Barack Obama Son of promise, child of hope

Nikki Grimes

Book - 2008

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jBIOGRAPHY/Obama, Barack
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Children's Room jBIOGRAPHY/Obama, Barack Checked In
Subjects
Published
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers c2008.
Language
English
Main Author
Nikki Grimes (-)
Other Authors
Bryan Collier (illustrator)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
unpaged : col. ill., geneal. table ; 27 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781416971443
Contents unavailable.
Review by New York Times Review

The fad for mock encyclopedias continues, as "the Ghost Society" - pictured in a smudgy portrait at the front - engagingly presents its "never-before-seen archives," which detail manifestations, apparitions and other paranormal phenomena. Its entries range from Japanese ghosts to a handsome cross-section of a Victorian home afflicted with poltergeists, and the tone is authoritative if always tongue in cheek: "To see a ghost move swiftly across the floor without feet will be disquieting. But remember, he'd have feet, if he could." JIM COPP, WILL YOU TELL ME A STORY? Three Uncommonly Clever Tales. Written and performed by Jim Copp. Illustrated by Lindsay duPont. Harcourt. $17.95. (Ages 6 to 9) Jim Copp (1913-99) made nine strange and wickedly hilarious children's records, attracting a durable cult following. Three of his best routines have been collected here, with a CD of the original 1958 recordings: about Kate Higgins, Miss Goggins - "who was not only very ugly, but had a temper" - and the forgetful Martha Matilda O'Toole. With witty illustrations by Lindsay duPont. FLY, CHER AMI, FLY! The Pigeon Who Saved the Lost Battalion. By Robert Burleigh. Illustrated by Robert MacKenzie. Abrams. $16.95. (Ages 5 to 8) During World War I, hundreds of carrier pigeons bore messages to and from the front. This is the story of Cher Ami, who evaded German gunfire (and a trained hawk) to bring news of the famous "Lost Battalion," trapped behind enemy lines in France, to American headquarters: "He ... had done what no man could do! He had saved the soldiers!" Cher Ami also had a happy ending: Badly wounded on his last flight but alive, he was fitted with a tiny wooden leg and retired a hero. PRESIDENT PENNYBAKER By Kate Feiffer. Illustrated by Diane Goode. Paul Wiseman/Simon & Schuster. $ 16.99. (Ages 4 to 8) One of the season's wackier election-related books couldn't be better timed: the story of Luke Pennybaker, "the youngest boy ever to run for president." During his whirlwind campaign Luke vows "to make life fair," among other implausible promises. The message, though, is mixed: Luke ultimately walks away from the White House (now painted orange), leaving his running mate-his dog-in charge. This is supposed to be a happy ending? ON A SCARY SCARY NIGHT Written and illustrated by Walter Wick. Scholastic. $13.99. (Ages 4 and up) For his "Can You See What I See?" books, Walter Wick builds and photographs miniature assemblages of remarkably lifelike scenes. This new Halloween version, loosely based on the tale "In a Dark, Dark Wood," is once again chock-full of the kinds of details that sharp-eyed children love to spot, as the story ingeniously goes in for its close-up down a dark village street, through a door, up the stairs and into a "scary scary cupboard" where a "spirit potion with a leaky cork" sits ready to release a hollow-eyed ghost. "BOO!" LOOKING FOR MIZA By Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. Photographs by Peter Greste. Scholastic. $16.99. (Ages 7 and up) The team that specializes in baby animals in trouble (think of Knut, the polar bear cub) tells the story of Miza, an endangered mountain gorilla. She's lost, and then rescued by her father. It's a formula, but a good one. JULIE JUST RAISE YOUR HANDS Are kids following the presidential race? What issues do they really care about? Tell us at nytimes.com/books.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 27, 2009]
Review by Booklist Review

Inspirational is the word for this glowing picture-book biography, framed by the fictional story of a small African American boy who asks his loving, single-parent mom to tell him about Barack Obama. With fast free verse ( His family stretched / from Kansas to Kenya; / his mama, white as whipped cream, / his daddy, black as ink ) and big, handsome illustrations, Coretta Scott King Award winners Grimes and Collier tell the story of Obama's life. Beginning with his childhood in Hawaii, double-page spreads show him interacting with kids from all over the world. Despite the sadness of his parents getting divorced, both inspire him to find hope in education, and he learns to confront racism ( hurt and hate and history ), and is moved to help the poor. Grimes' stirring words and Collier's watercolor-and-collage pictures convey the power of diversity to make a new whole. On each spread a small box displays the running conversation between the boy and his mother, and his final comment is: When I grow up, I want to be the president. --Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"One day Hope stopped by for a visit," begins this biography, narrowly framed as an exchange between an African-American mother and her son. They sit together on a "frayed" sofa in a "tenement" as she tells him who "Braco-what?" is and why he is so special; at the end she blinks back tears when he tells her that he, too, wants to be president when he grows up. (Hope later talks to Barack Obama, as does God.) Grimes (Bronx Masquerade) approaches her themes with a heavy hand, starting with her treatment of race as she describes "his mama, white as whipped cream,/ his daddy, black as ink" (she gets at awe similarly: "Barry's mom married/ a man named Lolo/ and--Oh! The wonderland/ he took Barry to: Indonesia"). Collier uses watercolor and collage, a choice he explains as a metaphor for the way Obama has "piece[d] life's issues together to create a courageous vision for the world." There is much to find in each composition (artfully placed photo images, batik patterns, etc.), but the illustrations often feel static and a few (like the one in which a single tear streams momentously down Obama's cheek), stagy. Ages 5-10. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 5-A bright child of humble background is encouraged by the adults around him to believe that he is capable of doing anything he wants to do. Sound familiar? It's called the American Dream, and the boy is Barack Obama, a biracial child who has gone on to change the course of history. This picture-book biography serves to educate children not only about Obama's journey thus far, but also to connect his circumstances to their own. In particular, children of color now know that they too have boundless potential. Grimes's imagery, however, is occasionally overblown as both Hope and God speak directly to Obama. His impressive life story needs no inflating, and the heavy imagery gets in the way of the message. Collier's vivid watercolor and collage artwork brings the varied aspects of the man's life together. From the sparkling beaches of Hawaii where he played as a child to the brown, arid village in Kenya where his father was buried, readers see Obama always reaching toward the future. Despite the overly laudatory tone, this book is an appealing addition to biography collections.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

When David wonders why all those people on TV are shouting one man's name, his mother tells him Barack Obama's story. Accompanied by Collier's trademark, powerful collages, Grimes's storytelling voice, heavily tinged with the gospel rhythms of the black church, relates the particulars of Obama's youth, from his childhood in Hawaii and yearning for his estranged father, to his days as a community activist in Illinois, in the Senate and, most briefly, his presidential campaign. David's questions and his mother's responses punctuate each double-page spread, never letting readers forget the story's frame. It's a contrivance that works, perhaps because it's so obviously informed by the author's own passion, described in a concluding note. Based primarily on Obama's Dreams from My Father (2004) as well as other sources, this work stands on shaky nonfiction ground, as Grimes admits to taking artistic license; most troubling are unsourced quotations within the text. Still, of the three candidates' picture-book biographies out this season, this stands as the one most likely to communicate to children on a visceral level. (author's, illustrator's notes, resources, timeline, family tree) (Picture book/biography. 5-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.