A fast-paced tale that will spark curiosity—Dr. Apgar would approve.
DasGupta, herself a physician, picks up her pen to add the story of pioneering female physician Virginia Apgar to the growing pantheon presented in the She Persisted series.
Though the name Apgar might be familiar to many adults, young audiences meeting her for the first time will find a worthy hero in these pages. Virginia was born in New Jersey in 1909 and was a go-getter from the very start. Her family was not wealthy, but education and curiosity were prized. Even though there were very few female physicians at the time, Virginia knew from a young age that she wanted to study medicine. From childhood and through her career, she gained a reputation as a “fast talker, fast thinker and fast mover” who would let nothing stand in her way. When sexism blocked her path to a career in surgery, she pivoted to the field of anesthesiology, where she would make her greatest impact in obstetrics, pioneering the infant health assessment that now bears her name. Drawing on primary sources and refraining from speculation while always being mindful of her chapter-book audience, DasGupta offers a biography that is just right for young readers eager for independence. Flint’s airy illustrations serve to illuminate the text in a charming style, depicting Apgar and most of her contemporaries as White. Tips on persistence and sources round out the book.
A fast-paced tale that will spark curiosity—Dr. Apgar would approve. (Biography. 6-9)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11577-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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 unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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