Having Our Say

Having Our Say

Adult biography
"The pecking order was like this: White men were the most
powerful, followed by white women. Colored people were absolutely
below them and if you think it was hard for colored men, honey,
colored women were on the bottom. Yes, Sir! Colored women took it
from angles."
Back in 1993 I heard about a book that sounded really
fascinating: Having Our Say by Sarah and Elizabeth Delaney with Amy
Hill Hearth. Then Sadie was 103 and Bessie 101. They had started out
in the horse and buggy era and gone on to witness space exploration.
As black women they had way exceeded expectations society held because
of their sex and race. Why didn't I read it? There was something
about having a very bright, active toddler and a new baby, running and
advertising a home business typing papers for UMaine students, and
running a house that had me putting all else on the back burner. I
knew someday I'd get around to it.
This year someday came. The book was as great as I'd hoped it
would be. The Delaney sisters proved to be bright, observant, and
even in posession of keen senses of humor. They discussed their lives
from their unusual childhood on the campus of the North Carolina
school where their father was vice principal and their mother was the
matron to their struggles to acquire higher education and professional
success (Sadie taught in the public school system and Bessie was a
dentist) in Harlem during its cultural renaissance.
Some things have changed from their younger years. Certainly
the parent-child relationship has. I'm sure you're familiar with
helicoptor parents and the extent to which many go to make sure their
children get into and through the best colleges. Some start this
process by killer competition to get sons and daughters into elite
nursery schools.
Well back in the day offspring were expected to take
responsibility for their lives a lot earlier. Sadie recalled,
"...Many students went on to four-year colleges from there....Now on
graduation day, Papa said to me, 'Daughter, you are college material.
You owe it to your nation, your race, and yourself to go. And if you
don't, then shame on you!" Can you imagine parents these days waiting
so long to make this announcement and then expecting a son or daughter
to earn the money and not accept a scholarship that would make him/her
"beholden" to the people who offered it?
Sadly some of the things that should have changed for the better
in all this time haven't. As Bessie described, "But Papa still
insisted that my brothers be home by dark and he taught then how to
keep out of trouble. You see, sometimes they'd lynch a colored man
who objected to being called, 'uncle,' things like that. And if a
white woman said that a colored man had looked at her in a certain
way, that was the end of him..." Well, how about the unarmed young
black people who are shot by the police who are supposed to be
protecting them? How about black school kids being much more often
singled out for remedial classes, suspended or expelled, and shunted
into the school to jail pipeline? Isn't racial violence more chilling
when committed by professionals than by ignorant mobs?
Anyway, Having Our Say, is a thought provoker and a really sweet
read. It's like chatting with two very wise women over a cup of tea.
I'd especially recommend this book for folks like me who have decided
feminist inclinations.
On a personal note, I have very fond memories of that typing
business. It was a way I could bring in money while being with my
children whom I adored. I'd make up my advertisements and post them
on campus bulletin boards. (I joke that my kids had that school
imprinted on them by going up with me so often as babies. All three
chose it.) I even had very nice pencils made up to get more
business. I did very well because I didn't just type. I helped with
spelling and grammar. I had international students who counted on me
to make their work not as stilted. (My children got many toys and
happy meals from students who wanted me to do their papers. That was
the way to get my attention). I did value added before I even heard
the expression.
A great big shout out goes out to our people who have lived long and
mindfully and have so much to share with those of us who have the good
sense to listen.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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The House That Jane Built

The House That Jane Built

Picture book
I have a riddle for you. The FBI kept a file on her and
considered her "the most dangerous woman in America." She was the
first American woman to win the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. She
was one of the founding members of the ACLU and the NAACP and had the
attention of several presidents.
Now who am I talking about?
If you guessed Jane Addams, YOWZA! You are up on your
herstory. If you didn't, don't feel bad. I purposely left out the
funding of Hull House, her achievement that is best known today. Tanya
Lee Stone's The House That Jane Built: A Story About Jane Adams makes
this story beautifully accessible to young readers and listeners.
Through what was probably a combination of inborn spunk and
liberal parenting Jane Addams became a woman ahead of her time. She
went on adventures with her stepbrother and graduated college at the
head of her class at a time when most women didn't pursue higher
education.
As a young child, when Addams became aware of the destitute
conditions many people dwelt in she resolved to live "right in the
midst of the horrid little houses" in order to change things. This
was no idle promise. She started a settlement house in the poverty
ridden slums of Chicago. At a time when most white women of means
supported charities by giving money to missionary societies, she she
went right down there live among the desperately poor people she had
vowed to serve.
Jane Adams is a woman whose story needs to be heard now more
than ever. The financial gap between the haves and the have nots is
widening to an obscene degree. At the same time they are becoming
much less likely to live in the same neighborhoods or send their
children to the same public schools. The increasing invisibility of
the lived experience of the poor makes it all too easy for demogogues
like Governor LePage to demonize and deprive them.
On a personal note, I am not anywhere near as ambitious as Jane
Addams. But I have my little piece of turf I'm working towards
setting up. For years now I've been a member of the Community Center
Development Committee. I want to make sure one room becomes a food
pantry/clothing exchange. I plan for it to be decorated in murals
done by kids in the school.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who continue to go out to
work in the most dangerous and destitute places on the face of the
Earth today.
Julia Emily Hathaway




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Gingerbread for Liberty

Gingerbread for Liberty

Picture book
One of the true joys of being a book addict is the chance to
discover the unsung heroes of history. Mara Rockliffe's Gingerbread
for Liberty: How a German Baker Helped Win the Revolution gives new
meaning to the idea that an Army marches on its stomach.
Christopher Ludwick was a baker's son who immigrated from
Germany to Philadelphia and started his own shop. He had a great love
for his adopted nation. When the Revolution arrived he made haste to
join up. He became head baker for the Continental Army. When
mercenaries from other countries became a problem, realizing that many
of them spoke his language, he sneaked behind enemy lines to change
their loyalties.
The illustrations which look like frosted gingerbread cookies
are perfectly suited to the text. A recipe for gingerbread cookies is
included. A read aloud and bake is a perfect rainy day parent/child
activity.
On a personal note, last night was a perfect community garden night.
There was neither the rain nor the mugginess that have dogged us in
other months. We had lovely big bags of veggies to deliver. There
were enough extras for gardeners I could bring home potatoes,
tomatoes, brocolli, and summer squash. I made scrumptious grilled
cheese with tomatoes sandwiches for my supper.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow gardeners and the
wonderful people we deliver veggies to.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Witness

