Great Minds of Science (Black Lives #1): A Nonfiction Graphic Novel
September 10, 2024 by Abrams Fanfare
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Bolden is not new to biographies or Black history; her Speak Up, Speak Out!: The Extraordinary Life of Fighting Shirley Chisholm was fantastic, and she worked with Henry Louis Gates on Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow. This book is a bit different, since it is short biographies of a variety of scientists. Each entry starts with a quotation, includes a little about the person's life, and concentrates on careers. There is a helpful timeline for each. There is some information about the various fields, as well as other contributors. They are arranged in roughly chronological order, starting with the physician Matilda Evans, who was born in 1872, and finishing up with marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (1980). Also included are Archie Alexander (civil engineer), Gladys West (mathematician), Fred Jones (inventor and engineer), Patrice Clark Washington ( aviator), David Wilcots (paleotologist and geologist), Carlotta Berry (robotics engineer), and Scott Edwards (biologist).
This will be perfect for some of the brief biography projects that my students do, but will also be great fun for students who like the graphic novel format. The page design is great, and there's just enough information, interspersed with pictures, to make this a quick read. My only quibble is that there could have been more attention paid to getting the clothing and other historical details (buildings, vehicles) to better reflect the time periods. They are necessarily wrong, but there are some things, like the 1920s bathing suits, that weren't quite right, or were just very plain. I love the graphic format for history because it can show younger readers how different the world was. Perhaps in future volumes, we'll see better examples. After all, could students fully understand Shirley Chisolm's place in history without seeing her striking 1960s and 70s dresses?
Sports Heroes: Stephen Curry
August 13, 2024 by Penguin Workshop
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Eleven year olds Maya, who is very athletic, and Jesse, who prefers to manage teams and run stats, both win tickets to a big basketball game in New York City because they were cleaning up at their school. When they are at the game with their dads, they sneak off to explore, and get a mysterious text message. They end up in a storage closet that turns out to be an elevator to the Sports Superheroes Sports room. The Superheroes want the kids' help in picking out the next generation of sports superheroes. Maya and Jesse both pick Steph Curry and are asked to defend their choice. They give his origin story, explaining how he was born in Akron to an NBA player and college volleyball star, and was known in his high school career as the "baby-faced assassin". His super power was his shot, and he struggled to get onto a pro team, ending up at small Davidson College when Virginia Tech only offered him a walk on position. They cover career highlights as well as personal ones, such as his wife Ayesha and his three children. Because sports superheroes have to be more than just the game, they talk about the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation that the Currys run. The Superheroes think he is a good choice, and he is magically brought to the throne room while the rest of the world is frozen. Maya and Jesse are glad to be able to talk to their idol, and return to their fathers and the game. Later, they are once again summoned to recommend someone new; this no doubt means there will be other graphic novel biographies in this series.
Strengths: There are very, very few sports graphic novels, and many of my readers who enjoy this format also enjoy sports. This had a Space Jam (1996) feel to it that will resonate with some readers.
Weaknesses: I'm not sure if the pictures will be in full color in the finished version, but the black and white illustrations were done in a somewhat unusual way that made the characters seem odd.
What I really think: The idea of a group of Sports Superheroes was interesting, but made the book seem a little young. For middle school, I prefer Marannis and Hodge's Beyond the Game series.
Weaknesses: I'm not sure if the pictures will be in full color in the finished version, but the black and white illustrations were done in a somewhat unusual way that made the characters seem odd.
What I really think: The idea of a group of Sports Superheroes was interesting, but made the book seem a little young. For middle school, I prefer Marannis and Hodge's Beyond the Game series.
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