An eloquent memoir in questions and answers, as Alexander (On My Own, 1997, etc.) tackles the children’s queries she most often encounters. The essay format is a departure for Alexander—her story of blindness began in the autobiography Taking Hold (1995)—but it retains the anecdotal intimacy of the previous book. Ultimately upbeat, she conversationally recounts her journey from fear and despair to having a family and becoming a successful writer. Without self-pity, she describes the difficulties and frustrations of learning how to negotiate a world designed for the sighted. Her sense of humor—especially when talking about her family, or mistakes she has made in the process of living—is always apparent, but it gains strength in her honesty. Her answers are followed by seven tasks that palpably simulate blindness for readers; there is also a short list of helpful tools, e.g., Braille clothing tags that identify the color of the cloth, along with a discussion of ways the blind benefit from modern technology. A witty, wise, inspiring book. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-88043-4
Page Count: 70
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-13165-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Lunge-Larsen and Preus debut with this story of a flower that blooms for the first time to commemorate the uncommon courage of a girl who saves her people from illness. The girl, an Ojibwe of the northern woodlands, knows she must journey to the next village to get the healing herb, mash-ki- ki, for her people, who have all fallen ill. After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake to reach the village. Then, rather than wait for morning, she sets out for home while the villagers sleep. When she loses her moccasins in the deep snow, her bare feet are cut by icy shards, and bleed with every step until she reaches her home. The next spring beautiful lady slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched. Drawing on Ojibwe sources, the authors of this fluid retelling have peppered the tale with native words and have used traditional elements, e.g., giving voice to the forces of nature. The accompanying watercolors, with flowing lines, jewel tones, and decorative motifs, give stately credence to the story’s iconic aspects. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90512-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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