The Oprah Winfrey Story

Gr 4—6—This book is divided into eight chapters chronicling Winfrey's life, and each one concludes with a page of text encapsulating a moral or life lesson to be learned from the previous pages. Themes include: passion, reading, courage, and racial discrimination. Text boxes throughout the panels continue to reinforce these and other life lessons. Some statements, such as "Due to suppressed anger from sexual abuse and the negative environment of her surroundings, Oprah became gradually rebellious and acted self-destructively" and "Throughout her adolescent years, Oprah was sexually abused by numerous men" may be more appropriate for mature readers. Given the serious nature of this biography, the art style appears juvenile. Occasionally the author resorts to unnecessary text, using a speech balloon with the word "sob" rather than using images to show distress. Several passages need editing to clarify meaning: "Oprah's popularity continued to shoot up, and she made as much money as when she was popular" is one such example. Young readers interested in this topic may find that biographies by Jayne Keedle (Gareth Stevens, 2008) and Katherine E. Krohn (Lerner, 2001) provide more reliable information on this well-known personality.—Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY