A succinct and compelling Covid-19 analysis, packed with valuable information for readers young and old.
An easy-to-follow illustrated guide to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Persad, the author the Garbology Kids book series about waste management, provides a comprehensive discussion of the novel coronavirus, addressing how it spreads throughout a community, the development of vaccines to fight it, and how the pandemic has affected people’s mental health, among other issues. Persad’s logically organized work simplifies the subject of Covid-19 research, beginning with a basic examination of viruses in general, including their size and structure, and how they replicate within the body. Other fundamental topics include a discussion of how mutations can lead to the creation of new viral strains that can spread from humans to animals. Persad offers an examination of other prevalent global viruses, as well as historical pandemics, but, as one might expect, much of the book is dedicated to an analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern, including the Delta variant, which is dominant as of this writing. The author outlines exactly what makes this virus particularly deadly for some people, and it also assists readers with distinguishing the symptoms of Covid-19 from other common ailments, which will help many readers to understand when to seek medical help. This work will be particularly useful for younger readers, due to the inclusion of Persad’s lively illustrations, colorful charts, and text boxes, but there’s valuable information here for people of all ages, presented in a simple, straightforward style. In a time of medical and economic uncertainty, discussions of the pandemic can be emotionally challenging, but Persad consistently provides interesting side stories to keep readers engaged, such as how an understanding of cowpox led to the creation of a smallpox vaccine. The early material effectively lays the groundwork for a deeper understanding of pandemics in general, and offers clues to our own future.
A succinct and compelling Covid-19 analysis, packed with valuable information for readers young and old.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9812439-3-1
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Firewater Media Group
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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