(2) Illustrated by Oliver Dominguez. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina astronaut in space, said that when she was young, "No one would ever ask a girl, 'Do you want to grow up and be an astronaut?'" This picture-book biography cites her mother, who finished college later in life, and her lifelong love of learning as her biggest inspirations for breaking boundaries to blast off. Ochoa earned her doctorate from Stanford University in 1985, interviewed twice before being accepted into NASA's astronaut program in 1990, and finally realized her dream with a mission in 1993. The text is informative and lively and features Ochoa's own words, some of which are from interviews Rappaport did with the astronaut. She presents a well-rounded image of Ochoa's life, including her flute-playing in concerts on the ground and in space and outreach work to promote girls' education. Dominguez's detailed paintings (also created with Ochoa's input) give insight into Ochoa's entire journey of becoming an astronaut, from completing sci-fi-looking lab work in graduate school to brushing her teeth upside down in zero gravity. Pastel-hued scenes of Ochoa's training and flights into space--in particular, a spread of her learning to parachute--radiate the joy with which the astronaut approached her life's pursuit. Author and illustrator notes share information about researching and creating the book; a timeline and selected bibliography are also appended.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Velasquez's arresting jacket portrait of Ginsburg, superimposed on a facsimile of the U.S. Constitution, conveys a woman of purpose; Rappaport's biography, largely focused on Ginsburg's work for gender equality, reinforces this first impression. Despite societal inequalities between men and women in the 1950s, Ginsburg receives a full scholarship to Cornell and is then accepted to Harvard Law School. She graduates first in her class from Columbia Law (where she had transferred), but not a single law firm interviews her. She begins teaching at Rutgers with a salary less than those of her male counterparts and a legal barrier against claiming her student husband as a dependent. After joining several lawsuits addressing these issues, she successfully argues one such case before the Supreme Court. Rappaport's narrative scope includes Ginsburg's personal life, where her marriage mirrored her beliefs of shared and equal gender roles. Generous oil paintings place Ginsburg front and center except in illustrations relating to her marriage; there both husband and wife share the visual spotlight. Ginsburg's own words, stating both the inequalities she endured and her own convictions, conclude thus: "When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough women on the Court, and I respond when there are nine, people are shocked. But the Supreme Court has had nine men for ever so long, and nobody's ever raised a question about that." Appended with a timeline, notes from both author and illustrator, a brief bibliography, and source notes.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(3) 4-6 Jackie Robinson became the first black Major League Baseball player in 1947, when manager Branch Rickey signed him to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. But the racism he had faced all of his life followed him throughout his career. Rappaport's treatment is spare, good for reluctant readers, and her telling is engaging. Source notes are solid; there are no photographs. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Faulkner. Rappaport's broad survey of women's suffrage (from early America to ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment) touches on many important people and events to explain the movement's scope. Faulkner's caricaturish illustrations are massively expressive and make interesting use of perspective and scale--as when, for instance, male lawmakers tower over undeterred suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Reading list, timeline, websites.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by London Ladd. There are many longer books that detail the events of Douglass's life, but this one, in picture-book form, manages to synthesize those details just as well as a longer work might. This is due to Rappaport's carefully chosen primary source quotations and Ladd's paintings, which alternate between moments of violence and times of reflection--all resulting in a portrait that is fiery yet dignified. Author's and illustrator's notes are appended. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2016

