An inspirational look at one woman’s journey from ambition and vision to the reality of schooling and schools.
The dream of education comes true for a girl from Zimbabwe.
Born in what was then Rhodesia, she’s given a Shona name meaning “listen to the word of the spirit.” She grows up working hard at her chores and tending cattle but yearns to attend school with her brother. He agrees to teach her in secret and does it “the Shona way, through song.” She is finally admitted to the local school even as war forces the men in the village to travel to work. They bring back transistor radios, however, and listening to the radio leads to a further dream—visiting other countries. The girl grows into a wife and mother and shares her thoughts with an American woman visiting the village, who encourages her path. But first, according to local belief, she must write down her dreams on a piece of paper and bury it, including one that will enrich her home. Trent relates her own story of great achievements in the third person, filling it with dialogue meant to inspire young readers with her love for learning and mission to provide educational opportunities for girls. Gilchrist’s soft-toned watercolor art provides a positive picture of a southern African village.
An inspirational look at one woman’s journey from ambition and vision to the reality of schooling and schools. (author’s note, afterword, color photographs) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-670-01654-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
Heartening.
One determined man brings two villages together with a hammer, chisel, and an iron will.
Deep in the heart of India, a mighty mountain separates two villages. Manjhi lives on one side, where nothing grows. On the other, rice and wheat flourish. The people there are affluent, while Manjhi’s village struggles with hunger. Manjhi climbs to the top of the mountain to ponder this problem. When he throws a stone, it triggers a sprinkle of powder, which gives him an idea. Manjhi trades his trio of goats for a hammer and chisel. Hurrying back to the top of the mountain, he positions the chisel and strikes it with the hammer. Powdered rock and tiny chips spray. He continues until he’s exhausted, but he’s also filled with hope. Even though people tell him he’s “crazy,” day after day Manjhi returns to the mountain. After a year, Majhi is a little stronger, and the hole he has made a little deeper. He perseveres and, when he returns to his task each day, notices that others have continued his work. It takes 22 years, but Manjhi lives to see the day that two villages become one, sharing water, hopes, and dreams. Churnin’s prose has an elegance appropriate for her inspiring tale, which is based on a true story. Popovich’s double-page illustrations use a warm palette and are nicely composed.
Heartening. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-939547-34-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures.
Abraham Lincoln’s ascent to the presidency is recounted in a fluid, easy-to-read biography for early readers.
Simple, direct sentences stress Lincoln’s humble upbringing, his honesty, and his devotion to acting with moral conviction. “Lincoln didn’t seem like a man who would be president one day. But he studied hard and became a lawyer. He cared about people and about justice.” Slavery and Lincoln’s signature achievement of emancipation are explained in broad yet defined, understandable analogies. “At that time, in the South, the law let white people own black people, just as they owned a house or a horse.” Readers are clearly given the president’s perspective through some documented memorable quotes from his own letters. “Lincoln did not like slavery. ‘If slavery is not wrong,’ he wrote to a friend ‘nothing is wrong.’ ” (The text does not clarify that this letter was written in 1865 and not before he ascended to the presidency, as implied by the book.) As the war goes on and Lincoln makes his decision to free the slaves in the “Southern states”—“a bold move”—Lincoln’s own words describe his thinking: “ ‘If my name ever goes into history,’ Lincoln said, ‘it will be for this act.’ ” A very basic timeline, which mentions the assassination unaddressed in the text, is followed by backmatter providing photographs, slightly more detailed historical information, and legacy. It’s a pity that the text is accompanied by unremarkable, rudimentary opaque paintings.
A succinct, edifying read, but don’t buy it for the pictures. (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243256-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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