From slavery to anti-slavery activist—a life honored and remembered.
Writing with obvious admiration for his subject, Myers expertly conveys the life-changing and life-affirming moments and decisions that shaped Douglass into a man who “changed the history of America.” Tracing his subject’s childhood in bondage, Myers writes how the young Douglass recognized the importance of reading, affirmed his dignity as a man—not as a slave beaten into submission—and successfully escaped to freedom in the North. But Douglass did not stop there. He continued to write and speak forcefully for equal rights for all men and women. Young readers will certainly come away with an understanding of how one person, in spite of overwhelming odds, can make a difference. Cooper’s signature style that combines erasures and oil on board brilliantly sings in clear and resounding volumes across every page. Douglass is portrayed in a sequence of portraits as pensive and dreamy, fighting mad, and commanding attention as a speaker. Scenes from his life depict slavery, black soldiers fighting in the Civil War, and audiences listening attentively. The backmatter includes the text of the “document signed by Hugh Auld officially freeing Frederick Douglass.”
A posthumous title of distinction from the multiaward-winning novelist, biographer, historian, and third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. (timeline, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-027709-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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The paths of four migrant children from different Central American countries cross as they enter Mexico, and together they continue their journey to the United States.
Though their reasons for undertaking the perilous journey are different, their hopes are not: They all hope for asylum in the U.S. Ten-year-old Alessandra, from Guatemala, hopes to reunite with her mother, who left four years ago. Thirteen-year-old Laura and her 7-year-old brother, Nando, from El Salvador, are going to live with relatives in the U.S. And 14-year-old Rodrigo, from Honduras, will try to join his parents in Nebraska rather than join a local gang. Along the way they encounter danger, hunger, kindness from strangers, and, most importantly, the strength of friendship with one another. Through the four children, the book provides but the barest glimpse into the reasons, hopes, and dreams of the thousands of unaccompanied minors that arrive at the U.S.–Mexico border every year. Artist Guevara has added Central American folk art–influenced details to her illustrations, giving depth to the artwork. These embellishments appear as line drawings superimposed on the watercolor scenes. The backmatter explains the reasons for the book, helping to place it within the larger context of ongoing projects at Baylor University related to the migration crisis in Central America.
An emotional entry point to a larger, necessary discussion on this complex and difficult subject. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64442-008-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Six Foot Press
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Susan B. Anthony worked to win women the right to vote her whole long life, but she did not live to see it done.
Wallner uses her flat decorative style and rich matte colors to depict Susan B. Anthony’s life, layering on details: Susan catching snowflakes behind her parents’ house; working in her father’s mill (briefly) and then departing school when the money ran out; writing at her desk; speaking passionately in front of small groups and rowdy crowds. It’s a little too wordy and a little less than engaging in describing a life in which Anthony traveled alone, hired her own halls, spoke tirelessly about women’s suffrage, published, created forums where women could speak freely and was arrested for registering to vote. Her life-long friendship with suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton is touched on, as are the virulent attacks against her ideas and her person. She died in 1906. Votes for women did not come to pass in the United States until 1920.
She said, “Failure is impossible,” and she was right, but unfortunately her steely determination does not come through in this book. (timeline, bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1953-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR
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