Meltzer, Brad. Ordinary People Change the World series. Illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos. Dial, 2017. $14.99. 40p. Ages 4-7. I Am Gandhi. ISBN 978-0-7352-2870-2; I Am Sacagawea. ISBN 978-0-525-42853-4.
The series uses stereotyped illustrations and a sketchy narrative with comic book bubbles to depict the lives of famous people.
Verdict: A few photographs and a timeline are appended at the end of each book.
The illustrations are culturally insensitive and the narration flip. The distortion of Gandhi’s quote “In a gentle way, you can shake the world” to “I will shake the world” belies the knowledge that Gandhi did not take credit for his work or claim that he could perform that action. In Sacagawea, a Native American holding a tomahawk is looking down on Sacagawea’s very short husband. Lewis and Clark are shown meeting Sacagawea in heavy snow at a fort, but she met them on November 11—before the snow and before the fort was built. Not recommended.
December 2017 review by Nel Ward.
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