A Child of Books / Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy
Books That Belong On Paper Issue No. 19
Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.
A LYRICAL PICTURE BOOK INSPIRING READERS OF ALL AGES TO CREATE, TO QUESTION, TO EXPLORE, AND TO IMAGINE
A Child of Books
by Oliver Jeffers, Sam Winston
Candlewick
2016, 40 pages, 10.4 x 0.4 x 10.6 inches, Hardcover
This book is made up of words. Not just in the obvious way, but also in the illustrations: words from well-known children’s books form shapes, from monsters to clouds. The girl who narrates the book travels across books like Treasure Island and Alice in Wonderland, taking a nervous boy along for the ride. Hers is a world of books, she explains.
Every page here is a visual delight, to be savored by book lovers, typography nerds, or little ones who like pretty, pretty pictures.
– Christine Ro
A MOVING BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE LEONARD NIMOY FOR CHILDREN
Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy
by Richard Michelson, Edel Rodriguez (Illustrator)
Knopf Books for Young Readers
2016, 40 pages, 8.9 x 0.3 x 11.3 inches, Hardcover
Anyone who remembers Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan can’t help but be at least a little choked up recalling the scene in which Spock sacrifices himself for his crew members. He regards Kirk with compassion before quietly delivering his epitaph, “I have been, and always will be, your friend. Live long and prosper.” Author Rich Michelson was fortunate enough to have his own friendship with Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy was a skilled photographer and Michelson was his gallerist, and from that professional relationship the two men became friends.
Fascinating takes a look at Nimoy’s life from his boyhood with his Jewish immigrant family on Boston’s West End, his move to Hollywood and his rise to stardom after claiming the iconic role that he would later eschew, only to embrace once more. The book is clearly a labor of love with the emphasis on love. Nimoy is portrayed here as an outsider with an expansive heart, whose boundless empathy for his friends, family and neighbors ultimately extended to his groundbreaking portrayal of Mr. Spock.
Michelson delivers a sensitive portrait of Nimoy as a struggling outsider, whether as a boy acclimating to his life in America and overcoming his first bout of stage fright or as an emerging actor discovering his voice. These experiences ultimately informed his portrayal of Spock, the alien whom everyone could relate to. Michelson’s book stands as a personal, open-hearted tribute to a man who has been, and always will be, our friend.
– Lee Hollman
06/18/24
