Writing in a collective personal voice, Kyuchukov and the director of a Romani research center offer brief comments on their people’s history, customs and culture. Sandwiched between statements from the co-authors and a world population map, single-topic spreads offer both general information and plenty of captioned photos, both old and contemporary. Readers will come away with a clear idea of what the Romani have in common and of the diverse adaptations they have made in order to survive in the many countries to which they have scattered in their thousand-year history. The inside slant gives this quick once-over unusual authority—though Anne Wallace Sharp’s Gypsies (2002) is only one of several more detailed studies. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-56397-962-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
The level of information in Platt’s narrative may be superficial, but the large trim size, cutaways of Ellis Island and other landmarks and intricate aerial views of Manhattan in this Through Time series entry capture a sense of the scale and bustling energy of “the city that never sleeps.” Cappon’s spread-spanning views open with a Lenape settlement, ca. 1600, close with a modern view looking south from Central Park and in between depict such watershed events as the British takeover (1664), a half-built Brooklyn Bridge (1882), the World’s Fair (1939) and 9/11. Easily digestible blocks of present-tense narration tucked into the corners supply a broadly brushed historical background, supplemented by pithy comments—a couple of them misleading: a reference to Brooklyn Bridge workers “crippled by a sickness called ‘decompression’” and a claim that the 1969 ticker-tape parade for the Apollo 11 astronauts extended into Queens (these will be corrected in the second printing)—attached to selected details. Not a guide that will be particularly useful to tourists but an adequate introduction for general interests. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6416-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
Whirls of tiny, brightly dressed people’some with wings—fill Kleven’s kaleidoscopic portraits of sun-drenched Los Angeles neighborhoods and landmarks; the Los Angeles—based authors supply equally colorful accounts of the city’s growth, festivals, and citizens, using an appended chronology to squeeze in a few more anecdotes. As does Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York (1998), Jaskol and Lewis’s book captures a vivid sense of a major urban area’s bustle, diversity, and distinctive character; young Angelenos will get a hearty dose of civic pride, and children everywhere will find new details in the vibrant illustrations at every pass. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46214-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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