A buoyant gallery, up to date, handsomely framed, and, in this particular election year, timely too.
Humanizing portraits of the 43 men who have served as president of the United States.
Burns stresses that even though all but one president has been both white and male, the diversity of their backgrounds, occupations, experiences, and characters amply proves that anyone (born in the U.S. and 35 or older) can rise to the office—despite even physical disabilities (FDR) or learning differences (Wilson, possibly the second Bush). Each president through Barack Obama gets a double-page spread (Grover Cleveland gets two: thus the title) illustrated with both a small official portrait and a looser, much larger view by Kelley of the incumbent at some pivotal or intimate moment. Other than a few significant omissions (Sally Hemings, most notably) or spins (Ford “never lost the respect of the American people”), the accompanying overviews and selected anecdotes present sunny but not entirely disingenuous views of each office holder. Often some balance is at least attempted even for egregious faults, by acknowledging Jackson’s racism but also his adoption of a Creek orphan, for instance, or countering scandal-plagued Harding’s habit of giving his “worst friends” government jobs by also mentioning his anti-lynching efforts. Side ribbons with dates, family members and histories, nicknames, and pets serve as continuing reminders that all had personal as well as public lives.
A buoyant gallery, up to date, handsomely framed, and, in this particular election year, timely too. (glossary, list of historic sites) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-39209-9
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
The life of Manjiro Nakahama, also known as John Mung, makes an amazing story: shipwrecked as a young fisherman for months on a remote island, rescued by an American whaler, he became the first Japanese resident of the US. Then, after further adventures at sea and in the California gold fields, he returned to Japan where his first-hand knowledge of America and its people earned him a central role in the modernization of his country after its centuries of peaceful isolation had ended. Expanding a passage from her Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (1985, Newbery Honor), Blumberg not only delivers an absorbing tale of severe hardships and startling accomplishments, but also takes side excursions to give readers vivid pictures of life in mid-19th-century Japan, aboard a whaler, and amidst the California Gold Rush. The illustrations, a generous mix of contemporary photos and prints with Manjiro’s own simple, expressive drawings interspersed, are at least as revealing. Seeing a photo of Commodore Perry side by side with a Japanese artist’s painted portrait, or strange renditions of a New England town and a steam train, based solely on Manjiro’s verbal descriptions, not only captures the unique flavor of Japanese art, but points up just how high were the self-imposed barriers that separated Japan from the rest of the world. Once again, Blumberg shows her ability to combine high adventure with vivid historical detail to open a window onto the past. (source note) (Biography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17484-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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