A solid resource for examining historical perspectives and concepts of inclusion, exclusion, justice, and fairness.
The story of the printer, postmaster, and patriot whose choices played a significant role in American history.
This informative book captures the life of Mary Katharine Goddard, born under British rule in 1738 in Connecticut. Readers learn about the education her parents provided to not just their son, but also their daughter (which was unusual for that time); her involvement in the printmaking/newspaper industry, initially to help her distractible brother; her dedication to providing colonists with information that supported the American Revolution; her 14-year stint as Baltimore’s postmaster; and her decision to include her name when she was asked to print the Declaration of Independence, a brave choice that could have resulted in her death. Accessible and engaging text, quotations from her publications, and italicized statements that sum up relevant personality characteristics tell what is known of her story and provide historical context, bringing the uniqueness of her accomplishments as a colonial woman to light. Evocative, sepia-toned illustrations, which primarily feature White colonists, show additional details of a life in early America. An author’s note provides supplementary information about the lack of recognition Goddard received as well as additional details about her life, not all positive; an enslaved woman, to whom Goddard granted freedom in her will, helped run Goddard’s business and home. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A solid resource for examining historical perspectives and concepts of inclusion, exclusion, justice, and fairness. (glossary, sources) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-29832-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments.
The junior senator from California introduces family and friends as everyday superheroes.
The endpapers are covered with cascades of, mostly, early childhood snapshots (“This is me contemplating the future”—caregivers of toddlers will recognize that abstracted look). In between, Harris introduces heroes in her life who have shaped her character: her mom and dad, whose superpowers were, respectively, to make her feel special and brave; an older neighbor known for her kindness; grandparents in India and Jamaica who “[stood] up for what’s right” (albeit in unspecified ways); other relatives and a teacher who opened her awareness to a wider world; and finally iconic figures such as Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley who “protected people by using the power of words and ideas” and whose examples inspired her to become a lawyer. “Heroes are…YOU!” she concludes, closing with a bulleted Hero Code and a timeline of her legal and political career that ends with her 2017 swearing-in as senator. In group scenes, some of the figures in the bright, simplistic digital illustrations have Asian features, some are in wheelchairs, nearly all are people of color. Almost all are smiling or grinning. Roe provides everyone identified as a role model with a cape and poses the author, who is seen at different ages wearing an identifying heart pin or decoration, next to each.
Self-serving to be sure but also chock-full of worthy values and sentiments. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-49-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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