She didn’t like people passing her on the trail, the author notes, but readers could do worse than follow behind.
A tribute to the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one go.
Houts milks the tale for its inspirational value. The industrious mother of 11 and an inveterate walker, 67-year-old Emma Gatewood reads a magazine story about men who had taken the 2,000-mile hike and: “ ‘Hmmph,’ thought spunky old Emma. ‘If a man can do it, so can I!’ ” Her first try, starting from Maine’s Mount Katahdin, quickly ends in failure—her sturdy, no-nonsense white frame reduced, in Magnus’ painted scene, to a picture of misery, covered in scratches and black fly welts. She hits her stride on the second try, going south to north through verdant woods and living comfortably off the land for nearly five months in 1955. “I did it. I said I’d do it, and I’ve done it!” (Just for good measure, she went on to do it twice more.) Aside from a pair of farm children who greet her along the way and one face in a crowd scene, everyone in the illustrations is white. The author leaves out the not-always-pleasant details of Gatewood’s private life (covered, for older audiences, in Ben Montgomery’s Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, 2014) but adds more about her later treks, plus a photo, at the end, then closes by inviting readers to “think of Grandma Gatewood as you set your sights on your own goals. No matter what mountains might stand in your way.”
She didn’t like people passing her on the trail, the author notes, but readers could do worse than follow behind. (source note) (Picture book/biography. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8214-2235-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Ohio Univ.
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures.
Abraham Lincoln’s ascent to the presidency is recounted in a fluid, easy-to-read biography for early readers.
Simple, direct sentences stress Lincoln’s humble upbringing, his honesty, and his devotion to acting with moral conviction. “Lincoln didn’t seem like a man who would be president one day. But he studied hard and became a lawyer. He cared about people and about justice.” Slavery and Lincoln’s signature achievement of emancipation are explained in broad yet defined, understandable analogies. “At that time, in the South, the law let white people own black people, just as they owned a house or a horse.” Readers are clearly given the president’s perspective through some documented memorable quotes from his own letters. “Lincoln did not like slavery. ‘If slavery is not wrong,’ he wrote to a friend ‘nothing is wrong.’ ” (The text does not clarify that this letter was written in 1865 and not before he ascended to the presidency, as implied by the book.) As the war goes on and Lincoln makes his decision to free the slaves in the “Southern states”—“a bold move”—Lincoln’s own words describe his thinking: “ ‘If my name ever goes into history,’ Lincoln said, ‘it will be for this act.’ ” A very basic timeline, which mentions the assassination unaddressed in the text, is followed by backmatter providing photographs, slightly more detailed historical information, and legacy. It’s a pity that the text is accompanied by unremarkable, rudimentary opaque paintings.
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures. (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243256-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Readers who pursue the context will discover that the girl who became an Israeli prime minister had a social conscience.
A group of school friends provides Golda Meir with her first leadership test.
Golda is the child of Russian-Jewish immigrants living in Milwaukee when she becomes active in the American Young Sisters Society. As their president, Golda tasks them to raise money to buy new textbooks for classmates. The neighborhood is very poor, and pennies are precious to the shoppers who patronize her parents’ store, so it’s no easy feat. The young girl is highly motivated and struggles to write a speech for a fundraiser, finally deciding to “speak from my heart.” The event is a success, and Golda immediately decides to found a new group and “be [its] president!” In her first book for children, Krasner presents a pleasantly fictionalized story about a future world leader. Garrity-Riley’s digitally manipulated gouache-and-collage illustrations are a nice accompaniment featuring wallpaper backgrounds and fashionable period clothing. However the overall effect, with so many washed-out browns and blues, is drab. Pale circles of cheek blush on the characters bring to mind pages from a shopping catalog. Stopping short of Meir’s Zionist passion and move to Palestine, the book forces readers to consult the biographical note to understand why Goldie is important beyond the story.
Readers who pursue the context will discover that the girl who became an Israeli prime minister had a social conscience. (photographs, places to visit, bibliography) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-1200-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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