Forty stories of Christian saints from the first millennium are illustrated with appropriately gorgeous, pencil-and-oils-on-paper art. Sanderson’s (Cinderella, 2002, etc.) writing style, usually graceful, suffers a bit from the format—each saint gets one page, with illustration, so sometimes the biographies, meant to be brief, seem oddly truncated. There are no sources given, either, so the lives of these splendid and colorful characters read almost like folktales. Each image is set in a frame (the frames repeat) that sometimes evokes stained glass, or manuscript illumination, or sculpture. The saints are usually in repose, full- or half-figure, often pictured with their attributes. The twin saints, Benedict and Scholastica; the mother-and-son dyads of Augustine and Monica, Constantine and Helen; and the married saints Maud and Theodora balance the many virgin/martyrs like Catherine, Stephen, Barbara, and Dorothy. Sanderson doesn’t always say how the martyrs died (a point young people are always interested in) but she usually notes what each is patron saint of. She includes both Eastern Orthodox and Western Roman Catholic saints in her litany. Young people might be particularly drawn to Catherine, pictured with both a book and a sword, and portrayed almost as a princess on the striking cover. (index) (Collective biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8028-5220-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2003
Anchored by massive resource lists for adults in tiny type at the back, these 12 thumbnails attempt, not very successfully, to introduce to young or inexpert readers the idea of “multiple intelligences.” After suggesting that “smart” can mean more than scholastic excellence, the author proceeds to prove the opposite with a cast of professionals that mixes such non-household names as physicist/geologist Luis Alvarez, astronomer Annie Jump Cannon and botanist Ynés Mexía with the more familiar likes of Thurgood Marshall, Georgia O’Keeffe and I.M. Pei. Opposite stylized, expressionistic but still recognizable portraits from Qualls, he introduces each with roughly hewn, rap-style verses, followed by a single-paragraph career sketch. Though at the beginning he lists eight intelligences, such as “Body Smart,” “Logic Smart” and even “Nature Smart,” Nikola-Lisa never directly links any of them to his subjects; instead, he instructs readers to figure it out for themselves—without providing more than scattered, vague clues. It’s a worthy concept for creative types and other misfits to absorb, but the author doesn’t seem to understand it very well himself. (Collective biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58430-254-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism.
Recounting his childhood experiences in sixth grade, Ogle’s memoir chronicles the punishing consequences of poverty and violence on himself and his family.
The start of middle school brings about unwanted changes in young Rex’s life. His old friendships devolve as his school friends join the football team and slowly edge him out. His new English teacher discriminates against him due to his dark skin (Rex is biracial, with a white absentee dad and a Mexican mom) and secondhand clothes, both too large and too small. Seemingly worse, his mom enrolls him in the school’s free-lunch program, much to his embarrassment. “Now everyone knows I’m nothing but trailer trash.” His painful home life proffers little sanctuary thanks to his mom, who swings from occasional caregiver to violent tyrant at the slightest provocation, and his white stepdad, an abusive racist whose aggression outrivals that of Rex’s mom. Balancing the persistent flashes of brutality, Ogle magnificently includes sprouts of hope, whether it’s the beginnings of a friendship with a “weird” schoolmate, joyful moments with his younger brother, or lessons of perseverance from Abuela. These slivers of relative levity counteract the toxic relationship between young Rex, a boy prone to heated outbursts and suppressed feelings, and his mother, a fully three-dimensional character who’s viciously thrashing against the burden of poverty. It’s a fine balance carried by the author’s outstanding, gracious writing and a clear eye for the penetrating truth.
A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism. (author’s note, author Q&A, discussion guide, writing guide, resources) (Memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-324-00360-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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