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Summary
Summary
A vivid portrait of a unique leader who both experienced and influenced the great social and political changes of the first half of the twentieth century.
Author Notes
Formerly a school teacher, John B. Severance now writes full time. He lives in Savannah, Georgia.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 UpThis attractively packaged biography presents an affectionate portrait of Britain's renowned Prime Minister. Although Severance focuses on Churchill's contributions during World War II, he also describes the statesman's boyhood, Boer War adventures, and political ascendancy. Churchill's acumen in military affairs, remarkable leadership ability, and indomitable spirit create a heroic figure; however, his trenchant wit, giant ego, and affinity for cigars and brandy render him human. Severance is perfectly at ease with his subject, offering cogent quotations and anecdotes to support his assessments. The well-written text introduces readers to the times as well as the man. Good-quality black-and-white photographs, many of them full page, appear throughout. Other enhancements include a section of quotations called "Winston's Wit," a well-chosen bibliography, and a detailed index. While this volume lacks the wealth of primary-source material and the meticulous documentation of William W. Lace's The Importance of Winston Churchill (Lucent, 1995), it is engaging, balanced, and visually appealing.Pat Katka, formerly at San Diego Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In his first book for young readers, former high school teacher Severance uses simple, eloquent prose to limn Churchill and his times, offering edifying explanations of major events of 20th-century world history as well as of such arcane subjects as Britain's electoral process. While obviously filled with admiration for his subject, whom he has been studying for some 40 years, Severance doesn't lionize Churchill; his discussion of Churchill's shortcomings and controversial actions are as evenhanded as those of Churchill's many talents and notable achievements. A multitude of crisp black-and-white photographs enhance this handsomely designed volume; besides those of Churchill and his family are such arresting images as that of British schoolchildren huddled in a trench watching an air battle during World War II. The bons mots in "Winston's Wit," the concluding chapter, make a charming endpiece to a lively, informative book. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Younger) Illustrated by June Otani. Word spreads quickly once the workers from an office park in downtown Tokyo see a mother duck and her ten babies, eleven wild kamo, living around the pool. One of their many visitors is a news photographer named Mr. Sato, or Sato-san, who names the smallest duckling Chibi, Japanese for tiny. When her family outgrows the office park pool, the mother duck decides to move them to the Emperor's Gardens just across the street. The street, however, is a busy eight-lane thoroughfare. An increasing number of duck watchers await the move, though it is Sato-san who realizes when it starts and helps usher the duck family safely through the traffic. The ducks are content in their spacious new home until an unusually strong series of storms disrupts life on the moat. When the duck watchers are able to come back, they discover three ducklings, including Chibi, missing. Though one duckling drowns, two return unharmed, and Sato-san is able to document Chibi's victorious return, "balanced like a surfer on a piece of Styrofoam," with his camera. A special duck house, ordered by the Emperor, remains to this day in Tokyo's Imperial Gardens. Told in a crisp, straightforward style, this dramatic story, so reminiscent of Robert McCloskey's 1941 classic, Make Way for Ducklings, is based on actual events. Japanese words written in English characters are integrated into the text and also listed with a pronunciation guide and definition at book's end. Gentle, uncluttered, realistic watercolor-and-ink illustrations move the story along, are sometimes quite dramatic, and occasionally capture a sense of traditional Japanese painting. m.b.s. Martha Cooper Anthony Reynoso: Born to Rope (Picture Book) Illustrated with photographs by Ginger Gordon. In this straightforward photo essay about a third-generation Mexican-style roper-in-training, clear, well-composed, dramatic photographs add depth, clarification, and atmosphere to a first-person, unselfconscious text ("As soon as I could stand, my dad gave me a rope"). The content is broader than many other examples of the genre, showing glimpses of Tony's life and activities outside of roping that round out the experience. An attractive package that will appeal to all children who strive to hone a skill requiring much attention and practice. e.s.w. John Duggleby Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood (Intermediate) Illustrated with reproductions in color. Given the popularity of Grant Wood's American Gothic, it is surprising that no book for children is available on the life of the great Regionalist