As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Lisa Anchin.
Driven by a desire to "make the world a better place," Salk helped to develop the first flu vaccine before tackling--and conquering--the polio virus. Similarities to recent events are evident in how the well-paced text and inclusive illustrations portray public response to the 1950s polio epidemic: the fear, isolation, and uncertainty. The process of vaccine development also sounds familiar: studying the disease and its variants, testing the vaccine, and promoting its efficacy. An author's note discusses Marshall's personal connection to her topic. (A timeline would have helped clarify some biographical information.)
40 pp.
| Farrar
| February, 2019
|
TradeISBN 978-0-374-30306-8$17.99
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Steven Salerno.
Born Velma Bronn Johnston, "Wild Horse Annie" grows up watching her father tame mustangs. In 1971, adult Annie, with help from schoolchildren petitioning legislators, wins federal protection for wild horses. The text makes good use of anecdotes and quotes to capture Annie's personality and convey her personal challenges (including polio). Fluid, cartoonlike illustrations depict Annie's energy and subtly suggest her lifelong disability. Bib.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2019
264 pp.
| Simon
| August, 2019
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4814-1948-2$17.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4814-1950-5
(2)
4-6
Twelve-year-old Vita travels from England to New York City with her WWI-widowed mother after her grandfather loses his home (a small, rundown castle) to a real estate developer with criminal ties. Vita teams up with a street-smart pickpocket and two circus performers to launch an elaborate plot to get the castle back--a caper that turns into a fight for survival. Rundell's gift for pithy description brings the personalities and the world of Jazz Age New York to life.
Reviewer: Sarah Rettger
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2019
(3)
YA
In this fourth story about the Honeycutts (Blue; Comfort; Aim), fourteen-year-old twins Ellie and Ida grow apart as the family struggles to cope with Daddy's post-war trauma. Alternating narratives (with the occasional free-verse entry) relate each sister's unique interests and progression on her own life path. The 1952 setting, with social tensions including the Korean War and the polio epidemic, makes a compelling backdrop to this coming-of-age story. Reading list, websites.
(3)
YA
Grey Land series.
Nessa and Anto survived their Call (The Call), both escaping the horror-filled realm of the Sídhe (wicked fae) both physically altered. The young lovers look forward to a peaceful future, but their romance is stalled by a more terrifying prospect: the Sídhe invading real-world Ireland. Book two of the series continues the page-turning terror and visceral trauma as a desperate nation faces supernatural war.
32 pp.
| Whitman
| February, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8075-1699-7$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Sarah Green.
In this picture book biography, Weatherford explains how Lange was "more than a photographer, she was a storyteller with a camera." Clear prose--including some zoomed-in details, such as the backstory of Migrant Mother--details the lifelong struggles, empathy, and eye-opening experiences behind Lange's photography of America's impoverished. Green's painterly illustrations, too, focus on small moments of large importance to Lange's story.
(3)
YA
Presidential Powerhouses series.
Through these significant presidencies, this thorough series examines crucial periods in America's history: the birth of a fledgling nation, the War of 1812, the Great Depression and WWII, and the dawn of America's "New Frontier." Each president's early life, administration milestones, and ultimate legacy are discussed in detailed chapters filled with maps and period photos or illustrations. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers the following Presidential Powerhouses titles: Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidency, George Washington's Presidency, John F. Kennedy's Presidency, and James Madison's Presidency.
32 pp.
| Dial
| January, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8037-3800-3$17.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Larry Day.
This glowing biography of FDR focuses on his bravery and determination in overcoming his physical handicap to become president and lead America through the Great Depression. Jurmain's upbeat prose is friendly, folksy, and accessible to young children; Day's pencil and watercolor with gouache illustrations are pleasingly detailed and evocative. A solid addition to Roosevelt biographies, particularly as an introductory text. Bib.
(2)
4-6
In WWII-era New Orleans, polio survivor Fish rescues a stray dog. White Fish's friendship with his African American neighbor, Olympia, feels natural, the two having bonded over the dog's welfare. He also gets help from seventeen-year-old Erich, a German POW whose story is told in intermittent chapters. Larson's historical setting comes alive with vivid details and draws readers in with a heartfelt dog-and-child relationship.
294 pp.
| Whitman
| February, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8075-4774-8$16.99
(4)
YA
In 1922, abandoned by her family after contracting polio, Rowan is cast in the Unfit Family show, a carnival sideshow promoting eugenics. After escaping, she and an unlikely ally find themselves uncovering a plot to use "unfit" children as medical guinea pigs. While the plot is uneven, the story's themes and subjects are worth examination; an appended historical note adds value.