Witness

YA fiction
Every person blessed with the gift of functional literacy should
have at least a few books he or she can enjoy at least once a decade.
Some may carry the warm pleasure of familiarity. Others and the
changing ways we interpret them may give insight into our inner
evolution. Two of mine are The Little Engine That Could and To Kill A
Mockingbird. Karen Hesse's Witness (2001) is a recent addition to my
lineup. It reminds me of Thornton Wilder's Our Town which, of course,
has a very special place on my list. (I have not only read it across
decades, but acted in it as a teen and a parent).
When we think on the KKK, we tend to envision the South. Truth
be told, those white-sheeted cross burners made some inroads pretty
far North, even as far as Maine I've been told. Witness, told in free
form verse, has them showing up in a Vermont town, turning neighbor
against neighbor.
Eleven residents take turns describing events from their
perspectives. Sara, an unmarried farmer, becomes very protective of
the little Jewish girl, Esther, who has brought new joy into her
life. Johnny, a preacher feels that the clan holds a cure for the
promiscuous evils of a wanton generation. Harvey and Viola, a middle
aged couple who own a store are split on the issue. He thinks joining
up might be good for business; she has strong reservations...
Reading the book is like dropping in on a community in a very
different time, hearing the bits and pieces that add up to a rich
crazy quilt of humanity. A very discerning reader might be inspired
to look at an issue dividing his/her town, school, or social group
from multiple perspectives and gain more understanding.
On a personal note, Witness is one of the books that inspired me to go
for free verse rather than prose for telling my stories.
A great big shout out goes out to all authors who can create
believable communities of regular people.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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The Last Chance Texaco

The Last Chance Texaco

YA fiction
Brent Hartinger's The Last Chance Texaco is another of my
slightler older (2004) book sale finds. It's one of those gritty but
inspiring novels that has a teen reader walking in the sneakers of a
peer whom her/his parents would probably write off as not having
friendship potential or being potentially too dangerous to reputation,
if nothing else.
Lucy, Hartinger's protagonist, has been in foster care since she
was seven and her parents and brother died. (Her sister was adopted.)
After eight years of being shuttled around in the system she considers
herself to be a lost cause. Her placement in Kindle Home as her story
begins confirms in her mind that society, or at least the segment of
it that deals with foster kids, shares her opinion.
"Kindle Home became a group home in the 1960's. And, from the
start, it was the group home for the kids who'd screwed up again and
again, but who supposedly still had one last shot to turn things
around. It wasn't a big, barren dessert that came after our Last
Chance Texaco--it was a high-security facility for teenagers called
Eat-Their-Young Island (officially Rabbit Island), the place for the
foster care system's truly hopeless cases."
Lucy is sure that it's only a matter of time until she moves on
to the Island. She isn't even going to unpack her stuff. Why
bother? Her initial observations confirm her suspicions. She gets on
the bad side of a bully in the house. The in house therapist seems
skeptical about her chances of not messing up. A fight with a boy
from a well-off family brings her to the attention of the zero
tolerance public school principal.
Lucy is a gutsy protagonist who by age fifteen has had to deal
with more heartbreak than many adults. Her discovery that the
impossible dream of belonging may not yet be beyond her grasp makes
for gritty but joyous reading.
On a personal note, I am still battling fleas. At the vet's today,
buying another spray can of flea spray, I heard about animals being
brought in who were sick from more potent products bought at big box
stores. If you have a flea infestation and animal companions PLEASE
stick to vet approved products.
A great big shout out goes out to people who give kids like Lucy a
fighting chance.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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There Are Monsters Everywhere

There Are Monsters Everywhere

Picture Book
When my children were young we read Mercer Mayer's There's A
Nightmare in My Closet quite a few times. It wasn't til last week,
though, til I discovered the 2005 sequel, There Are Monsters
Everywhere. I really was in the mood to read a book like that
because...you'll see.
Mayer's Everychild protagonist lives in a home overrun by
monsters. He doesn't have to deal with the ones who dwell in the
basement. The ones near the trash cans and in the bathroom and his
bedroom (he sleeps in a fortified top bunk) are another story. Of
course they always hide when Mon and Dad are around. One day our hero
gets fed up with being scared and signs up for karate class. After
learning lots of scary moves he's ready to show those old monsters
who's boss...even to venture into the basement and sleep in the bottom
bunk.
A read aloud of this book or its prequel along with stories of
parents' own monster moments might help a child find a way to deal
with his or her fears. I was terrified by Smoky the Bear. When he
reminded my peers and my that only we could prevent forest fires and
other flare ups I took him a little too seriously. I had plenty of
nights lying awake plotting how to rescue my parents, Harriet, and our
many companion animals in case I woke up to find out home engulfed in
flames.
On a personal note, I feel like there are monsters everywhere. I have
a cat who is highly sensitive to fleas. No matter how dilligently, I
clean, vacuum, and spray they keep coming back. The vets say recent
years have been really bad flea ones. I keep thinking this has
something to do with global climate change. Practically all my other
projects are on hold and I see fleas in my nightmares.
A great big shout out goes out to all the vets who are helping us
protect our companion cats and dogs and the scientists who are
HOPEFULLY working on safe and effective flea pesticides.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Fly Away Home

Fly Away Home

Picture book
It's that time of year when weekend newspapers are jam packed
with back to school flyers featuring the latest in clothes and
supplies. I remember Eugene and me heading for the shops, our three
kids in tow. This is the first August in two decades we have no
offspring going back into the public school system. You may very well
be getting your kids ready. As you do, though, I'd like to remind you
many of our nation's children will start their educational experience
without even that most basic entity, a home, like Andrew, the narrator
of Eve Bumting's classic (only one year younger than my grad school
daughter) Fly Away Home.
Andrew and his janitor father long for a place of their own.
But they must live in an airport. There is always the danger of being
noticed and caught. They've seen others busted. They have to be
especially alert in the dead hours between two and four in the morning
when most of us have the luxury of sleeping. Dad studies the ads in
newspapers thrown away by travelers and makes phone calls. Rents are
always beyond their reach.
Young children are more capable of empathy than a lot of people
give them credit for. If you teach or parent any Fly Away Home is a
perfect read aloud (Bunting's status may have it in your library or
available by inter library loan) which can be followed by a discussion
of familiar daily routines and how much more difficult they would be
without a consistent set of sheltering walls. These days this kind of
exercise is more important than ever when politicians like Maine's
governor, Paul LePage, are demonizing the poor, robbing them of
dignity as well as resources.
Beyond empathy, are there things your family can do in
connection with your faith community, an organization, or even a group
of friends? In addition to kids who are homeless there may be
children who are food insecure, lacking in supplies and resources, or
needing help in keeping up with classwork or a safe place when a
single parent works unpredictable hours. Remember it takes a
community. I can't think of an endeavor with a better ROI (return on
investment) than children's lives.
On a personal note, my son is in the middle of his two week intensive
firefighter academy. Saturday they learned how to rescue accident
victims from vehicles. He described with great relish how they took
apart junker vehicles getting familiar with tools like the jaws of life.
A great big shout out goes out to those fine young people and their
dedicated instructors.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Around Our Way

Around Our Way

Picture book
When I was a child we celebrated two Easters. There was the
regular one where we started the day hunting for candy, donned brand
new dresses and hats for church, and returned home for a ham dinner.
Then there was Greek Orthodox Easter. Our next door neighbors invited
everyone in the vicinity for a feast that featured a whole lamb
roasted outside on a spit and divine pastries that must have taken
ages to make. Children played and adults chatted while Greek music
played in the background until the stars came out.
Those memories came back speedy quick when I happened to pick up
Tameka Fryer Brown's Around Our Way On Neighbors' Day, a vividly
illustrated celebration of community. A young girl rushes home (with
a detour at the ice cream truck) to find her mother stirring a big pot
of food. An unexpected phone call distracts mom (a woman after my own
heart) long enough for her concoction to go up in smoke. But a cheese
and noodles dish saves the day, laid out with other people's goodies
for a patchwork feast. Music plays. People play board and card
games. Children blow bubbles. The narrator's father embarasses her
with his dance moves...
We're still in the time of year where there's time for a late
summer or early autumn adventure before the snow flies. What would it
take to get together a street dance or party where you live? You'll
never know unless you try.
On a personal note, my friends the Ottos, who have been married 58
years celebrated their respective 81st birthdays: Fred's the 17th and
Alma's the 22nd. I made sure we sang Happy Birthday at church lunch.
Then I had the great good fortune of hearing the stories of how they
met, almost ended up with other people, and found their way back to
each other.
A great big shout out goes out to Fred and Alma with best wishes for a
wonderful year and many more birthdays together.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Crank

Crank

YA novel
Back in late April when a middle ear infection won me a couple
of days bed rest I discovered a YA novel by Ellen Hopkins that had me
over the moon. I said I'd read the rest of her many books. However,
a series of events such as the play I was in, nursing my Joey cat back
from emergency surgery, and helping students with end of semester work
filled not only my time, but my brain space. Then I had the great
good fortune to help with a Friends of the Library book sale. I was
doing what no one else wanted to: making periodic circuits to check
our downtown signage and talk the sale up and, in between, carrying
bags and boxes of books to people's cars. We had scads of books, a
lot of which we'd end up donating to Kiwanis. When the woman running
the sale said I could take books I really wanted to read I was like my
Joey set down in a room full of catnip, especially when I laid eyes on
one of Hopkins' earlier works, Crank. I read that book under the most
ideal of conditions (on my outside swing, a strong breeze keeping my
windchimes in motion, with a goodly stash of dark chocolate) and found
it riveting and thought provoking.
An author's note before the first chapter is very worth
quoting: "While this work is fiction, it is loosely based on a very
true story--my daughter's. The monster (meth) did touch her life, and
the lives of her family. My family. It is hard to watch someone you
love fall so deeply under the spell of a substance that turns him or
her into a stranger. Someone you don't want to know." Think on that.
Kristina, Hopkins' protagonist, is a high achieving, quite well
behaved middle child high school student in a blended family. Mom is
an aspiring writer, seen by Kristina as "distant". Stepdad is highly
demanding. College big sister, Leigh, has come out of the closet.
Little brother, Jake, is the unexpected cute child who stole her place
in the family.
There is, however, a side to Kristina who is the antethisis of
her perfect persona, a being she calls Bree:
"not quite silent,
shouts obscenities just because
They roll so well off the tongue
not quite straight-A
but talented in oh-so-many
enviable ways
not quite sanitary
farts with gusto, picks
her nose, spits like a guy
not quite sane
sometimes, to tell you the truth,
even I wonder about her."
In her predictable daily life Kristina is good at keeping Bree
hidden. Then she gets the chance to visit her biological father whom
she hasn't seen in eight years. Daddy dearest works nights in a
bowling alley under the table so he can also collect disability. The
bowling alley is also where he often gets stoned with the clients.
"In school I was never confronted
with drugs, surely never sought
them out. But I wasn't exactly
clueless. As I watched, one
thing became obvious. Where
the party went, my dad followed."
For the first time in Kristina's young life parental supervision
is nonexistent. The apartment dad resides in is in a neighborhood
where wearing the wrong color can get one killed. Kristina does not
have the attitude or skills to navigate this environment. Bree,
however, does and becomes more and more dominant, especially when she
encounters the very good looking young man who introduces her to
cigarettes, pot, and eventually crank. (In one touching scene dad
catches them getting high and joins the party.)
After three weeks Katrina/Bree returns home, bringing back a
drug addiction that is not going to play well in suburbia.
Crank is an excellent novel for high school students, especially
those mislabelled reluctant readers who want content with the richness
of experience and nuance often missing in remedial lit and a cover
they don't need to hide from peers. It is an insightful read for
parents, teachers, and guidance--anyone who works with teens. In fact
when a mom or dad can avoid the temptation to label Kristina/Bree as
just a cautionary tale, it can be a great book for parent and teen to
read and discuss.
On a personal note, a few days ago I looked for more books in my
library by Ellen Hopkins and found zero. I struck gold, however, on
the inter library loan computer and ordered about half the volumes I
found. It's not just that I love to read her books. Hopkins is a
master of the genre I am trying to create in, the novel told in
verse. She can give the perfect details to make a story come alive
within the sparse format. Her characters and their situations seem to
jump off the pages. She is even able to do all this within a variety
of poem structures. Reading and pondering on her work is like taking
a grad class in creative writing. Hopkins' level of writing is far
above mine currently, but not so out of my league that she deters
rather than inspiring. This, for a writer, is an ideal situation.
A great big shout out goes out to my older daughter, Amber, who is
very dilligently working on her novel this summer. I am really eager
to see the fruits of her labor.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Flying the Dragon

Flying the Dragon

Juvenile fiction
Skye and Hiroshi are cousins who meet under far from auspicious
circumstances. They are also the narrators of Natalie Dias Lorenzi's
very promising debut novel, Flying the Dragon. Young readers will not
only see the events of the story from two distinctly different
perspectives, but will learn about a fascinating traditional oriental
sport.
Hiroshi comes from a line of kite makers and rokkaku
competitors. (In rokkaku people use their kites to knock others down
until the last kite flying wins.) He and his grandfather are
preparing a special dragon kite for an upcoming competition. The news
that their family is moving to America so his grandfather can be
treated for cancer comes as quite a shock to him.
Skye, originally named Sorano, lives with her Japanese father
and American mother in Washington DC. Her parents haven't emphasized
the oriental side of her heritage. So it comes as quite a shock to
her when she learns that her grandfather, uncle, and aunt are moving
to her neighborhood, especially since she will be expected to attend
Saturday Japaness school to better communicate with her kin. That's
when she'd otherwise be on the All-Star soccer team she's worked so
hard to qualify for.
Hiroshi struggles with English and the confusing habits of
American peers. Skye resents the constant assumptions that she will
help Hiroshi and the behavior of a bully in her class. They battle
over their grandfather's time. Skye feels it's unfair that Hiroshi
has had this relationship all his life. Hiroshi feels that Skye is an
intruder, especially when Grandfather includes her in their kite flying.
As they covertly clash their grandfather grows weaker. Much to
his chagrin, Hiroshi has agreed to work with Skye at a rokkaku kite
battle in connection with the Cherry Blossom Featival. Will they be
able to pull it off? Will Grandfather live long enough to be honored
by a victory? What caused the enmity that had split the family for so
many years?
On a personal note, one of my favorite childhood memories centers
around a babysitter from Korea. Alla, a college professor, and her
son, Boris, fled to America from their homeland where they were in
peril. Mom hired Alla to babysit Harriet and me from when our school
ended to when the college she taught at did. Even in church they
faced serious prejudice--that they were heathen chinks and that Boris,
who was extremely girl shy, would take advantage of me because of my
skin color. Anyway the Halloween I was ten I had worked for hours
sewing sequins and beads on a skirt and blouse to transform myself
into a gypsy. Harriet was too sick to trick or treat so Mom decided I
should stay home too. Talk about no fair! Alla saved the day. She
told mom she had never experienced the wonderful American tradition of
trick or treat. Boris was to old to collect candy. Could she please
take me out. Mom couldn't refuse. Allah seemed to enjoy herself. I
treasured that wonderful American tradition all the more for almost
having missed out. Decades later I feel the gratitude.
A great big shout out goes out to Lorenzi who has taught in Japan and
Italy and now works in an American school where imigrants constitute
85% of the student body. I surely hope she will be turning more of
her insights into captivating novels!
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Saint Anything

