Longer on enthusiasm than strict accuracy, but a blue-ribbon set of admirables.
Fifty historical people of achievement from Cleopatra to Ernö Rubik receive newly minted awards.
Trotting past in no particular order (but taking a chronological “Lap” at the end), the honorees begin with Albert Einstein (“The Curiosity Award”) and Wangari Maathai (“The Stand up for What You Believe in Award”), finish off with Malala Yousafzai (“The One Voice Award”), and in between make up a diverse company of athletes, artists, scientists, activists, and other worthies. Most are European or American, but the sexes are evenly represented, and unusual additions to the typical gallery of role models include David Bowie (“The Express Yourself Award”), Ellen DeGeneres (“The Love Is Love Award”), and Paralympian Trischa Zorn (“The Amazing Athlete Award”). Albero creates for each both a formal portrait with a ribbon affixed to the top and three or four significant scenes from the winner’s life, all rendered in the same stylized, neatly drawn way depicting figures sporting oversized heads with simplified but recognizable features. Murray doesn’t always get her facts straight: e=mc2 doesn’t “prove” anything about mass and energy, nor did the Emancipation Proclamation free “all slaves in the southern states” or Louis Pasteur coin the term “vaccine.” Still, her warm commentaries offer both digestible doses of biographical detail and credible rationales for declaring that each award was well and truly merited.
Longer on enthusiasm than strict accuracy, but a blue-ribbon set of admirables. (Collective biography. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78603-064-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
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
A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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