An often lilting celebration of the poet’s early anchors and incipient artistic voyaging.
A look at poet Edna St. Vincent Millay’s close childhood bonds with younger sisters Norma and Kathleen.
Their unusually parent-free existence garners economical explanations. Edna, called Vincent, “watched her father cross the cranberry bog to the railway station. Cora told Henry to go & never come back.” The four move to Camden, Maine, where life in “the smallest house on the loneliest road in the poorest part of town” is heightened by mother Cora’s long absences as a traveling nurse. Their mother’s towering influence is nonetheless intimated: “She was ambitious & unordinary & wanted the same for her daughters. What other mother had better books than the library? What other mother would steal the whole show?” Though bound by regimented chores, the sisters revel in meadow and sea. Therewith, the authors’ imagery sings: “Luckily the ocean was the biggest thing in the world. Wilder even than the woods! Everyday swung open to a swoony new sea.” Farkas and Vizzo convey Vincent’s early, driving impetus to write, her moodiness, and the chasm Cora’s absence creates. Dwyer mixes styles to represent the sisters’ unique symbiosis, which holds both trauma and freedom. Realistically rendered figures, calico-clad, long-haired, and White-presenting, cavort among stylized, sun-washed meadow flowers. For joyless episodes—Henry’s leaving; illness—the artist uses a darker palette and expressionistic elements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An often lilting celebration of the poet’s early anchors and incipient artistic voyaging. (three poems by Millay, biographical note, authors’ note, photos) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781951836511
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cameron Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter.
The latest of many picture books about the young heroine from Pakistan, this one is narrated by Malala herself, with a frame that is accessible to young readers.
Malala introduces her story using a television show she used to watch about a boy with a magic pencil that he used to get himself and his friends out of trouble. Readers can easily follow Malala through her own discovery of troubles in her beloved home village, such as other children not attending school and soldiers taking over the village. Watercolor-and-ink illustrations give a strong sense of setting, while gold ink designs overlay Malala’s hopes onto her often dreary reality. The story makes clear Malala’s motivations for taking up the pen to tell the world about the hardships in her village and only alludes to the attempt on her life, with a black page (“the dangerous men tried to silence me. / But they failed”) and a hospital bracelet on her wrist the only hints of the harm that came to her. Crowds with signs join her call before she is shown giving her famous speech before the United Nations. Toward the end of the book, adult readers may need to help children understand Malala’s “work,” but the message of holding fast to courage and working together is powerful and clear.
An inspiring introduction to the young Nobel Peace Prize winner and a useful conversation starter. (Picture book/memoir. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-31957-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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