An inspiring portrait of a woman committed to making a difference and whose influence is still felt to this day.
One powerful voice can effect powerful change.
Polish Jewish immigrant Rose Schneiderman was 8 when she arrived in New York City with her parents in the late 19th century. Even as a child, she loved talking and arguing about ideas. At age 13, she left school to help support her family, finding employment in a hat factory. In early-20th-century New York, this meant buying her own sewing machine and enduring long hours in dirty, unsafe, and unfair working conditions. Having kept silent for fear of losing her much-needed job, Rose finally spoke up upon learning women earned less than men; organizing female co-workers to protest as a group was key, and some conditions improved, including wage increases. This victory of sorts eventually led to others. In 1909, Rose led a massive strike for factory workers’ rights. As time went on, more employees, employers, then journalists and politicians heeded this woman of small stature (only 4-foot-9) and big voice, and factory conditions continued to improve, particularly after her rousing address at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. This is a quiet, respectful, stirring look at a courageous workers’ rights champion, written in straightforward, accessible prose. The simple illustrations are cast mostly in brown shades, reflecting the somberness of poverty and dire labor practices. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An inspiring portrait of a woman committed to making a difference and whose influence is still felt to this day. (more about Rose Schneiderman, author's note) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781681156170
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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