Saint Anything

YA fiction
Fellow literature fans, it is my great pleasure to announce
that...
Drum roll please...
Sarah Dessen's latest book is out. I do believe that Saint Anything
is her best yet.
"The first thing you saw when you walked into our house was a
portrait of my brother. It hung directly across from the huge glass
door, right above a wood credenza and the Chinese vase where father
stored his umbrellas. You'd be forgiven if you never noticed those
things though. Once you saw Peyton, you couldn't take your eyes off
him."
Sydney, Dessen's narrator, has lived in the shadow of her older
brother, Peyton, pretty much her whole life. When they were younger
it was due to his good looks and charisma. Beginning with a
suspension and required volunteering for smoking pot in a school
parking lot, though, his life began to center more and more around
court dates and rehab. Needless to say, his mom's life (dad is good
at avoiding unpleasantness) is centered around him.
As the story begins the family is in court for Peyton's jail
sentencing. This time he hit and paralyzed a 15-year-old bike rider,
David. Because she's Peyton's sibling, Sydney feels a great deal of
sorrow for this boy who will never walk again and guilt.
Sydney does her best to cope with a difficult situation. She
transfers from her exclusive private school to the public one. She
strives to avoid Ames, Peyton's friend whom her parents have taken
under their wing. He creeps her out, not that mom or dad would notice.
A ray of hope comes in the form of the Chatham family, an
easygoing clan that offers her the understanding and unconditional
acceptance she's yearned for all her life. It's not clear, however,
if she can explain these relationships to her parents who are trying
to prevent her from following in her brother's footsteps, oblivious to
the fact she has no intentions of doing so.
On a personal note, here in Penobscot County we are in the dog days of
summer. It's what old time meteorologists used to call 3 H: hot,
hazy, and humid. Monday night, having no place to swim, I took the
bus to Cascade Park in Bangor. There is a big fountain with a stone
rim. The water shoots up way in the air. At night there are colored
lights. I spent three hours reading and eating cherries with my feet
in the fountain. I picked trash out of it also and talked to people.
I met a lovely couple from Kentucky, visiting Maine for the first
time, who enjoyed learning about some of the places they could see.
A great big shout out goes out to my younger daughter and fellow Sarah
Dessen fan. She is holding down a professional job and living the
good life in Portland. Here's looking at you, Katie!!! I couldn't
possibly be more proud of you.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Freedom Like Sunlight

Freedom Like Sunlight

Juvenile poetry
These days a parent might have a child ask what
#blacklivesmatter is all about. It can be a difficult conversation.
I know adults who haven't decided where they stand. The truth is,
though, that black Americans have had to and continue to have to fight
for rights white people like me can take for granted. J. Patrick
Lewis' Freedom Like Sunlight: Praisesongs For Black Americans can be
a great way to start this important dialogue.
The poems are tributes to thirteen famous African Americans.
The poems are sparse and eloquent. Each uses not only words, but form
to clearly portray its subject.
Harriet Tubman made the dangerous escape from slavery to freedom
and then made numerous trips back to rescue loved ones. At one point
there was a $40,000 reward on her head. (Try to imagine what it would
amount to now).
"Said Lady Freedom's
Tea was sweeter
Than all the honey in a shut-up hive.
Said they were glad
At last to meet her,
Said nothing's as sweet as being alive."
In 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution wouldn't allow
Marian Anderson, a virtuoso in opera and spirituals, to perform
Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall. She sang, instead, at the
Lincoln Memorial, sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt, who also resigned
from that organization. In 1963 Anderson was awarded the President's
Medal of Freedom.
"In colors
Beautiful
And strong,
She brushed the air...
And painted song."
John Thompson's illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to
the strong and spirited poems. As Harriet Tubman leads a woman and
two men through a night forest which might erupt at any moment with
slave catchers and dogs you can sense in her face alertness to every
nuance in the atmosphere. Opposite a poem on Rosa Parks there is an
empty bus done in shades of blue, green, and grey. An old time
typewriter, a cup of black coffee, and a cigarette sending up wisps of
smoke speak volumes on Langston Hughes' determination to speak his
truth to life.
This would be a most excellent book to donate to a public or
school library or a classroom collection.
On a personal note, as a mother, I am bothered when people try to
water down #black lives matter. I have a teen age son. I can't
imagine how I'd feel if I was knowing that he'd be more likely to be
shot, maybe by someone who is sworn to protect and serve, because of
his skin color. I'd be some angry that he would be more likely to be
suspended or expelled from school or end up shunted into the school to
jail pipeline. We can't be trivializing the lived experiences of
people who have to cope with that kind of undeserved peril that the
more privileged of us will never have to suffer through.
A great big shout goes out to mothers and sons around the world and
their love for each other.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Dead To Me

Dead To Me

YA fiction
The cover of Mary McCoy's Dead To Me claims "The people who live
in the nicest houses have the dirtiest secrets." The text very nicely
lives up to this promise. Anyone who enjoys fast paced mystery
stories or has an interest in the less that over the rainbow aspects
of old time Hollywood will be hooked by the end of the second chapter.
"When I saw my sister in that hospital bed, she was different
from how I remembered her. She'd changed her hair. Her cheeks were
leaner.
And someone had tried to cave in the side of her head with a
baseball bat."
Four years have passed between the time Alice's big sister Annie
ran away and their less than fortuitous reunion. Annie can't shed a
light on how she came to such a near fatal point. She's in a coma.
But a Private Investigator, Jack, with who Annie has worked, may have
some clues. He instructs Alice to cover with her parents (especially
her father, whom he considers "a piece of work") so he can "get to the
bottom of this".
Annie and Alice's father is a head of a movie studio publicity
department. Their mother is a former starlet. A consumate Hollywood
couple, they used everything and anyone at their disposal to advance
their prospects, including, not surprisingly, their children. The
girls were command performers at house parties, graduating from hors
deuvres serving to musical entertainment. Annie eventually began to
be tarted up and sent out to mysterious private parties.
Coming home from the hospital, Alice realizes that Jerry has
given her more questions than answers. Becoming impatient, she begins
to look for clues, starting with her father's safe in which she finds
mysterious and disturbing photographs. She goes on to become
dangeeously familiar with people and situations she would not have
guessed her loved ones had anything to do with. In the course of her
investigations two things become chillingly clear. Jerry has ample
reason to consider Daddy Dearest a piece of work. Whoever put Annie
in a coma has ample motive to finish off the job he started.
On a personal note, today the Bangor Daily News ran an awesome story
in their Homestead section on Orono Community Garden. Earlier in the
summer the Homestead editor had asked readers to send ideas just when
I had decided that we needed more publicity. Well Robin Clifford Wood
spent a gardening session with us observing, taking pictures, and
talking to people. Everyone was at ease and really liked her. Her
story was the total cat's pajamas. It captured the vibrance of the
garden and the depth of its meaning.
A great big shout out goes out to Robin for doing the story, Bangor
Daily News for running the story, and my fellow gardeners for being
the story.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Lost in the Sun

