An inspiring biography of athletes, friends, partners, and sisters.
The latest book in the Who Did it First? series focuses on the lives of tennis-star sisters Venus and Serena Williams.
As one would expect, the book spotlights the tennis greats’ major successes and challenges in the sport, but it places an equal focus on the relationship among all the Williams sisters: Venus, Serena, Isha, Lyndrea, and the late Yetunde. Leslie moves through her account efficiently, enabling young readers to glean important information about the subjects without bogging them down in details. The book begins with their early days on the tennis court in Compton, California, and continues through 2016, when they opened the Yetunde Price Resource Center in honor of the oldest of the five sisters, who died due to gun violence. In chronicling Venus’ and Serena’s professional lives, the book does not shy away from the racism that the two faced from other players and tennis fans. Glenn’s illustrations represent the subjects well and capture the sisters’ signature beads and braids from their early years in the sport. The text falters a bit, failing to reveal why Venus refers to Serena as “Meeka,” nor does it locate geographically the Indian Wells tournament the sisters boycotted after receiving racist jeers. Dialogue is unsourced, but the backmatter includes a timeline and additional resources. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 56.3% of actual size.) An inspiring biography of athletes, friends, partners, and sisters. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-30740-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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