This illustrated, biographical narrative mixes fact and speculation about the life of a transgender Civil War veteran.
Irish immigrant Albert D.J. Cashier enlisted in the Union army at the age of 19 and fought in the 95th Illinois Infantry. His sex assigned at birth remained private, even from his military comrades, until much later in life, when he moved into the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ home. Even though he asked for confidentiality, someone told a reporter, spreading the story nationwide and inciting a governmental investigation. Unfortunately, the language throughout the text undermines its mission, failing to respect the identity Cashier himself strove to protect and reinforcing a born-in-the-wrong-body narrative. Following a foreword by an academic in transgender studies that identifies Cashier as a trans man, Sanders opens the text with the birthname that Cashier left behind and she/her pronouns, both of which he repeats in the pages describing Cashier’s early life. Three times, Sanders writes that Albert wasn’t “born” a man. In the backmatter, the provided definition for the word “transgender” further reinforces stereotypes by explaining that a transgender person “looks like a boy or a girl” at birth but knows they are different on the inside. The same note lists terms for transgender people used in “Native American tribes, Hawaii, and other countries” without any cultural context. Illustrations with soft brushstrokes and an earthy palette depict Cashier (who is white) in an mostly white world, with the exception of one black comrade in arms.
A disappointing, disrespectful perspective on the experiences of a transgender person. (author’s note, further information, glossary, sources, timeline) (Picture book/biography. 7-11)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0936-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little Bee
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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An extraordinary athlete was also an extraordinary hero.
Gino Bartali grew up in Florence, Italy, loving everything about riding bicycles. After years of studying them and years of endurance training, he won the 1938 Tour de France. His triumph was muted by the outbreak of World War II, during which Mussolini followed Hitler in the establishment of anti-Jewish laws. In the middle years of the conflict, Bartali was enlisted by a cardinal of the Italian church to help Jews by becoming a document courier. His skill as a cyclist and his fame helped him elude capture until 1944. When the war ended, he kept his clandestine efforts private and went on to win another Tour de France in 1948. The author’s afterword explains why his work was unknown. Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum, honored him as a Righteous Among the Nations in 2013. Bartali’s is a life well worth knowing and well worthy of esteem. Fedele’s illustrations in mostly dark hues will appeal to sports fans with their action-oriented scenes. Young readers of World War II stories will gain an understanding from the somber wartime pages.
What makes one person step into danger to help others? A question worthy of discussion, with this title as an admirable springboard. (photograph, select bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68446-063-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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The backstory of a renowned address is revealed.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” is one of the most famous ever given, yet with this book, Wittenstein and Pinkney give young readers new insights into both the speech and the man behind it. When Dr. King arrived in Washington, D.C., for the 1963 March on Washington, the speech was not yet finished. He turned to his fellow civil rights leaders for advice, and after hours of listening, he returned to his room to compose, fine-tuning even the day of the march. He went on to deliver a powerful speech, but as he closed, he moved away from the prepared text and into a stirring sermon. “Martin was done circling. / The lecture was over. / He was going to church, / his place to land, / and taking a congregation / of two hundred and fifty thousand / along for the ride.” Although much hard work still lay ahead, the impact of Dr. King’s dramatic words and delivery elevated that important moment in the struggle for equal rights. Wittenstein’s free-verse narrative perfectly captures the tension leading up to the speech as each adviser urged his own ideas while remaining a supportive community. Pinkney’s trademark illustrations dramatize this and the speech, adding power and further illuminating the sense of historical importance.
Gives readers a fresh and thrilling sense of what it took to make history. (author’s note, lists of advisers and speakers, bibliography, source notes) (Informational picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4331-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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