Lost in the Sun

Juvenile fiction
"I didn't do it on purpose, obviously. Kill Jared Richards, I
mean. Miss Eveline said I shouldn't say that, that I killed Jared,
because it was an accident, and that wasn't the same thing at all. But
accident or not, Jared Richards died, and I was the reason, so what
was the difference? Either way, I killed him."
Trent, protagonist of Lisa Graff's Lost in the Sun, has a lot
more to deal with than most kids starting middle school. The winter
before, in an informal pick up ice hockey game, he hit another boy
with the puck. That boy, Jared, had a heart condition. He died. For
months Trent's and drawings have been full of Jared.
Middle school, rather than being a place to get a fresh start,
sucks from day one. His elderly home room teacher, whom he will also
have for most classes, is on his case. Physical education, which he'd
previously always done well in, is a nightmare.
His family life isn't exactly easy. He dreads regularly
scheduled visits with his dad who is pretty clueless when it comes to
parenting. Dad's new significant other is pregnant BTW. His mom is
on his case to make new friends. His big brother, Aaron, is getting a
bit too bossy while little brother, Doug, is always hanging out with
Annie Richards, Jared's little sister.
There's a girl, Fallon, whom everyone seems to classify by the
vivid scar on her face, who seems to really want to be Trent's
friend. At first he thinks she is really strange. But then she
offers him a way out of his dreaded dad visits.
Lost in the Sun is a perfect back to school for students about
to start middle school. It may enable them to better understand a
classmate whose reputation has biased the way in which he or she is
treated.
On a personal note, Tuesday night we community gardeners had ourselves
a real adventure. John Jemmison had predicted that if we started
early with picking, bagging, and delivering we'd be done before the
rain started. The best laid plans of mice and men...
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow gardeners who labored
cheerfully in the chilly downpour. We are family.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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The Meaning Of Maggie

The Meaning Of Maggie

Juvenile fiction
The Meaning Of Maggie is one of these deceptively colorful
jacketed books that looks like it will be about as deep as tween hit
shows featuring popular singers. I don't think I would have picked it
up if it hadn't been for the MSBA winner sticker on the spine. I am so
glad I did. It deals sensitively with a topic not addressed much in
juvenile literature: living with a parent who has a chronic illness
with no cure.
Maggie, author Megan Jean Sovern's protagonist, is starting
middle school more organized than some grad school students. Unlike
her older sisters, Layla and Tiffany, who seem to concentrate on being
hotties, she is motivated and disciplined. Maintaining a perfect
grade point and winning academic awards are the prizes she has her
eyes on.
"...The first bell of the school year was probably my favorite
sound ever. And this first bell was even more special because I was
in a whole new school in a whole new grade with whole new kids. It
was a new beginning, a blank slate, a manifest destiny..."
Maggie is one of those people who is happiest when she is in
control of all aspects of her life. Unfortunately her father, whom
she adores, has a mysterious disease. He needs a wheelchair to get
around. His legs fall asleep unpredictably. His hands can't always
do what he wants them to. Sometimes he has to be rushed to the
hospital.
"...Dad will get better. That's what tough guys do. But still,
I have to admit that I'm worried. And it's that deep-down-in-your-
guts worried that's impossible to get rid of no matter how many Mike
and Ikes you eat."
When a parent has an incurable and unpredictable disease like
multiple sclerosis a lot changes. Roles shift. Maggie's mom has to
go to work when her husband can no longer hold down his job. Extended
family can be a lot less than supportive and helpful. The Meaning Of
Maggie gives much needed insight into what it's like to be coming of
age in the midst of all that.
The story is so genuine that I was not in the least surprised
when, in the acknowledgements, Sovern thanks her birth family for
letting her tell their story. I would not forgive myself if I ended
this review without the following quote:
"And finally thank you to my dad. While you live on in Ty,
Lane, Mac, Brady, Drew, and hopefully many more grandchildren to come,
your incredible fight lives on in these pages. I miss you. I love
you. And I hope that one day we will once again watch The Wonder
Years again while sharing Oreos. You get the cream side."
On a personal note, during my teen years my mom struggled with high
blood pressure and heart disease (which we knew she had) and probably
the diabetes that was not on the radar then. A lot of the pressure on
me to never give a moments worry came not only from having a sister
with severe brain damage, but from knowing that saying or doing just
one wrong thing could send our one reliable parent to a premature
grave. At one point one of her friends raped me, using a fish gutting
knife on my throat to force me to comply, and then warned me I'd
better not tell because if Mom found out it would kill her. I didn't
say a word even when my period was late and for three weeks I had no
idea whether I was in the family way.
A great big shout out goes out to all the kids and adults (think
Alzheimers) navigating the never well enough charted waters of having
a parent with a serious health problem.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Catch You Later Traitor

Catch You Later Traitor

Juvenile fiction
Throughout most of human history there have been periods when
people's fear of groups they would label as other escalates into full
blown paranoia. There was the Salem witch hunt. Most of us can
remember the aftermath of 9/11 with an if you aren't with us you're
against us mentality and librarians fighting for the right to not turn
over information on our reading habits to Homeland Security. However,
probably the most infamous example in recent history was Joe
McCarthy's Red Scare in the early 50's. The FBI claimed back then
that no one with nothing to hide had anything to fear. Avi's Catch
You Later, Traitor strongly questioned this.
Pete, Avi's protagonist, a twelve-year-old Brooklyn boy,
suddenly is living everykid's nightmare. His teacher is turning his
class and community against him. His classmates shun him. His long
term best friend, Kat, is not allowed to talk to him. Her parents
fear that he's a bad influence. An FBI agent wants to talk to him.
His college professor father may lose his job or even go to jail.
Pete is a Sam Spade fan and an avid reader of detective
magazines. He decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Rather
than answers, though, he turns up more questions. Could the
grandfather he has always been told was dead be still alive? Could he
have an uncle he's never heard of? Who is the informant that
convinced the FBI that his father was a person of interest?
Catch You Later, Traitor is that rare coming-of-age story that
will captivate boys. Avi is up there in the Pantheon of writers for
the preteen bunch and those older kids too often labelled reluctant
readers. His latest offering would be a perfect literary way for a
youngster to finish up summer vacation or start the new school year.
On a personal note, I was a big time fan of Nancy Drew. I was about
Pete's age when some boys and I decided we needed to protect our
families and community from the FBI's most wanted criminals. I have
no recollection of why we thought it was not only possible, but
probable, that these notorious armed and dangerous felons would turn
up in Beverly Massachusetts. We would go to the post office, memorize
their pictures, and make plans for what we would do when we
encountered one.
A great big shout out goes out to all who fight against demagogues
like Joe McCarthy despite the danger of opposing or questioning them.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Monkey Town

Monkey Town

YA fiction
One day, while shelving in the juvenile wing of the Orono Public
Library, I was pondering on how many people, right wing Christians in
particular, still aren't convinced that there is such a thing as human
abetted climate change. I was trying to imagine what it would take to
change their minds. A slightly older (2006) book I was about to put
away caught my eye. It was about that time in 1925 when people were
deeply affronted by evolution, the idea that all of creation wasn't
achieved by God in exactly six days with the seventh to rest up. It
seemed to be just what I was in the mood for. Ronald Kidd's Monkey
Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial is the poignant and powerful
coming age story of a girl whose strongest loyalties are put in
conflict.
Protagonist Frances (15) has quite the crush on teacher John
Scopes. One day her drugstore owner (and school board chair) father,
Frank, summons Scopes to meet with him. Dayton, Tennessee has lost a
lot of people since its heyday. He loves the town and thinks it just
needs publicity. The perfect opportunity has arrived. The Butler Law
had recently made it illegal to teach evolution in Tennessee. The
ACLU is looking for a teacher who will help test this law in court.
Having the big trail in Dayton will really put the town on the map.
Frank reassures Scopes that he'll take care of things. His job
won't be in jeopardy. It'll just be one swell publicity stunt to
restore Dayton to its former glory. However, you know what they say
about the best laid plans of mice and men. Very quickly everything
gets out of hand. The trial takes on the aura of a three ring
circus. And some of the commentators who were supposed to discover a
lovely little town portray its denizens as feeble minded Bible
thumping lunatics, afraid of and hostile to anything they don't
comprehend.
Frances is torn between her loyalties to her father and to
Scopes, whom she sees as the victim of a publicity stunt gone horribly
wrong. There actually was a Frances Robinson, the daughter of the
storeowner who started things going. Kidd was able to listen to her
stories before she passed. Monkey Town is the fine product of those
stories, historical facts, and his imagination.
On a personal note, as a feminist I greatly enjoyed one episode in
particular. There is this guy, Dudley Field Malone working on the
defense team. Reporters go flying over to the hotel when word gets
around that a woman other than his wife is checking in to stay with
him. It turns out that she is his wife, a feminist who chose to keep
her own last name.
A great big shout goes out to the fine writers who make episodes of
history really come to life.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Dear Hank Williams

Dear Hank Williams

Juvenile fiction
Go back in time to 1948. The war has been over a few years; the
emotions related to it are still going strong. The fear of Communism
that will culminate in the McCarthy witch hunts and Margeret Chase
Smith's Declaration of Conscience has begun to rear its ugly head.
Post war prosperity is not makIng much of an inroad into the rural
South. In the small town of Rippling, Creek, Louisiana Tate P.
Ellerbee is finding life, "...predictable, predictable, predictable."
When the school year starts Tate is very excited about a year
long penpal project. Most of the kids choose relatives to write to.
A couple let their teacher pair them up with peers in Japan. Tate
decides that she is going to correspond with country singer Hank
Williams whom she listens to every week on a radio, Louisiana
Hayride. The text consists of a school year's worth of her epistles.
Tate introduces herself to her potential pen pal as her teacher
instructs. She and little brother, Frog, live with their uncle and
great aunt. Her father is a famous photographer, always away on
assignment. Her mother is a movie star on location. (Tate is
planning to follow in her footsteps, starting with winning the
Rippling Creek May Festival Talent Contest, despite her piano
teacher's admonition that some voices are not meant to be heard).
Only as Tate records the joys and tribulations of her daily life
you learn that she hasn't exactly been honest in her self
presentation. Dad isn't off on assignment in exotic locales. He's
been kicked out of the clan. At breakfast one day her uncle tells
her, "Tate, your daddy was't a bad boy in the breaking-the-law sort of
way. Let's just say he was a tomcat." When Tate asks for
clarification her great aunt explains, "It meant he went a-creeping
and a-crawling where he shouldn't have been."
And that's why her mom tossed him out on his ear. But Mom is no
angel. True she is singing professionally, but about as far from
Hollywood as you can get without crossing an ocean.
The third untruth is even more poignant than the first two put
together.
Dear Hank Williams is a poignant yet joyful coming-of-age story,
quite useful for helping kids understand the vulnerability of students
who try to protect themselves from being judged by society on matters
that aren't their fault. It is amazing how many children have a
parent in prison or sleep in shelters or cars.
On a personal note, back in my younger days I became a babysitter for
two children whose dad was in the hospital. Then one day their mom
told me not to read the newspaper for awhile, which I wouldn't have
done except for her telling me not to. The dad, a former police
officer, had shot his lover and the man he saw her in bed with with
his service revolver. I babysat those kids three years despite people
warning me not to. It wasn't exactly their fault.
A great big shout out goes out to people who reach out to kids who are
in tenuous situations through no fault of their own.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Mr. Mercedes

Mr. Mercedes

Adult novel
An old popular radio show used to ask listeners who knows what
evil lurks in the hearts of men. I think the answer back then was The
Shadow. I'm pretty sure in the 21st century it would be Maine's own
Stephen King. The monarch of horror can entice us to look beneath the
veneer of polite society, to see the malice, the lust, the downright
nastiness, that can lurk just below the surface, and consider
ourselves well entertained in the process. In the Stephen King novel
world there are no purer than the driven snow good guys and black hat
wearing, mustache twirling, villains. Both protagonist and antagonist
have elements of good and evil. This is sometimes what's most scary
about his work. A prime example of this is Mr. Mercedes.
Brady Hartfield, the product of a very disturbed and disturbing
childhood, is the sole caretaker of his seriously alcoholic mother.
He not only must bring in the bacon, but fry it, iron his uniforms,
clean... Mommy Dearest is usually only capable of shambling to pour
herself another drink. He pieces together their subsistance through
two jobs he dislikes: working for a discount electronics company and
driving an ice cream truck.
There is one night he really comes alive. He steals a Mercedes
and uses it as a weapon of mass destruction, driving it full speed
ahead into a crowd of people desperately waiting for a job fair,
killing eight and injuring many others. Then he uses the Internet to
guilt the owner of the Mercedes into taking her life. Now he's going
after Bill Hodges, the retired detective who failed to catch him,
hoping for the same result.
Only his plan backfires. Hodges has been sitting around,
watching tv, toying with his father's gun, getting ready for what he
considers inevitable. A lengthy and rambling letter from Hartfield,
meant to entice him to pull the trigger, actually gives him a reason
to live. He's going to catch Mr. Mercedes, even though it may involve
breaking quite a few laws, before he strikes again.
As each taunts and strives to outmaneuver the other, it is very
much like a very high stakes chess game with a few thousand lives
hanging in the balance. Mr. Mercedes is a great summer read for
lovers of suspense seasoned with insight into the darker sides of the
human condition.
On a personal note, I hadn't planned on reading Mr. Mercedes. Then it
was the August choice for my book club. I'd passed on the last few so
I thought, what the heck.
A great big shout out goes out to all the book clubs rocking
functional literacy liberally seasoned with friendship.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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Fairy Gardens and Treasure Hunting

