Educational and inspiring.
This story of a dedicated Kentucky librarian pays tribute to the Works Progress Administration Pack Horse Library Project of Depression-era Appalachia.
Edith is a packhorse librarian and travels on a daily basis to deliver books to the people who live deep in the hollers of eastern Kentucky. She sets out to deliver a book to 8-year-old William Caudill, who loves tales of derring-do. The trip is a dramatic and challenging one: Edith and her horse brave thunder, lightning, and hard wind and rain, complete with falling trees; slippery mud and steep mountain slopes; rushing creek waters; high mountain ridges a-bristle with thorny branches; and sliding rocks. But Edith’s determination is fierce, and she successfully delivers books to the Caudill family, even staying to dry off, warm up, and visit with the family. Capturing one librarian’s breathtaking fictional journey is a riveting way to showcase and honor the risky work of these real librarians, and the text communicates a deep reverence for their mission—and their tremendous fortitude. Illustrations depict a pale, red-haired librarian, nearly always smiling despite the obstacles that nature puts in her path. Light and shadow are used effectively to convey Mother Earth’s shifting moods. An author’s note and bibliography provide further details about the work of these resilient packhorse librarians of the Great Depression: “In the winter…librarians’ feet were often frozen to the stirrups.” All characters present White. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Educational and inspiring. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1173-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This biblical tale is filled with wonder, hope, and beauty.
Miriam is pivotal in the story of Moses and the Exodus.
A 7-year-old girl narrates the details of the day that she heeds “God’s voice,” places her baby brother in a basket, sets him adrift in the Nile River to save him from “Pharoah’s men,” and then watches as Pharoah’s daughter rescues him. That baby boy will grow up to be Moses, and his sister is the prophet Miriam. In her author’s note, Yolen explains that she has taken this story from Exodus and from the Midrash, tales that interpret the Torah. Miriam’s story is interwoven with miracles associated with water, ranging from that basket on the Nile to the parting of the Red Sea and the life-giving water flowing from a rock that sustains the Jews wandering in the desert, but there are relatively few children’s books that place her at their center. Many celebrants of the Passover Seder sing a song honoring Miriam and will welcome a book that celebrates her childhood. It is Le’s illustrations that truly shine, however. The vibrant blues and oranges reflect both calm and swirling waters dotted with a multitude of plant life. Elegant storks wade in the water as hippos and crocodiles swim nearby.
This biblical tale is filled with wonder, hope, and beauty. (Picture book/religion. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4400-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is a worthy translation of a beautiful and engaging book.
With the assistance of Mlawer and Lázaro, National Young People’s Poet Laureate Engle brings to children the childhood of the great storyteller Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra in his native tongue.
Cervantes, recognized as one of the most important writers in the Spanish language, is also the creator of Don Quixote, one of the noblest literary knights of all time. In her trademark free-verse style, Engle tells the story of young Cervantes, the son of a barber-surgeon and gambler, and of the precariousness of the family’s economic situation due to his father’s debts. Weaving fact together with fiction, the author imagines that the seeds to the famous literary creation can be found in Miguel’s difficult childhood. Originally published in English, the Spanish translation by Mlawer and Lázaro beautifully captures the rhythm and language of the original: “Huimos de noche, / hacia Madrid, / con la esperanza de un futuro / sin / temores. / ¿Dónde encontraremos ese futuro imposible? / ¿Quizá solo en las páginas de mi / imaginación?” Colón’s remarkable pen-and-ink–and-watercolor illustrations have an old-masters quality that perfectly complements the narrative and brings to life the olive-skinned cast of Renaissance Spaniards.
This is a worthy translation of a beautiful and engaging book. (author’s, illustrator’s, historical, biographical, literary notes) (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68263-019-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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