This entertaining gallery of malefactors seductively introduces history.
Horrid historical humans get the Q&A treatment.
With the aid of a time machine/translator, the author meekly interviews a slew of antiheroes (eight men, one woman, and one couple, the notorious Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow), most of whom are of European or American origin. British humor and amusing line drawings leaven the encounters, but quite a number of fascinating facts make it through. Each outlaw is evil in a different way. Allowed his say, Blackbeard contends that he is not bloodthirsty and disavows chanting “pieces of eight” (Seed does not mention that the piece was in fact a Spanish coin); Ivan the Terrible (or “Fearsome”) argues for the rightness of his acts. The interviews are followed by a fact sheet with maps that finishes the story (sometimes adding missing details, since these baddies could be secretive). Characters who might be new to U.S. readers include the self-justifying Guy Fawkes, Ned Kelly (who uses Aussie slang and whose backstory complicates his case), and Zheng Yi Sao (a female Chinese pirate). We are told of Vlad’s impaling practices but not why he remains a heroic figure in Romania. Victor Lustig, a mere con man, is outclassed by the murderers here. But they all (except Zheng) come to a bad end—unlike this engrossing book, which ends with a tongue-in-cheek quiz.
This entertaining gallery of malefactors seductively introduces history. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9781783129119
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Mortimer Children's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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