painter. Now a fellow-Iowan has remedied the situation with a handsome, easy-to-read biography that places Wood's life against the background of the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution and its influences on American culture. Beginning with Wood's boyhood, the book describes his early interest in drawing, his education, and his attempts to earn a living in such diverse areas as jewelry making and teaching. Duggleby conveys quite well Wood's struggle to find a unique style at a time when the impressionists dominated the world of art, and the intense observation of his environment that enabled him to capture the essence of the United States heartland. Particularly worthwhile is the analysis of influences on his development, notably that of the Renaissance painters whose precision and attention to detail accorded well with his own inclinations. Realism tempered by memory, his work eventually made him an art world celebrity, "an American artist who painted American subjects in an original, American way." Duggleby captures this sense of Wood's roots, which the book's lavish use of color reproductions and decorative sketches ably supports. An afterword offering advice on "Drawing and Painting like Grant Wood" is for a younger audience than the main text implies; the lack of any notes or bibliography is a serious omission. The list of locations for the paintings reproduced in the book is, however, a valuable supplement. m.m.b. Barbara Juster Esbensen Swift as the Wind: The Cheetah (Picture Book) Illustrated by Jean Cassels. Elegantly and instructively illustrated with carefully detailed paintings, this introduction to the fastest land animal includes sufficient information to provide a basic understanding of the cheetah and to differentiate the cheetah from other big cats. The paintings clearly depict the creature's habitat and are faithful not only to the cheetah's anatomy but to that of its victims as well. The author explains the factors that make cheetah survival difficult and contribute to this animal's status as an endangered species. In two or three places the printing is difficult to read, but young readers will overcome this slight problem as they take in the drama of life on the Serengeti. e.s.w. Margery Facklam Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars (Younger) Illustrated by Paul Facklam. Banded woolly bears, bagworms, green grapplers, tent caterpillars, hickory horned devils, and tomato hornworms are among the baker's dozen of caterpillars featured in this informative picture book. Set against variously shaded blue backgrounds, each entry features a page of text facing a large drawing of the caterpillar, usually situated among the leaves it eats. A band of contrasting color runs along the bottom of each double-spread page and contains several small drawings of the chrysalis or cocoon and the adult butterfly or moth. As in her many science books, Margery Facklam here writes lucid explanations with a nice flair for interesting bits of information. "The tent caterpillar moth lays a mass of two or three hundred eggs on a tree. She covers them with a waterproof liquid like a coat of hard, shiny varnish to protect them from all kinds of weather." Entries feature distinctive behavior and physical characteristics of the species along with the particular stages of metamorphosis into a moth or butterfly. An introductory essay talks about the physical components, silk spinning, shedding of exoskeletons, and the four stages of life common to all types. Paul Facklam's colorful paintings tend to overdramatize but also command attention. The transformation inherent in the caterpillar life cycle, ever fascinating to children, is well served in this handsome introduction to a complex insect. Glossary. m.a.b. Paul Fleischman Dateline: Troy (Intermediate, Older) Collages by Gwen Frankfeldt and Glenn Morrow. The story of the Trojan War "is old news, more than three thousand years old. The story was ancient even to the ancient Greeks"; but again it has been retold. It is evident in this adroit, concise adaptation that truths, particularly those that reveal human nature, are often timeless, as the author juxtaposes twentieth-century news items with events of the Trojan War. The tragic tale of Troy began when Hecuba, queen of Troy, dreamed that her as yet unborn child would cause the city's destruction. She immediately consulted a priest of the god Apollo to interpret the dream and read the future. Centuries later, in May 1988, a headline in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA) read, "Reagans Use Astrology, Aides Confirm." The writer of this article contends that the President's wife "is particularly worried about the impact of astrological portents on her husband's safety." The story of Troy unfolds with contemporary events revealed through reproductions of actual clippings on the opposing page. The clippings are usually legible, arranged within handsome collages in black, white, and sepia tones. Credits for the sources of the clippings are provided at the end of the book. Odysseus's fate as retold here, in which he dies at the hands of one