A lovingly layered, if oddly paced, ode to a matriarch and the universal language of chess.
Chess becomes a lifelong source of connection in this biography of the author’s grandmother.
Growing up in early-20th-century Vienna, Elsa loves chess, though she encounters many who assume a young girl can’t possibly play the game. The portable chess set she carries everywhere becomes her way of building relationships with others, including her future husband. When World War II breaks out, Elsa and her family, who are Jewish, are forced to flee Europe for the United States. Elsa finds work in a San Francisco dress factory, where playing chess helps her develop friendships that transcend language barriers. Eventually, an elderly Elsa moves in with her daughter and granddaughters. The chess set is lost, and Elsa stops playing. Many years later, her great-grandson finds the small box in the garage. His request for a game reconnects Elsa to her past as she passes on her love of chess to a new generation. Adults will find many opportunities to introduce age-appropriate lessons on topics such as immigration, discrimination, and World War II. The pacing is strained by the chronological progression through Elsa’s long lifespan, resulting in abrupt time hops that leave awkward gaps in her story. Tenderly illustrated vignettes of Elsa’s family life fill some, but not all, of these spaces. The book concludes with an author’s note about her grandmother, accompanied by family photographs.
A lovingly layered, if oddly paced, ode to a matriarch and the universal language of chess. (chess resources) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780823454082
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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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