Details
Synopsis
In 1889 reporter Nellie Bly set off to travel around the globe in record time. Along the way she adopted a monkey named McGinty who became her only traveling companion. In this book their story is told from McGinty's point of view. Color illustrations accompany the text., McGinty the monkey and his new owner, a woman journalist, travel from Singapore to New York where he finally takes up residence at the Menagerie.
| Size | | Height: | 10.5 in | | Width: | 8.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 12.8 oz |
Industry Reviews
Newbery Medalist Blos (A Gathering of Days; Old Henry) recounts reporter Nellie Bly's celebrated 1889 voyage around the world from an inventive if not entirely successful perspective. The narrator is McGinty, the fez-wearing monkey that Bly purchased in Singapore. In brief chapters, the observant creature dryly describes what the two do and see in their remaining ports of call, including Hong Kong, Yokohama and San Francisco. The news that another female American reporter is also circling the globe in an attempt to beat Bly's time adds tension to the account. However, a tone of forced formality, presumably aimed at echoing the style of the period, may be off-putting to kids (in Ohio and Pennsylvania, McGinty notes, "steel mills reminded my mistress of the factory workers and mill hands of whom she had often written"). Most of the charm here radiates from Stock's (A Very Important Day) illustrations, every stroke suggestive of her subjects' personalities. Detailed, full-page watercolors evoke the diverse settings of the text, while line art conjures up telling vignettes (e.g., a brass band greeting Bly at an unnamed train station). Ages 5-up. (Mar.)
Lopate
Gr 1-3 Perhaps the best known event in the life of daredevil journalist Nellie Bly is her 1889 whirlwind circumnavigation of the globe in 72 days. While in Singapore, she acquired a monkey, dubbed him McGinty, and brought him home to New York. This book is his account of the journey. Because of this device, only the half of the voyage is related, though it is rounded out by an introduction and closing note "for those who wish to know more." McGinty's narration is articulate, polite, and reflective of the period, but much more formal that one might expect of a "curious youngster" and its understated tone does not always capture the excitement and pace of the adventure. Brooke Kroeger's adult biography, Nellie Bly (Random, 1994), supports Blos's research and the incidents and anecdotes are well chosen to appeal to the intended age group. Beautifully designed, the book features full-page watercolor paintings in each spread, faced by a page of text decorated with black-ink drawings on an ecru background. Eye-catching, humorous period details abound and are more effective than the text at conveying the mischievous side of McGinty's (and Nellie's) nature and the breadth of the heroine's accomplishment. As an introduction, this volume will entice young children to learn more about this remarkable woman. Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, NY
Lopate
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
All rights reserved.
