The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo
…charming…Qualls and Alko blend lovely, lush painting and an elegant layer of text art, with regal streams of smudgy handwritten words and snippets of vintage print.
Publishers Weekly
10/19/2015
Robbins’s debut introduces two mutually supportive U.S. civil rights activists, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. After Douglass drives his horse-drawn wagon down a snowy street, the subsequent spread of a room aglow in warm candlelight shows the two friends facing each other, teacups in hand. Short, parallel biographies of these 19th-century crusaders comprise most of the narrative; each “read about rights in the United States. The right to live free. The right to vote. Some people had rights, while others had none.” The husband-and-wife team of Qualls and Alko (The Case for Loving) uses paint, colored pencil, and collage to create symbolic illustrations with a folk-art feel. Flowery script is woven cleverly into the pages: steam from teacups, Anthony’s ahead-of-her-time bloomers, and even sidewalks are filled with words and ideas endemic in their campaigns ( “Right is of no gender... is of no color”). An author’s note and bibliography conclude a visually appealing primer on these civil rights reformers. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Marietta Zacker, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Two Friends:
"A visually appealing primer on these civil rights reformers." — Publishers Weekly
"Robbins deftly moves between [Anthony's] objectives and words to those of Douglass.... Young readers can picture two people of action and resolve and hopefully be equally inspired." — Kirkus Reviews
"In remarkably economic prose, Robbins reveals the similarities in their childhoods and demonstrates the enormous impact these friends had on history.… Bold colors lend an upbeat feel to the illustrations, while layers of paint and mixed media create subtle texture and depth." — Booklist
Praise for The Case for Loving by Selina Alko and Sean Qualls
* "Despite the gentle way this book unfolds, the language and images deal a blow to racist thinking and just might inspire the next generation of young civil rights activists." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Inspirational, never heavy-handed, and appropriate for just about everyone." — Booklist, starred review
Praise for Dizzy by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Sean Qualls
* "Qualls's acrylic, collage, and pencil illustrations swing across the large pages with unique, jazzy rhythms, varying type sizes and colors, and playful perspectives, perfectly complementing the text." — School Library Journal, starred review
* "Qualls is able to translate the story (and the music) into shapes and colors that undulate and stream across the pages with a beat and bounce of their own." — Booklist, starred review
School Library Journal
01/01/2016
K-Gr 3—Robbins imagines the meeting between Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass at Anthony's house over tea. Both were champions of freedom and voting rights—Anthony for women and Douglass for African Americans. Emphasizing the commonality between these two famous Americans, the author effectively uses parallel phrasing: "Some people liked [his/her] ideas about rights…. Others didn't." A note mentions that Anthony and Douglass spoke out for each other's causes. Husband-and-wife team Qualls and Alko's beautiful illustrations are rendered in acrylic and gouache, and the two used collages of cutout strips with ink writing, giving the book an 18th-century look. VERDICT Readers will come away remembering a brief episode in history that demonstrates that cooperation can be found in unexpected places.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Kirkus Reviews
2015-10-14
Two cups of tea for two powerful advocates for equal rights. The setting is genteel as the titular two good friends sip afternoon tea by the soft glow of candlelight. But wait! She is wearing bloomers—outrageous garb for a woman in the 19th century—and he is carrying a book—not an expected accoutrement for a black man. She is Susan B. Anthony, who campaigned for women's rights, and he is Frederick Douglass, who spoke vehemently and eloquently for equal rights for people of all colors. The two were friends, and in his imagined scenario, Robbins deftly moves between her objectives and words to those of Douglass. He gives a basic introduction to what society expected of women and how African-Americans were denied rights. The husband-and-wife illustrator team uses paint, collage, and colored pencils in scenes that vary from tea-table serenity to tableaux of public speaking with hecklers in the foreground. Some of the double-page-spread scenes are fanciful, but all show determination. The full-bleed artwork is embellished with swirls of script from their respective writings, a plus for both artistic presentation and content. Young readers can picture two people of action and resolve and hopefully be equally inspired. (author's note, bibliography, photographs) (Picture book/biography. 6-8)
