#lisbeth kaiser

Kaiser tells Rosa Park's story in decent way. It balances the need for information (the biographic aspect of the series) and the need for writing for the audience. It's not censorship. There are just elements that Kaiser chose not to show to young readers, something that Sánchez Vegara does well too. They are both writing to the audience. I really like the illustrations in this one. Antelo has done a good job of showing the racial divide through the illustrations. There is a clear symbolism of we are all the same and skin colour doesn't (or at least shouldn't) matter. There is also a moment of kids being kids, and there is really a degree of kids being kids there. It's not racism. The segregation is racism but kids on a bus teasing kids walking? To me, that is just kids doing what kids do. Overall the illustrations do the story justice. They give it gravity while not overwhelming young readers with the darkness of the story.

I didn't know a lot about Emmeline Pankhurst before reading this. So this is a nice little introduction to a very important woman to history, particularly British history. I certainly didn't know that this is a dynasty of powerful feminist women. I really want to know more about them. I'll need to find a book aimed at an adult level so I can learn more. But this is fantastic for kids. It is a great example of what perseverance will get you and the value of knowing when to stop. Because that is something that the Pankhurst's definitely knew how to due, to stop when it is best for the greater good (ie WWI), it was also very good for their cause.

I quite like the art for this book. Some of them feel a bit like quite realistic drawings on a sidewalk, like art that would be done by an adult busking. There is one particularly good page of art. The page representing the death of Richard Pankhurst is a black background and subtle colours. That is a definite contrast to the white backgrounds and brighter colours (for the time period). I appreciate the way the three daughters, Christabel, Sylvia, and Adela are illustrated they look similar enough to their mother but not simply mini-mes. This has cute end pages, replicating the dress Emmeline Pankhurst is wearing on the cover. The peppermint green background with purple white and green polka dots.