“We’re not taught about younger people who have made a difference. Studying history almost makes you feel like you’re not a real person.” This remark by a girl Hoose had interviewed for It’s Our World Too: Stories of Young People Who Are Making a Difference (1993), inspired him to embark on this major project. He follows the traditional arc of US history, from Columbus and the Colonies to hippies and the computer revolution, by relating the stories of individual young people—both familiar and little known. Each three- to four-page narrative begins with a quote (often—when available—from the person herself), and ends with a few lines describing “what happened” to the person in her adult life. Illustrations (mostly black-and-white print and photo reproductions with ownership credits at the end) on every page and sidebars of interesting historical tidbits or explanations make every spread inviting, and should encourage browsing. Hoose’s short entries are accessible and give a good sense of the historical process by using attributed quotes and explanations of how each individual’s story survived. However, for the curious, he provides no direct references to his sources. His selected sources at the end—grouped by chapter—will give readers a general indication of where to go next, especially as he marks those most appropriate for young readers with an asterisk. This approach to history will intrigue and delight readers. Frederick Douglass and Sacajawea take their place alongside Caroline Pickersgill (who in 1813 helped her mother and aunt stitch the flag that Francis Scott Key wrote about), and Jessica Govea (whose education as a union organizer started when she was a four-year-old migrant worker in California). Hoose brings his narrative firmly and elegantly to the 21st century with contemporary examples. An index of proper names and topics may help kids with reports, but for those wanting a broad but approachable book on US history, this is a thoroughly enjoyable choice. (sources, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 9-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-374-38252-2
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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