of his sons after years of wandering, is based on a post-Homeric legend to accentuate the final message. The author concludes the story of the Trojan War with the question, "Who could tell the victor from the vanquished?" as current headlines on the opposite page detail the "human cost of war" to provide a stirring - if overt - message. m.b.s. Ted Lewin, Author-Illustrator Market! (Picture Book) "From the chill highlands of the Andes to the steamy jungles of central Africa, from the fabled souks of Morocco to the tough New York waterfront, people come to market. . . . They come to sell what they grow, catch, or make, and to buy what other people grow, catch, or make." Ted Lewin's richly detailed watercolor paintings convey the color and bustle of the marketplace as a human arena common worldwide and with distinctive characteristics according to country. An Ecuadorian marketplace is the first visited, where descendants of the Incas bring onions and bitter potatoes, sweaters and ponchos, bowls made of used tires, knives, rope, reeds, and spices. The five other venues include the souks of Morocco, an Irish horse market, New York City's Fulton Fish Market, a countryside market in Uganda and a city market square in Nepal. Full double-page spreads, usually three sets of them per country, vividly express the activities and the people of each place. Brief text, placed near the bottom or the top of one page in each spread, describes the setting, the journey to market, and the products that are for sale. In spite of the lack of a map, this is an inviting armchair journey and a thoughtful exploration of longstanding social practices. m.a.b. Wendy Pfeffer What's It Like to Be a Fish? (Picture Book) Illustrated by Holly Keller. "Fish live in water - in lakes, ponds, aquariums, and even plastic bags." This basic lesson in ichthyology is constructed around observing the goldfish a small boy purchases at a pet store. Simple, informative explanations point out how breathing, sleeping, eating, and swimming in the underwater environment differ from the ways humans do these things. Pfeffer is careful as well to make the appropriate analogies between the captive fish in their bowl and fish living in the natural world. Holly Keller's crisp sketches and attractive watercolors include smaller views of life in the bowl and pleasant double-page aquatic scenes in which "bigger fish feed on worms, crabs, shrimp, and other fish" as they participate in the food chain. The decision not to cover the whole life cycle pares the book into a sharply focused presentation for beginning readers. Practical concluding instructions for setting up a goldfish bowl make the book a good introduction to pet care as well as a useful science lesson. m.a.b. John B. Severance Winston Churchill: Soldier, Statesman, Artist (Intermediate) Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Winston Churchill was one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, most celebrated as the intrepid British Prime Minister during World War II. Along with a chronological and straightforward account of his life, Severance gives considerable attention to Churchill's superb command of the English language in both writing and speaking, his sense of humor, his personal and family life, and his passion for painting. The admiration is not blind: Severance also points out Churchill's sometimes domineering and even bullying behavior. A fair, balanced, and duly appreciative bibliography, handsomely produced and illustrated with a fine collection of photographs. Index. a.a.f. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An extraordinary biography of a fascinating, larger-than-life man; Severance's first book is a carefully organized, inclusive, balanced, and affectionate portrait of a man whose public life stretched over half a century. All the highs and lows--personal and political--of Churchill's life are covered, sometimes through the judicious use of his own voluminous writings and extensive correspondence. The subtitle, ``Soldier, Statesman, Artist,'' is given credence through ample documentation, as is his enduring relationship with his wife; a section of ``Winston's Wit'' establishes Churchill's continuing quotability. A crisp, open design features well-chosen, effectively placed black-and-white photographs that make this very readable work even more accessible. (bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. Severance, who begins with an overview of Churchill's life and character, keeps to high ground in this biography, which sticks to facts and sidesteps gossip. That, plus Severance's relegation of Churchill's funnier comments to a separate section, "Winston's wit," makes for drier reading than necessary. Still, the information is well organized and clearly explained, a difficult task with so much world history to cover, and the author pays careful attention to Churchill's human side, showing the statesman's feelings as well as the reasoning behind some of his less popular decisions. The copious photographs also help bring Churchill to life. A bibliography of books by and about Churchill is included. --Susan Dove Lempke
