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A review by iilex
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull
Children’s biography
Target audience: Grades K-3
Originally published in 2008, then revised in 2015, Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, is a picture book biography. The book extends over Clinton’s whole life, starting when she was a child, ending with her as Secretary of State.
Strengths:
-Good illustrations
-Great message about gender equality
-The back of the book contains longer explanations about each page from the picture book portion.
Weaknesses:
-At only 32 pages, the picture book doesn’t go into depth on any one event.
-The book contains a lot of platitudes and is a little bland.
I thought this book was pretty cute. It’s a general overview of Hillary Clinton’s life, from childhood to Secretary of State. The illustrations were nice and the overall message is positive, focusing on the theme of gender equality and women’s rights. I can envision, however, Clinton non-supporters viewing this book as propaganda (though that may be the case for any children’s biography of a living politician!) I thought the book was a little bland, though. Most pages contain narrative text and also a platitude. I wondered if these were maybe quotes from Clinton speeches, but after doing some Googling it doesn’t seem like they are. They remind me of those quotes people post on Pinterest vision-boards - somewhat inane and insipid. That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad book to use on a lesson about the presidential election.
Target audience: Grades K-3
Originally published in 2008, then revised in 2015, Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight, is a picture book biography. The book extends over Clinton’s whole life, starting when she was a child, ending with her as Secretary of State.
Strengths:
-Good illustrations
-Great message about gender equality
-The back of the book contains longer explanations about each page from the picture book portion.
Weaknesses:
-At only 32 pages, the picture book doesn’t go into depth on any one event.
-The book contains a lot of platitudes and is a little bland.
I thought this book was pretty cute. It’s a general overview of Hillary Clinton’s life, from childhood to Secretary of State. The illustrations were nice and the overall message is positive, focusing on the theme of gender equality and women’s rights. I can envision, however, Clinton non-supporters viewing this book as propaganda (though that may be the case for any children’s biography of a living politician!) I thought the book was a little bland, though. Most pages contain narrative text and also a platitude. I wondered if these were maybe quotes from Clinton speeches, but after doing some Googling it doesn’t seem like they are. They remind me of those quotes people post on Pinterest vision-boards - somewhat inane and insipid. That being said, it wouldn’t be a bad book to use on a lesson about the presidential election.