A visually exciting introduction to a famous spy case and a name synonymous with “traitor.” (aftermath, timelines, places to...
During the Revolutionary War, Maj. John André and Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold each sought glory, but instead both found ruin.
André was in charge of British secret intelligence. Arnold was the American hero of the Battle of Saratoga. But Arnold felt slighted. Maimed in the battle, capable of no further battlefield heroics, and denied official reward and recognition from Congress, he sought fame and fortune in an unusual way: plotting with André, he would hand over the American stronghold of West Point and its 3,000 soldiers to the British. This would hasten the end of the war, and Americans would be grateful. However, this was treason. André was caught and hanged, and Arnold lived in exile for the rest of his life. It’s a complicated story, and Castrovilla’s choice of telling it in alternating third-person points of view diffuses dramatic tension and pacing. Even the concluding gallows scene is kept at a distance, in both words and image. The illustrations, however, are stellar, employing O’Brien’s signature squiggly ink lines and watercolor for an effect akin to 18th-century hand-colored woodcuts. The effective alternation of framed illustrations and full-bleed spreads adds necessary drama to the tale. Overall, a volume that young history buffs will find absorbing.
A visually exciting introduction to a famous spy case and a name synonymous with “traitor.” (aftermath, timelines, places to visit, resources) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62979-341-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world.
This wide-ranging collection of short biographies highlights 36 Jewish figures from around the globe and across centuries.
Explicitly pushing back against homogenous depictions of Jewish people, the authors demonstrate the ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of Jews. Each spread includes a brief biography paired with a stylized portrait reminiscent of those in Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (2016). A pull quote or sidebar accompanies each subject; sidebars include “Highlighting Jewish Paralympic Athletes,” “Jewish Stringed Music,” and “Ethiopian Jews in Israel.” Kleinrock and Pritchard’s roster of subjects makes a compelling case for the vastness and variety of Jewish experience—from a contemporary Ethiopian American teen to a 16th-century Portuguese philanthropist—while still allowing them to acknowledge better-known figures. The entry on Raquel Montoya-Lewis, an associate justice of the Washington Supreme Court and an enrolled member of the Pueblo Isleta Indian tribe, discusses her mission to reimagine criminal justice for Indigenous people; the sidebar name-checks Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The bios are organized around themes of Jewish principles such as Pikuach Nefesh (translated from the Hebrew as “to save a life”) and Adam Yachid (translated as the “unique value of every person”); each section includes an introduction to an organization that centers diverse Jewish experiences.
A celebration of progressive Judaism and an inclusive primer on Jews making a difference in the world. (resources) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780063285712
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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