Beneath the goofiness, an earnest call for logic and better judgement.
Basic principles for distinguishing facts from alternate facts.
Gravel may insist that “fake news is not funny at all,” but with the best will in the world she can’t keep a straight face for long—and readers certainly won’t either. Relying on made-up examples, Gravel explores how a doctored photo can spark widespread fears of scorpions swarming out of toilets, clickbait headlines like “Governor Marries a Turtle” can raise ad revenues for a website or spread the conviction that underwear is dangerous, and a politician’s claim that an opponent pinches puppies can gain more traction through repetition than any denials, no matter how heated. Her cartoon illustrations of googly-eyed jelly beans looking panicked or greasily confident as they spread mis- or disinformation heard on “Wolf News” don’t exactly underscore the seriousness of the topic either. Still, even though in pitting reason against human nature she’s taken on a tall order, her insights into how fake news are fueled by a combination of fear and confirmation bias but can be countered by common sense and by careful evaluation of actual sources are spot-on. And, had she chosen to use real-world examples, at least half of her potential audience (or at least the adult voters) would have shrugged her off as just another liberal whiner.
Beneath the goofiness, an earnest call for logic and better judgement. (Graphic nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79721-491-7
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
Go adventuring with a better guide.
Find something to do in every state in the U.S.A.!
This guide highlights a location of interest within each of the states, therefore excluding Washington, D.C., and the territories. Trivia about each location is scattered across crisply rendered landscapes that background each state’s double-page spread while diminutive, diverse characters populate the scenes. Befitting the title, one “adventure” is presented per state, such as shrimping in Louisiana’s bayous, snowshoeing in Connecticut, or celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston. While some are stereotypical gimmes (surfing in California), others have the virtue of novelty, at least for this audience, such as viewing the sandhill crane migration in Nebraska. Within this thematic unity, some details go astray, and readers may find themselves searching in vain for animals mentioned. The trivia is plentiful but may be misleading, vague, or incorrect. Information about the Native American peoples of the area is often included, but its brevity—especially regarding sacred locations—means readers are floundering without sufficient context. The same is true for many of the facts that relate directly to expansion and colonialism, such as the unexplained near extinction of bison. Describing the genealogical oral history of South Carolina’s Gullah community as “spin[ning] tales” is equally brusque and offensive. The book tries to do a lot, but it is more style than substance, which may leave readers bored, confused, slightly annoyed—or all three. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12.2-by-20.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80% of actual size.)
Go adventuring with a better guide. (tips on local adventuring, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7112-5445-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Important background for prospective voters.
An explanation of what general voting is for and why it is important.
In unusually (for the audience) frank if bare-bones fashion, deRubertis briefly chronicles the “long and bumpy” pursuit of universal suffrage in this country, from the first U.S. elections in which just 1 percent of the populace was qualified to vote at all up to the 30 percent turnout that resulted in 2016’s presidential debacle. Rightly observing that having a legal right to vote and being allowed to exercise it are two very different things, she charts the slow extension of the franchise to ethnic minorities and women (as well as a federal court’s retrograde 2000 exclusion of residents of Puerto Rico and other territories); names the first African-Americans, Native Americans, woman, and Chinese-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate; and surveys the civil rights protests that led to 1975’s expanded Voting Rights Act. Though she focuses largely on federal elections, state and local ones receive some attention. The Electoral College, voter-record security issues, and political parties go unmentioned, but the author does highlight low turnouts as a significant issue before closing with an eloquent summation of voting’s importance in a democratic society. Age, race, and gender diversity were plainly important considerations in choosing the generous selection of period portraits and scenes and recent stock photos, including the striking cover image of a smiling black woman at a podium.
Important background for prospective voters. (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63592-055-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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