Fairy Gardens and Treasure Hunting

Juvenile non fiction
If you are a baby boomer like me, you played outside a lot
during your growing up years. You probably had lots of opportunity to
carry out projects limited only by your imagination. Things have
changed a lot since then, not for the better. Some kids from high
pressure homes have after school lesson schedules that would challenge
a grad student. Other kids spend their free time in front of
electronic devices. Still others spend their time with toys and
accessories that lend themselves to stylized, scripted indoor play.
Think Disney princesses.
Anyway too many kids are missing out on the joy of self-directed
outdoor play and exploration. Fortunately the tide has started to
turn. We have parents wanting their kids to have the chance to be
more free range. Fairy Garden Handbook and Treasure Hunter's
Handbook, both by Liza Gardner Walsh, are delightful little volumes
that will entice just about any child to get outside for creativity
and adventure.
Fairy Garden expands the lovely concept of fairy houses.
Children learn many of the basics of organic gardening beginning with
the most basic needs of plants. But putting in the flora is only the
start. There are all sorts of accessories to craft. Fortunately, the
fairies much prefer those created from natural materials to those
bought from specialty stores. There is a garden just right for every
available plot from containers of a wide variety to garden forts and
refuges for bees and butterflies. There are also indoor projects for
those days (in states like Maine those months) when weather is less
than cooperative.
Treasure hunting is an almost universal thrill. My son sifts
through coins looking for rare ones while I never see the yard sale or
thrift shop I can pass by. Treasure Hunter's Handbook is a lovely
blend of practical instruction and legend and lore. The book begins
adventurously with pirate treasure and how to hunt for it. There are
also chapters on panning for gold, geocaching and letterboxing,
hunting rocks and minerals, and discovering found treasures like sea
glass and fossils. Walsh points out, to a true treasure hunter, it's
more about the process than the result. Often the most precious find
will be an unexpected item of nature like a perfect rock that will
evoke cherished memories whenever it's looked at or touched.
Both books in themselves are treasures. They are written in an
inviting and empowering style. The photographs of children fully
engaged in self directed play and exploration are priceless. It
delights my feminist heart that the author doesn't have the girls all
creating fairy gardens while the boys all hunt treasure.
Parents, we've hit the late summer doldrums. This is when often
our kids who were so excited just to get out of school in June are
telling us they are bored because there's nothing to do.
I've got a boredom busting suggestion. Put either of these books
where your children will find them and step out of the way.
On a personal note, I am daily in a treasure seeking mode. When I
walk between towns I carry plastic bags for the returnable cans and
bottles I find. I call it my year round Easter egg hunt. It
motivates me days I don't feel like walking. Thursdays I check out
the thrift store dumpster. Last week I found a silver Cross gift
quality mechanical pencil. True that.
A great big shout out goes out adults and children who hunt for
treasure and exercise careful stewardship of plants and other natural
wonders.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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The Lost Girls

The Lost Girls

Adult nonfiction
I picked up John Glatt's The Lost Girls on a quick sweep of the
Orono Public Library's adult new books section. When I saw the
subject later at home I almost returned it unread. Ripped from the
headlines volumes are one of the genres I try to avoid. I have no
idea why I decided to read a few chapters. I'm glad I did. As a
feminist I found disturbing implications for our society's treatment
of women well beneath the surface.
In May 2013 three young women and a child escaped from a chamber
of horrors in a Cleveland residential neighborhood, capturing
worldwide media attention. The young women had been imprisoned,
repeatedly raped, forced to live in conditions of squalor and
degradation, and abused in every way possible for about a decade. The
child was the offspring of one of the women and their tormenter.
For such a horrific story, the coverage is thoughtful and
nuanced. Glatt is an excellent researcher and interviewer. He goes
well into the background of the many lead characters and their complex
relationships, not trying to cover up areas of ambiguity and
uncertainty. Any this-could-never-happen-to-me smugness is shredded.
It certainly is a call for all of us to think on ways we can make all
communities safer for women and children.
Predictably criticism of the particular people running the city
and the search has been forthcoming. When something bad goes down we
seem to want a person or people to blame. I am sure that the
individuals, for the most part, were doing the best they could in the
situation in which they found themselves. In the situation in which
they found themselves is the operative phase. This country is still a
much less than safe place in which to be a girl or women. It will
continue to be if we focus only on symptoms and don't take out roots.
(Any of you who weed gardens will get this).
To cite just one example, Ariel Castro, the abductor, had four
children by a common law wife. He abused her severely, causing her to
go to the hospital, on a number of occassions. He also pressured her
not to tell, making getting medical care contingent on this and
threatening to hurt her and their children. A couple of times she
started to press charges only to back off out of fear. She had reason
for fear. Abused partners and their children are most in danger when
they try to escape. We need to set it up so that every woman who
finds herself in an abusive situation knows that she will be protected
if she leaves or presses charges and helped to achieve financial
independence. (Fear of not being able to support herself and her
children can keep women in bad situations since abusers are very good
at eroding opportunity and confidence.) Anyway if his ex common law
wife had been able to safely press charges and Castro had been
rehabilitated or put away maybe there wouldn't have been a need for
this book.
On a personal note, Joey cat has been a frequent visitor to Veazie Vet
this summer for minor ailments. Today it was a urinary tract
infection. I wish vets could teach human doctors a thing or two.
They take the time to put an animal at ease. They look not only at
the sympoms, but at the animal's overall record. And they are willing
to discuss companion humans' concerns and do all they can to make care
easy and nontraumatic for both parties involved.
A great big shout out goes out to the staff of Veazie Vet. I am
looking forward to being part of Team Veazie Vet in October at Paws on
Parade, a sponsored walk to benefit the animals at the Humane Society.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Just Jake

Just Jake

Juvenile fiction
We know about that summer slump that happens if kids don't read
over vacation. We also know there are plenty of kids who want to
leave all things school associated way behind from June to September.
Just Jake is the answer to many a nag weary parent's prayers: a book a
son or daughter will actually want to read. It was written by a
twelve-year-old, not an adult at least a decade out of middle school.
You've gotta respect that. Here's a pre teen writing,
illustrating, and editing an over 150 page manuscript. (How many of
us who have not gone to grad school have completed a literary project
that big?) And it is a good book. The combination of text and
pictures is convincing and, in many cases, downright funny. For
example, when a boy trained in the martial arts has been chllenged to
a fight he asks the aggressor a series of questions. Jake reflects,
"I didn't understand why Wild Boy didn't start pounding on Jason. It
was either a Jedi mind trick, or Wild Boy's training included a course
in lawsuit prevention."
Just Jake begins with the narrator en route to a new home in
Maryland with his parents and evil older sister, Alexis, "the Queen of
Mean." He is not in favor of the move. Being a kid, he has no say in
the matter. "...As my dad says, 'When you pay the electric bill, you
get to decide where things get plugged in.'"
In Jake's new town sixth graders are still in elementary
school. He accidentally arrives in the second grade due to a teacher
room mix up. And things go down hill from there. After three months
he hates his new state and school. He's gone from popular to
invisibly in one simple move.
Jake, however, is more resiliant that he realizes and not ready
to give up. Kids who have had to deal with new kid in school status,
bullies, clueless patents, or a menacing sibling will find him a
character to root for.
On a personal note, I am involved in a cognitive rewiring project.
For a few weeks now I have been teaching myself to write leftie.
Research is showing that projects that involve brain rewiring can help
preserve brain health and prevent Alzheimers. What I notice is it
takes concentration to do something that was almost automatic. It
gives me a great deal of empathy for people with strokes or Parkinsons
and children just learning to write.
A great big shout out goes out to children and adults who have to
adjust to moves they're not happy about. Believe me. I've been
there, done that.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Mama Seeton's Whistle

