Florence Nightingale

Demi uses her characteristically delicate, gold-accented style of artwork to tell the story of Florence Nightingale’s youth and adult life. Nightingale has a largely unassertive presence on the page, clothed in flowery fabrics or an inky blue dress as she tends to others, yet she appears almost angelic as she carries a glowing lantern while serving at a hospital during the Crimean War, earning her the moniker “Lady with the Lamp.” The narrative mimics the art in its modesty, emphasizing Nightingale’s meekness and generosity, while also addressing her persistence and devotion to the indigent and infirm: “We remember Florence Nightingale today as a driving force behind improvements in nursing during her time and as a woman of extraordinary vision,” Demi writes; a timeline of Nightingale’s life closes out this straightforward, comprehensible biography. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)