310 pp.
| Scholastic/Fickling
| August, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-1-338-04561-1$18.99
(3)
YA
One by one, the teenagers of Ireland are called to the nightmarish Grey Land of the Sídhe (wicked fae). The teens reappear after only three minutes, but with magically misshapen bodies--or dead. Readers follow a class of fourteen-year-olds, including Nessa, with polio-twisted legs, as they experience the Call in a grisly and gripping plot reminiscent of Battle Royale.
32 pp.
| Boyds/Calkins
| March, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-1-62979-208-8$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Gérard DuBois.
From childhood struggles in the turn-of-the-twentieth-century NYC area (including contracting polio and being raised by a single mother) to her acclaim documenting Americans' struggles during the Depression, Lange's empathy is the emotional core of Rosenstock's clipped present-tense narrative: "Dorothea sees with her eyes and her heart." DuBois's subdued acrylic and digital art aptly captures the era; six Lange photographs are appended. Reading list, timeline. Bib.
376 pp.
| HarperCollins/Tegen
| October, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-219853-2$17.99
(3)
YA
Lucy (the orphan Lynn saved in Not a Drop to Drink), now a teenager, lives in relative safety with friends and her adopted family. But after a polio outbreak--potentially stemming from their pond--devastates the community, Lucy and Lynn set out for California, which is rumored to have desalination plants. McGinnis's bleak but skillful narrative explores what it means to hope and to survive.
278 pp.
| Abrams/Amulet
| August, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4197-1068-1$16.95
(2)
4-6
1952 was the height of the U.S. polio epidemic. It was also the publication year of Charlotte's Web. These historical details drive Rocklin's animal fantasy, an homage to White's classic. Franny, convalescing from polio, receives a handwritten note from an eloquent flea named Fleabrain. With keen insight into human (and insect) relations, Rocklin creates believable, three-dimensional characters that help anchor the off-the-wall elements. Websites. Bib.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2014
112 pp.
| ABDO
| September, 2013
|
LibraryISBN 978-1-61783-896-5$23.95
(4)
YA
Essential Lives series.
Though sometimes repetitive (Estée) or awkwardly written (Malcolm X), these standard-issue biographies, illustrated with stock photographs, do offer balanced portraits of their subjects and will be useful for report writers. With fewer years to cover, Malala includes chapters on Pakistan, Islam, and the Taliban. The many sidebars are informative if somewhat distracting. Reading list, timelime. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Essential Lives titles: Estée Lauder, Jonas Salk, Malcolm X, and Malala Yousafzai.
296 pp.
| Harcourt
| June, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-85314-7$16.99
(4)
YA
The teenage children of the characters from The Vespertine and The Springsweet meet serendipitously in 1917 Los Angeles. Bohemian Kate is a budding filmmaker and Julian is disabled by polio; they also both possess supernatural gifts inherited from their parents. Overall this is a lackluster addition to the saga, though fans of the companion volumes may appreciate getting to know the next generation.
(2)
K-3
This sequel to Last Airlift describes Tuyet's adjustment to life with her adoptive Canadian family, the drama this time revolving around the surgery she must have on her leg due to polio. Readers will be just as riveted to this quieter but no-less-moving story as Tuyet bravely dreams of being able to run and play. Illustrated with photos. Reading list, websites. Ind.
110 pp.
| Pajama
| March, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-9869495-4-8$17.95
(2)
4-6
In 1975 Saigon, missionaries evacuated vulnerable disabled orphans who would be killed; Tuyet, eight, lame from polio, helps get over fifty tiny orphans flown to Canada, where she shows new caregivers how to comfort them. Skrypuch's third-person re-creation of these transitional months makes vivid the uncertainties of confronting a new language, climate, and family. Illustrated with photos. Reading list, websites. Ind.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2012
156 pp.
| Simon
| February, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-3346-5$15.99
(4)
4-6
Twelve-year-old Nick is a talented pitcher until polio strikes. His speedy recovery and return to baseball--aided by time spent with real-life pitcher Satchel Paige--feel unrealistic. The story, set in the 1930s when Paige and other black ballplayers were barred from Major League teams, smoothly comingles fact and fiction. Baseball fans will recognize several historic players in this readable narrative.
362 pp.
| Candlewick
| May, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-3982-2$17.99
(2)
4-6
During the 1950s polio epidemic, eleven-year-old Georgie obsesses about the disease. Imagine her fascination when her new teenage neighbor, Phyllis, is in an iron lung. But is Phyllis a helpless prisoner, or is she like a spider reaching out for prey? While the historical setting may be foreign to today's readers, Georgie's loneliness and her search for answers are universal.
Reviewer: Betty Carter
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2010
36 reviews
Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.
This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.