Readers will goggle at the very notion.
The lengths that high-society women in the 1700s would go to for their hairstyles….
Mrs. Muriel Paddington would like to win an award at the Moonlight Ball. After some back and forth with her hairdresser, she decides upon a windmill theme. The next spreads detail the elaborate 3-foot-tall hairpiece’s construction. It includes a wire frame, pillow, and hair extensions “donated” (read: demanded) from her maid. Then there’s the beef-marrow and wax pomade, the pound of flour per week that dusts the creation, and the mixture of sugar water that solidifies the whole thing—no wonder Mrs. Paddington has a problem with mice when she finally gets into bed and tries to sleep (sitting mostly upright with a special pillow). A visit to the Silver Mousetrap Shoppe takes care of the problem, and a pewter headscratcher gives some relief from the insects infesting her hairdo. Readers will likely either be laughing like the commoners on the street or shaking their heads in disbelief that rich grown-ups would actually crawl in and out of a store because they couldn’t fit through the door upright. Cox’s illustrations ably capture the whimsy and creativity of the hairstyles while poking gentle fun at the same time. Mrs. Paddington’s surroundings are suitably opulent, all the people are pale, and the dialogue is aptly stuffy. Occasional sidebars attest to the historicity that underlies the ridiculousness, but there is no explicit parsing of fact from fancy.
Readers will goggle at the very notion. (sources) (Picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63440-900-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Red Chair Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Washington remains an historic hero despite flaws and defeats. These are recounted in far more accomplished biographies, and...
By the age of 15, George Washington had written out a list of precepts taught to him by his teachers, the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation,” by which he lived and was guided throughout his life.
Excerpts from this little-known historical document appear throughout this stolid picture-book biography of our first president, in which Washington describes some salient details of his life and career in the first person. The rules are worthy, but readers will note that there is usually no relationship between them and the facts presented on the same page. While the volume is stirring, there is no cohesion to the narrative, and it will not even serve report writers, as most dates and events go unmentioned, as do many highlights of Washington’s story. Only the notes to the artwork provide some factual context. Young readers wondering if Washington ever faced any setbacks will find no evidence of them here. What emerges from these pages is a larger-than-life icon with no warts. Wimmer’s paintings are masterful and dramatic, though some seem stiffly posed. The cover portrait is certainly rousing.
Washington remains an historic hero despite flaws and defeats. These are recounted in far more accomplished biographies, and children will be better served by reading about the real man elsewhere. (author’s note, artist’s note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 8-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5482-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
Reductionist history in an unnecessary novelty format.
A miscellaneous collection of factlets about three pre-Columbian civilizations are presented on board pages suggesting a Mesoamerican step pyramid in this latest title in the publisher's “shape book” series.
Each section includes a map and mentions an important archeological site—the Maya Chichén Itzá, the Aztec Templo Mayor and the Inca Machu Picchu—but provides no dates. Readers may be intrigued by Maya beauty ideals, the Aztec ball game and Inca goldwork. Maya and Aztec calendars are shown, as well as pictures of Aztec and Inca warriors and weaponry. Ružicka describes the end of the Aztec and Inca empires at the hands of Spanish conquistadors but ignores the collapse of the Maya. There is a recipe for Maya hot chocolate that neglects to say when the almonds listed in the ingredients should be added and a description of Tenochtitlán that does not mention that it underlies the center of present-day Mexico City. Kleinová’s illustrations range from moderately realistic pictures of people at work and play to cartoonlike glyphs. No sources are actually provided for any of the information or illustrations. Readers curious about this history will find much more in Peter Lourie’s Lost Treasure of the Inca (1999), Mystery of the Maya (2001) and Hidden World of the Aztec (2006).
Reductionist history in an unnecessary novelty format. (Informational novelty. 8-11)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55407-933-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Firefly
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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