylized portrait reminiscent of those in Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (2016). A pull quote or sidebar accompanies each subject; sidebars include “Highlighting Jewish Paralympic Athletes,” “Jewish Stringed Music,” and “Ethiopian Jews in Israel.” Kleinrock and Pritchard’s roster of subjects makes a compelling case for the vastness and variety of Jewish experience—from a contemporary Ethiopian American teen to a 16th-century Portuguese philanthropist—while still allowing them to acknowledge better-known figures. The entry on Raquel Montoya-Lewis, an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court and an enrolled member of the Pueblo Isleta Indian tribe, discusses her mission to reimagine criminal justice for Indigenous people; the sidebar name-checks Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The bios are organized around themes of Jewish principles such as Pikuach Nefesh (translated from the Hebrew as “to save a life”) and Adam Yachid (translated as the “unique value of every person”); each section includes an introduction to an organization that centers diverse Jewish experiences.
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world. (resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780063285712
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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