Mama Seeton's Whistle

Picture book
When Jerry Spinelli was growing up in Pennsylvania his neighbor,
Thelma Seeton, made the world's best chocolate cake. She and her taxi
driver husband had a bunch of kids and a special way of summoning
them. Lucky for us Spinelli shared this colorful and evocative story
with readers in Mama Seeton's Whistle.
One day Mama Seeton can't locate her two-year-old son, Skippy.
Understandably she's worried. Then "Without even thinking about it,
Mama Seeton puckered her lips and whistled.
It was not a loud whistle.
Or a fancy whistle.
Just a simple, two note whistle." It does the job. Skippy and later
his younger siblings, hearing that whistle, drop everything to return
home for supper and that famous chocolate cake. Gradually their
places for play and exploration expand. Even then that whistle
reliably draws them to their house.
Sadly eventually they grow up and go their separate ways.
Stewart gets as far as Africa. Mama Seeton gets letters but still
longs for the old days. One day when she doesn't touch her supper her
husband knows that something has to be done.
LeUyen Phem found Mama Seeton's Whistle to be an intimidating
and fun book to illustrate. It involved quite a bit of research which
she compared to time travel. She had to learn not only the time line
for a very particular family, but the clothes and hairstyles of
different eras. Papa Seeton, for example, has a 1965 Chevrolet, not
any old generic car.
There was, however, one aspect of the story she did not need to
research. "...And as the story reached its climax, with Mama Seeton
yearning sweetly for her children, I found myself emotional along with
her, because being a mother means being enveloped in such a range and
depth of emotion through your children. Mama Seeton is a very real
personification of motherhood, and I did my best to portray her with
love."
On a personal note, I can identify with Mama Seeton. My beloved
younger daughter, Katie, who graduated from UMaine summa cum laude,
now lives in Portland where she has a great job. I'm glad it's
Portland, Maine, not Portland, Oregon. I'm happy her life is going so
well. But I miss her like crazy.
A great big shout goes out to all the other moms, and I suspect some
dads, who are missing their beloved children.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom

Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom

Juvenile nonfiction
"Sharing the thick forests and green meadows with the boars are
thousands of red and roe deer and a large population of moose. Foxes
and lynx slink through the shadowy undergrowth...In addition to these
large mammals are many smaller ones, including beavers, Eurasian
badgers, mink, otters, hare, raccoons, bats, mice, and other rodents.
The Zone also has hundreds of species of birds, reptiles, amphibians,
and insects."
These animals and the biological mystery they embody are the
subjects of Rebecca Johnson's Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom: Life In The
Dead Zone. On April 26, 1986 a series of truly unfortunate events
culminated in a catastrophic explosion at Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Plant. Four hundred times more deadly radioactivity was released than
by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War II.
Radioactive material descending on towns made them unfit for human
habitation. It was assumed that the area around them would be a dead
zone, devoid of plant and animal life.
So what happened? How can an area that is supposed to be too
contaminated by nuclear fallout sustain the same variety of life forms
as pristine wilderness? Are the animals damaged internally and
genetically in ways we can't easily see? Are some species more
effected than others? These and other fascinating questions have
drawn a very daring cadre of scientists to this Exclusion Zone. Their
research, documented in Chernobyl's Wild Kingdom, makes for pretty
fascinating reading.
On a personal note, the odd jobs business I am starting so I can
concentrate on my writing rather be sucked into a retail/fast food
dead zone job is starting to grow. This summer I've had some weeding
work as well as a cleaning job. I may have a babysitting prospect.
When I get my own house clean and organized I will reward myself with
professional business cards that I bet will really help attract
business.
A great big shout out goes out to those brave scientists who take
their investigations to places where most of us (including this
reviewer) would fear to tread.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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A Path Appears

A Path Appears

Adult nonfiction
It's the most amazing book I've read all year and definitely on
my lifetime short list. It's the literary equivalent of gourmet
cheesecake. Unless you are a reviewer who must keep up a steady
output of content I'd advise you to take it slow--chapter by chapter--
and really absorb and contemplate its wisdom. Otherwise you might
find yourself, like this reviewer, almost overwhelmed by the abundance
of knowledge and opportunity it presents.
You may recall awhile ago Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
gave us Half the Sky, a poignant reminder that women and girls
constitute half the human race. They detailed the dangers and
challenges faced by at risk members of this population and the things
people and groups are doing to make their life more safe, equitable,
and empowering. In A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating
Opportunity they tackle another huge roadblock. Only a small
percentage of charity donations go to those who need help the most.
Also some of the causes that demonstrate the biggest effectiveness,
the most bang for the buck, are routinely bypassed for "sexier" ones.
For instance, one of the most effective ways to improve school
attendance of children in Africa is to rid them of parasitic worms
that sap their strength.
Those of us who want to help others have a chance to survive and
thrive can face a tsunami of mail and email appeals. Some of the
organizations sending them are not especially effective. Some are
downright fraudulent. Most of us don't have a clue how to seperate the
wheat from the chaff. Kristof and WuDunn have done the homework for
us. A Path Appears provides laypeople with excellent guidelines for
choosing organizations in which to invest hard earned money and
precious time to do the most good.
The authors also question some of the assumptions many people in
the charity sector have. One is that benevolent works should not be
assessed by the same effectiveness criteria as for profit
organizations. A lot of projects are based on unproven hunches and
turn out to be relatively ineffective or even useless. However, the
same scrutiny can also uncover projects that are far more effective
than anyone dreamed they would be.
"Rigorous evaluation is essential, whether we're talking about
poverty in India or in America. The stakes are too great to fight
the global war on poverty based on hunches and intuition...If it's
important for businesses to be meticulous in planning a new business
line, it's even more critical for an aid organization or donor to rely
on careful evidence to plan the best way to fight maleria or educate
children..."
My favorite aspect of the book, however (I suspect it will be
your favorite too) is the richness of inspirational stories of life
transformation here and abroad. Many feature quite unlikely heroes.
Collectively they will make you want to stand up and cheer...
...and hopefully get involved or more involved in helping to
heal a world in need of all of our talents.
On a personal note, I am having a lovely weekend. Eugene is away at
camp. So I am devoting the weekend except church and exercise to
cleaning and writing and nighttime reading. I'm making great progress
scrubbing public room walls. I realized I could cover a hole in a
living room wall by moving the DVD bookcase. While I'm doing that I'm
thinning out DVDs. I feel like it's all coming together toward a
house so nice looking I can have family and friends over.
A great big shout out goes out to all who invest money or time to help
those in desperate need.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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