Inspiring—and likely to have readers wishing for more female leaders to read about.
A quirky introduction to the world’s first democratically elected female president.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir was elected Iceland’s president in 1980. This picture-book biography, an Icelandic import, covers her pre-political life and her ascent onto the world stage. It’s illustrated in a lively, colorful, comic book style and presented as an interview “narrated” by a light-skinned aspiring child author who, determined to write a book about Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, arrives unannounced at her home. Vigdís relates her story, the words of her “interviewer” set among the illustrations. Vigdís’s words appear in speech bubbles; occasionally, the child’s are, too. Born in 1930, Vigdís grew up in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital; she was 10 when World War II began. At age 19, she went to France to study. Returning to Iceland, she taught French in schools and on TV and became a tour guide. Eventually, Vigdís adopted a daughter, becoming Iceland’s first single woman to adopt a child. For years, Vigdís was a theater manager; after a 1975 strike, she became a women’s rights activist. Five years later, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers encouraged her to run for president. Claiming initially to be uninterested, Vigdís changed her mind, ran, won, and remained in office for 16 years. Full of appealing, offbeat illustrations, this one will give youngsters insight into a nation—and a political figure—they may be unfamiliar with.
Inspiring—and likely to have readers wishing for more female leaders to read about. (Picture-book biography. 6-9)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9783039640416
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Helvetiq
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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