(4) 4-6 Candlewick Biographies series. Illustrated by Matt Tavares. Arranged chronologically, fictional first-person accounts of people who assisted in the statue's design, building, financing, and transport convey a vivid sense of the ingenuity, politics, and hardships involved in making the statue a reality. Tavares's watercolor, pencil, and ink images emphasize the intimacy of Rappaport's vignettes. This smaller "reformatted edition" loses some of the original's impact; it's hard to read the tiny type. Reading list, timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(2) K-3 Illustrated by C. F. Payne. In this picture book biography, Rappaport intersperses primary source quotations throughout the main text to capably distill Theodore Roosevelt's life. Her account of Roosevelt's political career is balanced with brief but intimate glimpses into his two marriages and family life. Payne's superb illustrations seem to straddle the worlds of fine art and political cartoon, capturing Roosevelt's multifaceted, larger-than-life personality. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(2) YA Rappaport profiles twenty Jewish resistance efforts--from defiance to outright fighting and escape--grouped by theme and introduced with essays, collectively presenting a comprehensive portrait. The power of Holocaust literature derives from the double witness of the horror of Hitler's Final Solution and the resiliency of humankind in the face of that atrocity; that remains true here. Photographs complement the narrative. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Tavares. Rappaport covers the span of Helen's life from birth through her years with Annie Sullivan and after. The focus is on Helen, but readers get an acute awareness of Annie's sacrifices for her. Tavares's illustrations (ink, watercolor, and gouache) are bold and often in intense close-up, while quotes heighten the emotion of this stirring and awe-inspiring book. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Tavares. A smiling Jack Kennedy greets readers on the jacket of Rappaport's latest picture book biography. Following a familiar pattern, she intersperses quotes from her subject with basic biographical information, here stressing Kennedy's bravery and devotion to duty. In Tavares's varied watercolor and pencil illustrations, a soft palette depicts idyllic settings while more dramatic incidents are shown in bright, bold colors. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Gary Kelley. Rappaport (Martin's Big Words, Abe's Honest Words) uses Roosevelt's own quotes to define her growth from insecure, unloved child to reluctant but forceful political voice to respected citizen of the world. The text outlines Eleanor's developing concern for others and lessening self-consciousness. A triple-frame illustration of Eleanor addressing an audience convincingly conveys her metamorphosis and increasing confidence. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. In spare language, Rappaport describes turning points in Lincoln's life, accompanied by excerpts from his speeches. Big events receive eloquent quotes while other aspects (e.g., his constant reading) are punctuated with plainer speech. Some of Nelson's handsome portraits glow with background light and luminous tones; at other times, he portrays an unassuming man. The Gettysburg Address completes the book. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Tavares. Rappaport's "biography" consists of fictional first-person accounts representing the voices of people who assisted in the statue's design, building, financing, and transport. The stories, arranged chronologically, together convey a vivid sense of the ingenuity, politics, and hardships involved in making the statue a reality. Tavares's watercolor, pencil, and ink images complement each account precisely and emphasize the intimacy of Rappaport's vignettes. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Michael Santangelo | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2008

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. Completing a trilogy (No More!, Free at Last!), Rappaport recalls pivotal events of the 1950s and 1960s, reprising the injustices that led to massive protests. Dramatic stories, words, and songs are all surveyed in the brief text. Evans's oil paintings make the menace of racial hatred palpable while celebrating the steadfast moral power of courageously peaceful individuals. Reading list, source notes. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Curtis James. This research-based narrative relates a family's escape from slavery in nineteenth-century Charleston, South Carolina. The quiet sensitivity of the writing is echoed by the warm, dark tones of the paintings, and the typeface mimics the look of a historical document. Endpapers display a map of historical Charleston Harbor, where the family began their flight to freedom. An author's note gives historical context. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. Hitler has overtaken Europe, and young narrator Jacques and his Jewish family are living in a small French village, posing as Catholics. At Passover, Jacques's father dares to take him into the mountains to celebrate the ceremonial feast traditionally held on the first two nights of the holiday. McCully's solemn, brooding watercolors enhance this suspenseful tale of the power of faith. Reading list.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright & Ying-Hwa Hu. Highlighting a moment in an individual's career, each double-page spread serves as a sketch (though brief and often vague) of a Jewish American (both familiar and unfamiliar people are included). Three of the thirteen Jews featured are astronaut Judith Resnick, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and director Steven Spielberg. Vibrant watercolors accompany the text. Reading list, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. In a companion volume to No More!: Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance, Rappaport samples the African-American experience from 1863 (Emancipation) to 1954 (Brown v. Board of Education). Included are historical vignettes, brief historical summaries, and poems and songs. Chronology, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2004

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Bryan Collier. This ambitious picture book reveals plenty of research and an affinity for the subject. The text describes pivotal moments in Lennon's life, interspersing lines from his songs in larger colored type. Collier's collage art is full of motion, with some psychedelic sixties colors added to the predominant brown. Appended with a list of important dates, a selected discography, and selected research sources.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright & Ying-Hwa Hu. Single-page vignettes describe sixteen important Native Americans including Jim Thorpe, Maria Tallchief, Squanto, and Molly Brant, by "re-creat[ing] one moment in [that] person's life." The brief text provides a sense of the diversity of accomplishments but is rather superficial. Each biographical sketch is illustrated with a handsome watercolor portrait. Bib.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth