When Mischief Came To Town
Juvenile fiction
"I do not know how to feel.
Does belonging here, with Grandmother, mean that I no longer
love Mama?"
Back when my children were really young a woman moved into a
trailer down the street. She'd been sure that when her daughter grew
up her child raising days were over. She was wrong. She was far from
the only one unexpectedly thrown back into a world of play dates,
homework supervision, and pediatric emergencies. Parenting grands is
a fast growing demographic segment, especially with drug abuse on the
rise. Even in the past, however, grandparents became custodians of
grandchildren. Katrina Nannestad's When Mischief Came To Town tells
the story of one such pairing.
When we first meet Inge Maria she is a study in misery, squished
between a box of turkeys and the goat that has eaten some of her hair,
on a rolling ship. The year is 1911. She is enroute from
sophisticated Copenhagen to the island of Bornholm to live with a
grandmother she has never met.
Inge Maria's grandmother seems grouchy and strict. Her social
circle seems to consist of three equally aged and boring women, her
daily routine revolving around domestic chores and the care of
barnyard animals. At school children must silently copy spelling
words and only boys are allowed to play actively during recess.
Will Inge Maria ever feel at home in such a bleak place? If she
does find happiness, does this mean she is being disloyal to her dead
mother?
Read the book and see!
On a personal note, my youngest child is about to move to his first
apartment. Even though this is good and normal, the prospect of an
offspringless house feels bleak and desolate. Will this place ever
again feel like home? At the same time, if I can find happiness will
that make me disloyal to my memories of those beautiful younger years?
A great big shout out goes out to grandparents back in the parenting
routine.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Where You'll Find Me
Where You'll Find Me
YA fiction
"I used to think your friends were your friends no matter what,
but that's not how it works. There is elementary school, and then
there is middle school, where all the rules change and no one tells
you how to play and the only thing you know for sure is that you are
losing. Everything about you is wrong: your hair, your personality,
your jeans."
Anna, protagonist of Natasha Friend's Where You'll Find Me, has
a lot more to cope with than most of her peers.
To start with there's her mom, a school psychologist with an
advanced degree in clinical psych. Anna was the one who discovered
her mother unconscious from a suicide attempt and called for an
ambulance. Now she has no idea how long Mom will be in the hospital
or what she will be like when she gets out. She can't trust that when
her mother does get out she won't try again.
Isn't the parent the one who's supposed to protect the child?
While her mother is out of the picture Anna is stuck living with
her father, his very young second wife, and their baby.
"...She has photos of her sorority sisters taped to the mirror
in her bathroom. She has yoga pants with paw prints on the butt, a
big stuffed tiger on her marital bed. My father doesn't even care..."
Things aren't better at school. Her newly popular best friend
from kindergarten on no longer wants to be seen with her.
So how does a 13-year-old cope and maybe even thrive in the face
of all this trauma and drama. Read this most excellent coming of age
novel and see for yourself.
On a personal note, this past weekend I volunteered two days at the
LGBTQ and multicultural services table at UMaine orientation. I saw a
wide variety of incoming students ranging from the kids who looked
ready to take on the world to those who looked stunned by the upcoming
transition. I want to get a masters in higher education student
services because I want to be present for the students who will need
me. I can't think of a vocation I would rather pursue.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine Class of 2020.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"I used to think your friends were your friends no matter what,
but that's not how it works. There is elementary school, and then
there is middle school, where all the rules change and no one tells
you how to play and the only thing you know for sure is that you are
losing. Everything about you is wrong: your hair, your personality,
your jeans."
Anna, protagonist of Natasha Friend's Where You'll Find Me, has
a lot more to cope with than most of her peers.
To start with there's her mom, a school psychologist with an
advanced degree in clinical psych. Anna was the one who discovered
her mother unconscious from a suicide attempt and called for an
ambulance. Now she has no idea how long Mom will be in the hospital
or what she will be like when she gets out. She can't trust that when
her mother does get out she won't try again.
Isn't the parent the one who's supposed to protect the child?
While her mother is out of the picture Anna is stuck living with
her father, his very young second wife, and their baby.
"...She has photos of her sorority sisters taped to the mirror
in her bathroom. She has yoga pants with paw prints on the butt, a
big stuffed tiger on her marital bed. My father doesn't even care..."
Things aren't better at school. Her newly popular best friend
from kindergarten on no longer wants to be seen with her.
So how does a 13-year-old cope and maybe even thrive in the face
of all this trauma and drama. Read this most excellent coming of age
novel and see for yourself.
On a personal note, this past weekend I volunteered two days at the
LGBTQ and multicultural services table at UMaine orientation. I saw a
wide variety of incoming students ranging from the kids who looked
ready to take on the world to those who looked stunned by the upcoming
transition. I want to get a masters in higher education student
services because I want to be present for the students who will need
me. I can't think of a vocation I would rather pursue.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine Class of 2020.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
A Handful Of Stars
A Handful Of Stars
Juvenile fiction
In parts of Maine late summer means blueberry harvest. Migrant
workers from other countries arrive to carry out this backbreaking
labor. Most year round residents know much too little about their
lives and the challenges they and their families face. Cynthia Lord's
A Handful Of Stars helps readers gain valuable insight.
Lily, a year round resident who lives with her grandparents over
their store, is facing challenges of her own. She's missing her
deceased mother. Her best friend Hannah, with whom she's done
everything since kindergarten, has become much more focussed on boys
than on their formerly shared interests. Worst of all, her beloved
dog, Lucky, is going blind.
Lucky's eye trouble expands Lily's world. When Lucky slips out
of his collar and starts running across a blueberry barren, Lily
chases him, terrified that he'll be hit by a truck. Much to her
relief, a worker her age, Salma, uses her lunch as bait to capture the
runaway.
That is the start of a bee-utiful friendship, one that has to be
strong to surmount small town prejudices. You have to read the book
to appreciate the reason for the intentional misspelling.
Not all towns and cities have migrant workers. Nearly all,
however, have semi hidden populations. In Penobscot County we have
homeless families, many of whom have at least one working parent.
Child readers can be encouraged to think on the relatively unseen
folks in their own towns and neighborhoods.
On a personal note, I recently participated in Pride Day in Bangor. I
marched in the parade with Equality Maine and helped them run their
table which was conveniently located close to the music. It was
beautiful to see so many people coming out to be supportive of LGBTQ
folks.
A great big shout out goes out to folks who reach out to their
communities' marginilized folks.
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
In parts of Maine late summer means blueberry harvest. Migrant
workers from other countries arrive to carry out this backbreaking
labor. Most year round residents know much too little about their
lives and the challenges they and their families face. Cynthia Lord's
A Handful Of Stars helps readers gain valuable insight.
Lily, a year round resident who lives with her grandparents over
their store, is facing challenges of her own. She's missing her
deceased mother. Her best friend Hannah, with whom she's done
everything since kindergarten, has become much more focussed on boys
than on their formerly shared interests. Worst of all, her beloved
dog, Lucky, is going blind.
Lucky's eye trouble expands Lily's world. When Lucky slips out
of his collar and starts running across a blueberry barren, Lily
chases him, terrified that he'll be hit by a truck. Much to her
relief, a worker her age, Salma, uses her lunch as bait to capture the
runaway.
That is the start of a bee-utiful friendship, one that has to be
strong to surmount small town prejudices. You have to read the book
to appreciate the reason for the intentional misspelling.
Not all towns and cities have migrant workers. Nearly all,
however, have semi hidden populations. In Penobscot County we have
homeless families, many of whom have at least one working parent.
Child readers can be encouraged to think on the relatively unseen
folks in their own towns and neighborhoods.
On a personal note, I recently participated in Pride Day in Bangor. I
marched in the parade with Equality Maine and helped them run their
table which was conveniently located close to the music. It was
beautiful to see so many people coming out to be supportive of LGBTQ
folks.
A great big shout out goes out to folks who reach out to their
communities' marginilized folks.
Sent from my iPod
The Ebola Epidemic
The Ebola Epidemic
Juvenile nonfiction
"Not really alive, yet not quite dead, viruses are the zombies
of the microscopic world. They don't carry on any of the activities
that define life. Viruses can't move or reproduce themselves. They
don't have any moving parts. Viruses don't need food or oxygen to
live. In fact, they can't do much of anything until they get inside a
living cell--a host."
The study of edipemiology contains some of the most fascinating
detective stories in the modern world. No matter how advanced we may
feel, we are still vulnerable to and terrified of dread killer
diseases. Whether typhoid at the dawn of the twentieth century or
AIDS more recently, scientists must use all tools at their disposal to
find out origin and means of transmission in order to seek a cure.
Connie Goldsmith's The Ebola Epidemic: The Fight, The Future takes
the reader behind the scenes of a race to outwit a viral grim reaper.
In 1976 a thermos arrived at a tropical medicine institute in
Belgium. It was sent all the way from Zaire in Africa and contained
two test tubes of blood. Tests ruled out diseases like yellor fever
and Lassa fever. The new hemorrhagic virus, named after a river,
seemed to die out.
In 2014 Ebola was back with a vengeance. Confirmed and
suspected cases numbered in the tens of thousands. Health care
resources and trained medical professionals were in very short
supply. It took months for the rest of the world to realize how
dangerous the new outbreak was.
How could it be prevented from becoming a pandemic?
On a personal note, I was a child when the polio vaccine was
concocted. My mom and others who recalled living in dread of that
dread disease volunteered their children as guinea pigs. They called
us polio pioneers. I was not a happy participant until my mom
rewarded me with ice cream.
A great big shout goes out to epidemiologists. They are rock stars.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"Not really alive, yet not quite dead, viruses are the zombies
of the microscopic world. They don't carry on any of the activities
that define life. Viruses can't move or reproduce themselves. They
don't have any moving parts. Viruses don't need food or oxygen to
live. In fact, they can't do much of anything until they get inside a
living cell--a host."
The study of edipemiology contains some of the most fascinating
detective stories in the modern world. No matter how advanced we may
feel, we are still vulnerable to and terrified of dread killer
diseases. Whether typhoid at the dawn of the twentieth century or
AIDS more recently, scientists must use all tools at their disposal to
find out origin and means of transmission in order to seek a cure.
Connie Goldsmith's The Ebola Epidemic: The Fight, The Future takes
the reader behind the scenes of a race to outwit a viral grim reaper.
In 1976 a thermos arrived at a tropical medicine institute in
Belgium. It was sent all the way from Zaire in Africa and contained
two test tubes of blood. Tests ruled out diseases like yellor fever
and Lassa fever. The new hemorrhagic virus, named after a river,
seemed to die out.
In 2014 Ebola was back with a vengeance. Confirmed and
suspected cases numbered in the tens of thousands. Health care
resources and trained medical professionals were in very short
supply. It took months for the rest of the world to realize how
dangerous the new outbreak was.
How could it be prevented from becoming a pandemic?
On a personal note, I was a child when the polio vaccine was
concocted. My mom and others who recalled living in dread of that
dread disease volunteered their children as guinea pigs. They called
us polio pioneers. I was not a happy participant until my mom
rewarded me with ice cream.
A great big shout goes out to epidemiologists. They are rock stars.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tiger Pups
Tiger Pups
Picture book
Not all new moms are ready for parenting. We see this sad
situation all too often in the human world. Four footed infants can
also get abandoned. This was the case with three white tiger cubs born
in a wildlife park in Kansas. Their catly mom walked off after one
night on the job, leaving the helpless kittens in dire danger.
Fortunately other moms are well enough parentally wired to
nurture beings with whom they don't share blood ties or even species
membership. Isabella, a golden retriever, had just weaned a litter of
puppies and was still lactating (producing milk). She accepted the
kittens as her own.
That is the true story behind Tom and Allie Harvey's Tiger
Pups. Through their words and a plethora of sweet, aaaaw worthy
photos readers follow the infants and their foster mom. Animal loving
kids and families will adore this book.
Librarians: suitably displayed it will fly off its shelf again
and again.
On a personal note: from when I was eight until I was almost fourteen
(when we moved to an apartment that didn't even allow domestic cats)
my favorite companion animal was my ocelot. I kid you not. She even
slept with me. People warned my parents that Sheba would turn on me.
It never happened. She never even scratched me.
A great big shout out goes out to foster parenting varmints with
outsized hearts.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Not all new moms are ready for parenting. We see this sad
situation all too often in the human world. Four footed infants can
also get abandoned. This was the case with three white tiger cubs born
in a wildlife park in Kansas. Their catly mom walked off after one
night on the job, leaving the helpless kittens in dire danger.
Fortunately other moms are well enough parentally wired to
nurture beings with whom they don't share blood ties or even species
membership. Isabella, a golden retriever, had just weaned a litter of
puppies and was still lactating (producing milk). She accepted the
kittens as her own.
That is the true story behind Tom and Allie Harvey's Tiger
Pups. Through their words and a plethora of sweet, aaaaw worthy
photos readers follow the infants and their foster mom. Animal loving
kids and families will adore this book.
Librarians: suitably displayed it will fly off its shelf again
and again.
On a personal note: from when I was eight until I was almost fourteen
(when we moved to an apartment that didn't even allow domestic cats)
my favorite companion animal was my ocelot. I kid you not. She even
slept with me. People warned my parents that Sheba would turn on me.
It never happened. She never even scratched me.
A great big shout out goes out to foster parenting varmints with
outsized hearts.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Worms for Breakfast
Worms for Breakfast
Picture book
Nope, I did not make a title typo. While most readers prefer
waking up to cereal or pancakes, there are varmints who would turn
those offerings down in favor of say plump juicy grubs. Helaine
Becker's Worms for Breakfast gives the inside scoop.
Youngsters are told to imagine being put in charge of a zoo with
all kinds of varmints to cater to. A cage by cage tour uses
nutritional needs to teach about animal life styles. At the end there
are things kids and families can do to be "a bestie to the beasties."
The information is succinct and interesting. Pictures range
from amusing (a bunch of critters raiding a fridge) to aaaaaw
inspiring (dear little baby clouded leopards.)
There are recipes...but you might not want to try them out
unless you have really exotic animal companions.
On a personal note, when I was growing up we had exotics in the house:
raccoons, foxes, an ocelot, birds of prey, raptors, a wolf, an otter,
jumbo snakes, and other critters most folks didn't share living space
with. I did a lot of mammal caretaking. When I was in primary school
I could get up in the middle of the night to give bottles to unweaned
varmints. That was how I first learned parenting.
A great big shout out goes out to all who nurture creatures great and
small.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Nope, I did not make a title typo. While most readers prefer
waking up to cereal or pancakes, there are varmints who would turn
those offerings down in favor of say plump juicy grubs. Helaine
Becker's Worms for Breakfast gives the inside scoop.
Youngsters are told to imagine being put in charge of a zoo with
all kinds of varmints to cater to. A cage by cage tour uses
nutritional needs to teach about animal life styles. At the end there
are things kids and families can do to be "a bestie to the beasties."
The information is succinct and interesting. Pictures range
from amusing (a bunch of critters raiding a fridge) to aaaaaw
inspiring (dear little baby clouded leopards.)
There are recipes...but you might not want to try them out
unless you have really exotic animal companions.
On a personal note, when I was growing up we had exotics in the house:
raccoons, foxes, an ocelot, birds of prey, raptors, a wolf, an otter,
jumbo snakes, and other critters most folks didn't share living space
with. I did a lot of mammal caretaking. When I was in primary school
I could get up in the middle of the night to give bottles to unweaned
varmints. That was how I first learned parenting.
A great big shout out goes out to all who nurture creatures great and
small.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
101 Kids Activities
101 Kids Activities
Parenting/crafts
"We hope that this book inspires you to find play in big and
small moments every day. We hope it is an imagination boost that
launches childhood memories beyond these pages.
We believe that you don't need the latest gadgets or an
elaborate plan to engage children. Play meets everyone right where
they are with what they have in their hand."
Moms and dads of young kids who don't want your kids spending
summer vaca totally engaged with electronic media, I'm looking out
for you. I'm on the lookout for books with ideas to keep children
creative and even outside. 101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest
Funnest Ever by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller is a gem in this genre.
The book is divided into four sections. Boredom Busters shows
kids how to do fun stuff like construct geometric figures with stars,
make edible play dough, construct a PVC pipe tent, and turn stuffed
animals into marionettes. Crafts shows them how to create stuff like
bubble prints, craft stick puzzles, permanently decorated dishes, clay
beads, sidewalk chalk, and soap with hidden surprises. Games include
an obstacle course, catapult competition, craft stick dominos, an
airplane race, and human jousting. Simple science includes ways to go
on an archaeology dig, build a book bridge, nurture plants with
compost soup, make fizzing sidewalk paint, and sculpt a volcano in a
sandbox.
Instructions are straightforward. Most materials are everyday
enough to be found in homes. In addition to being a gem of a
reference for parents and youth group leaders, it would be a terrific
investment or gift for a babysitter.
On a personal note, one summer during my undergraduate college years I
had what seemed to be a not so good babysit. There was a group of
kids. The couples were really happy about going out together for a
childless meal. Their collective offspring, clearly not happy, were
slumped in front of the tv. I said, I don't know about you guys, but
I am going to turn a refrigerator box into a playhouse. When they saw
the box they went running for markers, crayons, scissors. Their
parents came back quite surprised to see them totally wrapped up in
their construction. :)
A great big shout goes out to all people who love to play.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Parenting/crafts
"We hope that this book inspires you to find play in big and
small moments every day. We hope it is an imagination boost that
launches childhood memories beyond these pages.
We believe that you don't need the latest gadgets or an
elaborate plan to engage children. Play meets everyone right where
they are with what they have in their hand."
Moms and dads of young kids who don't want your kids spending
summer vaca totally engaged with electronic media, I'm looking out
for you. I'm on the lookout for books with ideas to keep children
creative and even outside. 101 Kids Activities That Are The Bestest
Funnest Ever by Holly Homer and Rachel Miller is a gem in this genre.
The book is divided into four sections. Boredom Busters shows
kids how to do fun stuff like construct geometric figures with stars,
make edible play dough, construct a PVC pipe tent, and turn stuffed
animals into marionettes. Crafts shows them how to create stuff like
bubble prints, craft stick puzzles, permanently decorated dishes, clay
beads, sidewalk chalk, and soap with hidden surprises. Games include
an obstacle course, catapult competition, craft stick dominos, an
airplane race, and human jousting. Simple science includes ways to go
on an archaeology dig, build a book bridge, nurture plants with
compost soup, make fizzing sidewalk paint, and sculpt a volcano in a
sandbox.
Instructions are straightforward. Most materials are everyday
enough to be found in homes. In addition to being a gem of a
reference for parents and youth group leaders, it would be a terrific
investment or gift for a babysitter.
On a personal note, one summer during my undergraduate college years I
had what seemed to be a not so good babysit. There was a group of
kids. The couples were really happy about going out together for a
childless meal. Their collective offspring, clearly not happy, were
slumped in front of the tv. I said, I don't know about you guys, but
I am going to turn a refrigerator box into a playhouse. When they saw
the box they went running for markers, crayons, scissors. Their
parents came back quite surprised to see them totally wrapped up in
their construction. :)
A great big shout goes out to all people who love to play.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Maine In Photographs
Maine In Photographs
Adult nonfiction
People often say that a picture is worth a thousand words. This
is certainly true about those that depict places close to one's
heart. Recently while browsing in Orono Public Library I found a
couple about my adopted state,
Maine.
Fred J. Field's Maine Places, Maine Faces is a bold celebration
of people and places.
*Sturdy Amish children walk to their uncancelled school in the face of
a blizzard.
*A full moon rises behind a lighthouse.
*Racing horses pull old time sleighs.
*buildings smaller than a pointer finger nail and lobster boats a
Polly Pocket could capsize are points of white in an aerial photo of
Cape Porpoise.
Pictures range from panoramic at intimate and there is very skillful
use of light and texture.
Thomas Mark and Leeann Szelog's By A Maine River: A Year of
Looking Closely focuses on a much smaller chunk of turf. Thomas
wanted to show people that they don't have to go to some far off place
to find escape from the chaos in our lives if they can just become
aware of the mystery and beauty where they live. For a year he took
pictures on his seventy acres of land, mostly from the vantage spot of
a camoflauged blind. He introduces the reader to critters such as a
coyote, an albino Eastern gray squirrel, a swimming muskrat, a
dragonfly, a grey tree frog, a cheek bulging chipmunk, and legions of
birds and draws us into majestic river and forest vistas.
I'd recommend both books to people who love or want to learn
about the great state of Maine. The latter is perfect for all the
folks who have yet to see beyond lighthouses and lobsters.
On a personal note, Tuesday evening I was at an outdoor concert at
Webster Park. I commented to a friend about the beauty of the sky
reflected in the river. She looked startled and then amazed and told
me she hadn't thought to look at the river. It was almost literally
under her nose. Methinks Szelog makes a whole lot of sense.
A great big shout out goes out to photographers who help us be aware
of the natural beauty around us.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
People often say that a picture is worth a thousand words. This
is certainly true about those that depict places close to one's
heart. Recently while browsing in Orono Public Library I found a
couple about my adopted state,
Maine.
Fred J. Field's Maine Places, Maine Faces is a bold celebration
of people and places.
*Sturdy Amish children walk to their uncancelled school in the face of
a blizzard.
*A full moon rises behind a lighthouse.
*Racing horses pull old time sleighs.
*buildings smaller than a pointer finger nail and lobster boats a
Polly Pocket could capsize are points of white in an aerial photo of
Cape Porpoise.
Pictures range from panoramic at intimate and there is very skillful
use of light and texture.
Thomas Mark and Leeann Szelog's By A Maine River: A Year of
Looking Closely focuses on a much smaller chunk of turf. Thomas
wanted to show people that they don't have to go to some far off place
to find escape from the chaos in our lives if they can just become
aware of the mystery and beauty where they live. For a year he took
pictures on his seventy acres of land, mostly from the vantage spot of
a camoflauged blind. He introduces the reader to critters such as a
coyote, an albino Eastern gray squirrel, a swimming muskrat, a
dragonfly, a grey tree frog, a cheek bulging chipmunk, and legions of
birds and draws us into majestic river and forest vistas.
I'd recommend both books to people who love or want to learn
about the great state of Maine. The latter is perfect for all the
folks who have yet to see beyond lighthouses and lobsters.
On a personal note, Tuesday evening I was at an outdoor concert at
Webster Park. I commented to a friend about the beauty of the sky
reflected in the river. She looked startled and then amazed and told
me she hadn't thought to look at the river. It was almost literally
under her nose. Methinks Szelog makes a whole lot of sense.
A great big shout out goes out to photographers who help us be aware
of the natural beauty around us.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Mustache Baby
Mustache Baby
Picture books
Someone who has spent much time with a toddler may notice and
wonder about the mercurial nature of the youngster. The same child
who was gently patting a cat will suddenly pull its tail. After
paying rapt attention at story time a youngster will tear off toward
the door. Smiles to tears and back in no time flat could be a motto
at this life stage. Bridget Heos has captured this perfectly in her
books about an unforgettable mustachioed toy.
In Mustache Baby Baby Billy is born with unusual facial hair.
The mother is concerned. The nurse tells her this facial adornment
can be either a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache. Usually it
seems to be the former. But sometimes when it curls upward little
Billy goes on a crime spree.
In Mustache Baby Meets His Match Billy gets a playmate: bearded
Baby Javiar. There's a problem though. Each one wants to be the
Alpha tyke. All out competition quickly devolves into all out
aggression. The two boys have to be separated. That seems to the the
end of their relationship.
But maybe not.
These two books are most delightful read alouds, rich in visual
humor for both child and parent.
On a personal note, for quite awhile people have been raising money
for an outdoor extension for the Orono Public Library. When it's
completed it will include an ampitheater and walking paths. It will
be a great place for people to socialize, picnic, and be entertained.
The construction workers are making it very hard for our children's
librarian to keep our non mustache gifted boys and girls seated in a
circle. Sometimes you can find them lined up at the windows, totally
captivated by the big machines.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who came up with the idea
and raised the money and the workers who are turning this vision into
a reality.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture books
Someone who has spent much time with a toddler may notice and
wonder about the mercurial nature of the youngster. The same child
who was gently patting a cat will suddenly pull its tail. After
paying rapt attention at story time a youngster will tear off toward
the door. Smiles to tears and back in no time flat could be a motto
at this life stage. Bridget Heos has captured this perfectly in her
books about an unforgettable mustachioed toy.
In Mustache Baby Baby Billy is born with unusual facial hair.
The mother is concerned. The nurse tells her this facial adornment
can be either a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache. Usually it
seems to be the former. But sometimes when it curls upward little
Billy goes on a crime spree.
In Mustache Baby Meets His Match Billy gets a playmate: bearded
Baby Javiar. There's a problem though. Each one wants to be the
Alpha tyke. All out competition quickly devolves into all out
aggression. The two boys have to be separated. That seems to the the
end of their relationship.
But maybe not.
These two books are most delightful read alouds, rich in visual
humor for both child and parent.
On a personal note, for quite awhile people have been raising money
for an outdoor extension for the Orono Public Library. When it's
completed it will include an ampitheater and walking paths. It will
be a great place for people to socialize, picnic, and be entertained.
The construction workers are making it very hard for our children's
librarian to keep our non mustache gifted boys and girls seated in a
circle. Sometimes you can find them lined up at the windows, totally
captivated by the big machines.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who came up with the idea
and raised the money and the workers who are turning this vision into
a reality.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Roller Girl
Roller Girl
Graphic Novel
Twelve can be a tough and confusing age to be in every way
possible. Mentally there's one of the biggest cognitive shifts of
one's entire life with increasing abilities to think abstractly and
perceive shades of gray. Academically there are a lot more
pressures. Physically there are changing shape and runaway hormones
to cope with. Socially there are sometimes shifts in friendships and
loyalties as even the closest of chums can develop different interests
and priorities. Narrator Astrid lives through a very tough patch in
Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl.
Astrid loves every minute of a roller derby match her mom takes
her and her best friend, Nicole, to. When her mother tells her about
a junior roller derby camp she's eager to sign up, sure that Nicole,
with whom she does everything, will go along with this plan. "Of
course she'd want to come. We were best friends, and that's what best
friends do. They do everything together."
Nicole, however, has other plans for her summer. She's going to
a six week dance camp where she will finally go on pointe. Worse yet,
she has started to hang around with Rachel, a mean girl who considers
Astrid to be a freak show. Astrid overhears Rachel advising Nicole to
ignore her when they start junior high.
Roller derby camp proves to be a lot more challenging than
Astrid had expected it to be. Practices are exhausting. All the
other girls seem to be more experienced and talented.
This dynamic graphic novel, written and illustrated by an actual
roller derby skater, would be a great summer read for youngsters
getting close to their own middle school/junior high entrances.
On a personal note, Mazie, who is one of my BFFs treated me to ice
cream at the Family Dog. Our schedules are so full it's a real treat
when we can get some us time beyond email and being at the same place
at the same time. But we can pick up where we left off as easily as
if we saw each other every day. If there was a real emergency, I know
we'd come through for each other.
A great big shout out goes out to Mazie who knows just about all there
is to know about me and likes me for my authentic self.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Graphic Novel
Twelve can be a tough and confusing age to be in every way
possible. Mentally there's one of the biggest cognitive shifts of
one's entire life with increasing abilities to think abstractly and
perceive shades of gray. Academically there are a lot more
pressures. Physically there are changing shape and runaway hormones
to cope with. Socially there are sometimes shifts in friendships and
loyalties as even the closest of chums can develop different interests
and priorities. Narrator Astrid lives through a very tough patch in
Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl.
Astrid loves every minute of a roller derby match her mom takes
her and her best friend, Nicole, to. When her mother tells her about
a junior roller derby camp she's eager to sign up, sure that Nicole,
with whom she does everything, will go along with this plan. "Of
course she'd want to come. We were best friends, and that's what best
friends do. They do everything together."
Nicole, however, has other plans for her summer. She's going to
a six week dance camp where she will finally go on pointe. Worse yet,
she has started to hang around with Rachel, a mean girl who considers
Astrid to be a freak show. Astrid overhears Rachel advising Nicole to
ignore her when they start junior high.
Roller derby camp proves to be a lot more challenging than
Astrid had expected it to be. Practices are exhausting. All the
other girls seem to be more experienced and talented.
This dynamic graphic novel, written and illustrated by an actual
roller derby skater, would be a great summer read for youngsters
getting close to their own middle school/junior high entrances.
On a personal note, Mazie, who is one of my BFFs treated me to ice
cream at the Family Dog. Our schedules are so full it's a real treat
when we can get some us time beyond email and being at the same place
at the same time. But we can pick up where we left off as easily as
if we saw each other every day. If there was a real emergency, I know
we'd come through for each other.
A great big shout out goes out to Mazie who knows just about all there
is to know about me and likes me for my authentic self.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Turnip
The Turnip
Picture book
You gotta admit your average turnip, a root vegetable with
usually drab coloration and an innocuous (except to picky eater kids),
is pretty much the epitome of bland and boring? Who in the world would
center a picture book around one? None other than Jan Brett. With
her animated animals and beautifully detailed borders, her The Turnip
is truly something special.
When Badger Girl finds a giant turnip growing in her garden
visions of tasty turnip soup and turnip pie swim in her head. The
recalcitrant vegetable, however, remains rooted despite her hardest
tugs. Family members and other critters try in turn. Even a horse
meets with defeat. So when Rooster calls for a turn the whole gang is
skeptical.
Something that alert border studiers will follow may be the
tipping point in the bird's favor.
The Turnip, with its fast paced narrative, colorful and
elaborate illustrations, and tender attention to treasured rituals, is
bound to become a favored bedtime read aloud in any home with very
young children.
On a personal note, Fathers' Day was awesome this year. I went to
church. I got a thank you card for singing in choir during the school
year. Amber and Brian made the traditional Fathers Day family supper
of burgers, curly fries, and strawberry shortcake. Having all three
kids together was precious beyond measure.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, my husband and baby daddy,
and the three amazing children we brought into this world.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
You gotta admit your average turnip, a root vegetable with
usually drab coloration and an innocuous (except to picky eater kids),
is pretty much the epitome of bland and boring? Who in the world would
center a picture book around one? None other than Jan Brett. With
her animated animals and beautifully detailed borders, her The Turnip
is truly something special.
When Badger Girl finds a giant turnip growing in her garden
visions of tasty turnip soup and turnip pie swim in her head. The
recalcitrant vegetable, however, remains rooted despite her hardest
tugs. Family members and other critters try in turn. Even a horse
meets with defeat. So when Rooster calls for a turn the whole gang is
skeptical.
Something that alert border studiers will follow may be the
tipping point in the bird's favor.
The Turnip, with its fast paced narrative, colorful and
elaborate illustrations, and tender attention to treasured rituals, is
bound to become a favored bedtime read aloud in any home with very
young children.
On a personal note, Fathers' Day was awesome this year. I went to
church. I got a thank you card for singing in choir during the school
year. Amber and Brian made the traditional Fathers Day family supper
of burgers, curly fries, and strawberry shortcake. Having all three
kids together was precious beyond measure.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, my husband and baby daddy,
and the three amazing children we brought into this world.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Emma And Julia Love Ballet
Emma And Julia Love Ballet
Picture book
Many little girls aspire to become ballerinas, practicing
diligently in dance studios and dreaming big dreams. Many ballerinas
probably have strong memories of those early years. Barbara
McClintock's Emma and Julia Love Ballet brings a pair together.
Emma is a very young Ballet student, probably about five or six,
who looks forward to a performance she will see with her family.
Julia is a professional ballerina, probably a young adult, who will be
in the production. The book draws parallels between their day's
activities, culminating in a very touching moment at the end.
Ballet was part of McClintock's family life. It was her
sister's remembered passion that inspired the book. She took lessons
herself, as an adult, to help her create the illustrations.
On a personal note, last Saturday was Artsapalooza, a downtown Orono
festival of the visual and performing arts. I was back by popular
demand. I read 40 minutes of my own poetry at Thai Orchid in full
tiger face. My audience was raptly attentive and very responsive.
Even better, my chum Mazie, who had never before caught my act was
there to cheer me on. I was in seventh heaven. It was a pivotal
moment in my life as I came out in public as being liberated from my
(school committee) tours of duty.
A great big shout out goes out my fellow performers, our audiences,
and all who work really hard to make this event happen.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Many little girls aspire to become ballerinas, practicing
diligently in dance studios and dreaming big dreams. Many ballerinas
probably have strong memories of those early years. Barbara
McClintock's Emma and Julia Love Ballet brings a pair together.
Emma is a very young Ballet student, probably about five or six,
who looks forward to a performance she will see with her family.
Julia is a professional ballerina, probably a young adult, who will be
in the production. The book draws parallels between their day's
activities, culminating in a very touching moment at the end.
Ballet was part of McClintock's family life. It was her
sister's remembered passion that inspired the book. She took lessons
herself, as an adult, to help her create the illustrations.
On a personal note, last Saturday was Artsapalooza, a downtown Orono
festival of the visual and performing arts. I was back by popular
demand. I read 40 minutes of my own poetry at Thai Orchid in full
tiger face. My audience was raptly attentive and very responsive.
Even better, my chum Mazie, who had never before caught my act was
there to cheer me on. I was in seventh heaven. It was a pivotal
moment in my life as I came out in public as being liberated from my
(school committee) tours of duty.
A great big shout out goes out my fellow performers, our audiences,
and all who work really hard to make this event happen.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Ninja Red Riding Hood
Ninja Red Riding Hood
Picture book
Certain recent variations on a very familiar folk tale are
finally upgrading its females from dainty flower picking child and bed
ridden senior citizen, desperately in need of rescue by a male (of
course) woodsman. Corey Rosen Schwartz's Ninja Red Riding Hood, told
in vivid verse, is a delightful variation on this theme.
The villainous wolf is getting tired of being defeated by
seemingly easy prey. That varmint is some hungry, with a stomach
"achin' for bacon." So he sneaks into a martial arts school.
When he finally feels ready to hunt himself a good meal Woolfie
meets up with Riding Hood. He diverts her to flower picking and
sneaks into her Grandma's bed. Only...
...he isn't the only one who has gone to Ninja school. :)
Ninja Red Riding Hood is a wonderful read aloud with a surprise
twist at the end.
On a personal note, recently in the community garden we encountered a
formidible varmint, a snapping turtle big enough to break fingers with
its reptilian jaws. We used a shovel to very carefully relocate. I
named it Bruce Poliquin after this part of Maine's congressional
representative. Both have a tendency to pull their heads in when
there's information they don't want to know. Both snap out at anyone
who stands in their way.
A great big shout out goes out to Emily Cain who is running against
him, her staff and volunteers, and the citizens who will have the good
sense to vote for her in November.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Certain recent variations on a very familiar folk tale are
finally upgrading its females from dainty flower picking child and bed
ridden senior citizen, desperately in need of rescue by a male (of
course) woodsman. Corey Rosen Schwartz's Ninja Red Riding Hood, told
in vivid verse, is a delightful variation on this theme.
The villainous wolf is getting tired of being defeated by
seemingly easy prey. That varmint is some hungry, with a stomach
"achin' for bacon." So he sneaks into a martial arts school.
When he finally feels ready to hunt himself a good meal Woolfie
meets up with Riding Hood. He diverts her to flower picking and
sneaks into her Grandma's bed. Only...
...he isn't the only one who has gone to Ninja school. :)
Ninja Red Riding Hood is a wonderful read aloud with a surprise
twist at the end.
On a personal note, recently in the community garden we encountered a
formidible varmint, a snapping turtle big enough to break fingers with
its reptilian jaws. We used a shovel to very carefully relocate. I
named it Bruce Poliquin after this part of Maine's congressional
representative. Both have a tendency to pull their heads in when
there's information they don't want to know. Both snap out at anyone
who stands in their way.
A great big shout out goes out to Emily Cain who is running against
him, her staff and volunteers, and the citizens who will have the good
sense to vote for her in November.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Little Snowplow
The Little Snowplow
Picture book
I went through elementary school tied with another girl for runt
of the litter in my class. There is a tendency for shorties to be
looked down on by taller classmates and seek literary vindication.
Hence the perpetual popularity of The Little Engine That Could. Lora
Koehler's The Little Snowplow is a wonderful new offering along those
lines.
The snowplow is the only lightweight on the municipal machine
crew. In spring, summer, and fall he has to settle for lesser tasks.
As winter blows in, despite his dedicated training, his more massive
vehicle peers are sure he'll never be able to handle the frozen precip.
They might have to eat their words.
On a personal note, the community garden is nearly planted. Soon
we'll start delivering good organic veggies to our low income vintage
citizen friends.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
I went through elementary school tied with another girl for runt
of the litter in my class. There is a tendency for shorties to be
looked down on by taller classmates and seek literary vindication.
Hence the perpetual popularity of The Little Engine That Could. Lora
Koehler's The Little Snowplow is a wonderful new offering along those
lines.
The snowplow is the only lightweight on the municipal machine
crew. In spring, summer, and fall he has to settle for lesser tasks.
As winter blows in, despite his dedicated training, his more massive
vehicle peers are sure he'll never be able to handle the frozen precip.
They might have to eat their words.
On a personal note, the community garden is nearly planted. Soon
we'll start delivering good organic veggies to our low income vintage
citizen friends.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Glow
Glow
Picture book
If you think humans are the only beings who can shimmer and
shine, you could not be more wrong. W. H. Beck's Glow: Animals with
Their Own Night-Lights introduces us to a world of creatures we
couldn't hold a candle to. Some, like the anglefish, are slightly
grotesque (at least by human standards). Some, like the brittle star,
are surprisingly lovely. They range in size from tiny dinoflagellates
to six feet long gulper eels. Some, like fireflies, are fairly well
known while others, particularly denizens of the deep, have yet to be
discovered.
But all are intriguing. This great introduction to
bioluminescence is child and family friendly and fascinating.
On a personal note, my niece, Maggie, graduated from high school. We
celebrated with a family party.
A great big shout out goes out to the Bangor High School Class of 2016.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
If you think humans are the only beings who can shimmer and
shine, you could not be more wrong. W. H. Beck's Glow: Animals with
Their Own Night-Lights introduces us to a world of creatures we
couldn't hold a candle to. Some, like the anglefish, are slightly
grotesque (at least by human standards). Some, like the brittle star,
are surprisingly lovely. They range in size from tiny dinoflagellates
to six feet long gulper eels. Some, like fireflies, are fairly well
known while others, particularly denizens of the deep, have yet to be
discovered.
But all are intriguing. This great introduction to
bioluminescence is child and family friendly and fascinating.
On a personal note, my niece, Maggie, graduated from high school. We
celebrated with a family party.
A great big shout out goes out to the Bangor High School Class of 2016.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Danitra Brown Leaves Town
Danitra Brown Leaves Town
Picture book
Remember childhood summers? Remember how important friends were
and how a best friend going off on vacation could make life feel drab
and empty? That's the situation Nikki Grimes explores masterfully in
Danitra Brown Leaves Home.
Zuri is upset that her chum, Danitra, is going off to her aunt's
rural home. When Danitra wants her to come see her off, after talking
about her trip all week, that's the last straw for Zuri. She says she
has "better things to do."
When she receives a letter from Danitra Zuni's heart is melted
by six words: "I wish that you were here." For the rest of the book
they exchange letters sharing their experiences. Danitra describes
skies full of stars, tree climbing, gardening, and a family reunion.
Zuni talks about a block party, softball, and fourth of July fireworks.
This delightful book, told in eloquent free verse, is perfect to
share with a child who will be missing a friend or having a not so
good summer for any reason.
On a personal note, for about six months I have been greatly enjoying
having a real pen pal. My heart leaps in anticipation when I see a
letter addressed in her distinct handwriting nestled among the
ubiquitous bills and ads. Ann and I are connected through her son and
my daughter. She lives in the big city of Portland while I'm in the
relative boonies of Penobscot County. With our kids and creative
pursuits (She's an artist and I'm a writer) in common we always have
plenty to write about. I save all her letters in a special box. I'm
going to meet her in person this summer.
A great big shout out goes out to Ann and to all those who take the
time to write real letters to friends and family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Remember childhood summers? Remember how important friends were
and how a best friend going off on vacation could make life feel drab
and empty? That's the situation Nikki Grimes explores masterfully in
Danitra Brown Leaves Home.
Zuri is upset that her chum, Danitra, is going off to her aunt's
rural home. When Danitra wants her to come see her off, after talking
about her trip all week, that's the last straw for Zuri. She says she
has "better things to do."
When she receives a letter from Danitra Zuni's heart is melted
by six words: "I wish that you were here." For the rest of the book
they exchange letters sharing their experiences. Danitra describes
skies full of stars, tree climbing, gardening, and a family reunion.
Zuni talks about a block party, softball, and fourth of July fireworks.
This delightful book, told in eloquent free verse, is perfect to
share with a child who will be missing a friend or having a not so
good summer for any reason.
On a personal note, for about six months I have been greatly enjoying
having a real pen pal. My heart leaps in anticipation when I see a
letter addressed in her distinct handwriting nestled among the
ubiquitous bills and ads. Ann and I are connected through her son and
my daughter. She lives in the big city of Portland while I'm in the
relative boonies of Penobscot County. With our kids and creative
pursuits (She's an artist and I'm a writer) in common we always have
plenty to write about. I save all her letters in a special box. I'm
going to meet her in person this summer.
A great big shout out goes out to Ann and to all those who take the
time to write real letters to friends and family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
One Plastic Bag
One Plastic Bag
Picture book
"People thought I was too young and that women couldn't be
leaders. I took these things as challenges. I didn't call out the
problems--I called out solutions."
Every week the hubby brings home groceries from WalMart in a
slew of plastic bags. Those ubiquitous objects that take about a
gazillion years to biodegrade and endanger wildlife are one of my pet
peeves. I give mine to thrift shops, knowing that's just a short term
solution, and wish someone could find a bigger answer to this global
problem. Needless to say, I was delighted to see Miranda Paul's true
story, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the
Gambia.
At first plastic bags are a harmless seeming novelty in Ceesay's
traditional village. It's not long before they proliferate, tossed to
the ground when they are no longer usable.
"One plastic bag becomes two.
Then ten.
Then a hundred."
After awhile goats who eat the bags begin to die. There is also
pollution from burning plastic.
Ceesay decides something must be done. She collects the bags.
She and her friends find a way to craft them into an attractive and
useful product.
Paul was a volunteer teacher in Gambia in 2003. She was
dismayed by the sight of heaps of garbage seemingly everywhere.
People told her about Ceesay. She was able to meet her in 2007 and
write this wonderful story with a truly happy ending.
"Today, Njau is much cleaner, the goats are healthier, and the
gardens grow better. Residents from nearby towns travel there to
learn the craft of recycling. People from around the world continue
to purchase the recycled plastic purses, and the women contribute some
of their earnings toward an empowerment center where community members
enjoy free health and literacy classes, as well as learn about the
dangers of burning plastic trash."
Imagine that!
One Plastic Bag is not just a book to read and set aside. If
people in a traditional African village can come up with such
innovation, just imagine what our research rich society can achieve.
Parents, youth leaders, and teachers, remember how hands on relevant
projects lead to the most learning? How about encouraging the kids in
your lives to pick out trash problems that bother them and work toward
solutions? A fair to allow them to show case what they come up with?
Connections with colleges, universities, and businesses to enable the
development of viable options? As far as I see it the sky is the limit.
On a personal note, my writing class ended until the fall. I believe
all participants got a lot out of it.
A great big shout out goes out to those who tackle really big
environtal problems.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
"People thought I was too young and that women couldn't be
leaders. I took these things as challenges. I didn't call out the
problems--I called out solutions."
Every week the hubby brings home groceries from WalMart in a
slew of plastic bags. Those ubiquitous objects that take about a
gazillion years to biodegrade and endanger wildlife are one of my pet
peeves. I give mine to thrift shops, knowing that's just a short term
solution, and wish someone could find a bigger answer to this global
problem. Needless to say, I was delighted to see Miranda Paul's true
story, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the
Gambia.
At first plastic bags are a harmless seeming novelty in Ceesay's
traditional village. It's not long before they proliferate, tossed to
the ground when they are no longer usable.
"One plastic bag becomes two.
Then ten.
Then a hundred."
After awhile goats who eat the bags begin to die. There is also
pollution from burning plastic.
Ceesay decides something must be done. She collects the bags.
She and her friends find a way to craft them into an attractive and
useful product.
Paul was a volunteer teacher in Gambia in 2003. She was
dismayed by the sight of heaps of garbage seemingly everywhere.
People told her about Ceesay. She was able to meet her in 2007 and
write this wonderful story with a truly happy ending.
"Today, Njau is much cleaner, the goats are healthier, and the
gardens grow better. Residents from nearby towns travel there to
learn the craft of recycling. People from around the world continue
to purchase the recycled plastic purses, and the women contribute some
of their earnings toward an empowerment center where community members
enjoy free health and literacy classes, as well as learn about the
dangers of burning plastic trash."
Imagine that!
One Plastic Bag is not just a book to read and set aside. If
people in a traditional African village can come up with such
innovation, just imagine what our research rich society can achieve.
Parents, youth leaders, and teachers, remember how hands on relevant
projects lead to the most learning? How about encouraging the kids in
your lives to pick out trash problems that bother them and work toward
solutions? A fair to allow them to show case what they come up with?
Connections with colleges, universities, and businesses to enable the
development of viable options? As far as I see it the sky is the limit.
On a personal note, my writing class ended until the fall. I believe
all participants got a lot out of it.
A great big shout out goes out to those who tackle really big
environtal problems.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Like A River
Like A River
Juvenile historical fiction
"American history and the Civil War have interested me since
seventh grade. I read every book I could find on the subject. But
several years ago, while visiting the Ohio River Museum in Marietta,
Ohio, I learned about the Sultana disaster for the first time. It was
hard to believe that a steamboat (built in my home city of Cincinatti)
blew up and killed more people than died on the Titanic--and I had
never heard of it!..."
Fortunately for historical fiction addicts (mea culpa) Kathy
Cannon Wiechman did not just tell a few friends about her discovery or
do a little personal fact finding. She put a lot of time into
research including visiting historical sites and attending
reenactments. The result of this labor of love is her Like A River,
one of the finest Civil War novels it has ever been my pleasure to read.
Like A River is the narrative of two characters who plunge quite
early in life into the living Hell of armed combat and come to meet
each other in the struggle for survival.
Leander is the overlooked younger brother in a farming family.
Unlike older bro, Nate, he is constantly criticized, always treated
like a child. When Nate becomes paralyzed, unable to go into combat
against the Rebs, Leander sees his golden opportunity.
"The war effort wasn't what mattered to Leander. Working in the
foundry wasn't something to admire, not like being a soldier in
uniform, a soldier who'd risk his life facing enemy guns. Pa had to
see he was doing a manly thing. Ma, too. And Lila."
Polly had lost her mother when she was born. In the third year
of the war when West Virginia split off from Virginia to join the
union side her father enlisted. When she refused to stay with a woman
who was determined to turn her into a "real lady" Pap, realizing the
futility of trying to change her mind, let her join him disguised as a
boy.
"If a Rebel ball pierced her heart, would they bury her without
looking too close at what lay beneath her uniform?"
Like A River is a perfect summer read for an action plot loving
boy or girl. Perhaps coupling its reading with a visit to a Civil War
reenactment could really help kickstart an interest in history.
On a personal note, after not being reelected to school committee and
having time to think things over I've decided to make a clean break.
More time for family, friends, and interests; being able to live
without public scrutiny; and NO MORE ELECTIONS WITH MY NAME ON THE
BALLOT are some of the great benefits of having completed my tours of
duty. Civilian life feels great.
A great big shout out goes out to the 99 people who voted for me.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile historical fiction
"American history and the Civil War have interested me since
seventh grade. I read every book I could find on the subject. But
several years ago, while visiting the Ohio River Museum in Marietta,
Ohio, I learned about the Sultana disaster for the first time. It was
hard to believe that a steamboat (built in my home city of Cincinatti)
blew up and killed more people than died on the Titanic--and I had
never heard of it!..."
Fortunately for historical fiction addicts (mea culpa) Kathy
Cannon Wiechman did not just tell a few friends about her discovery or
do a little personal fact finding. She put a lot of time into
research including visiting historical sites and attending
reenactments. The result of this labor of love is her Like A River,
one of the finest Civil War novels it has ever been my pleasure to read.
Like A River is the narrative of two characters who plunge quite
early in life into the living Hell of armed combat and come to meet
each other in the struggle for survival.
Leander is the overlooked younger brother in a farming family.
Unlike older bro, Nate, he is constantly criticized, always treated
like a child. When Nate becomes paralyzed, unable to go into combat
against the Rebs, Leander sees his golden opportunity.
"The war effort wasn't what mattered to Leander. Working in the
foundry wasn't something to admire, not like being a soldier in
uniform, a soldier who'd risk his life facing enemy guns. Pa had to
see he was doing a manly thing. Ma, too. And Lila."
Polly had lost her mother when she was born. In the third year
of the war when West Virginia split off from Virginia to join the
union side her father enlisted. When she refused to stay with a woman
who was determined to turn her into a "real lady" Pap, realizing the
futility of trying to change her mind, let her join him disguised as a
boy.
"If a Rebel ball pierced her heart, would they bury her without
looking too close at what lay beneath her uniform?"
Like A River is a perfect summer read for an action plot loving
boy or girl. Perhaps coupling its reading with a visit to a Civil War
reenactment could really help kickstart an interest in history.
On a personal note, after not being reelected to school committee and
having time to think things over I've decided to make a clean break.
More time for family, friends, and interests; being able to live
without public scrutiny; and NO MORE ELECTIONS WITH MY NAME ON THE
BALLOT are some of the great benefits of having completed my tours of
duty. Civilian life feels great.
A great big shout out goes out to the 99 people who voted for me.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
States And Capitals
States And Capitals
Juvenile non fiction
"I'm snappy, happy, and totally crabby--crab-crazy in fact. I
fish out these clawed critters, sprinkle 'em with Old Bay, and even
crown a Miss Crustacean every year."
Are your memories of learning about the states a little less
than fond? In second grade I had to memorize capitals, major products,
and other information I'd never use in real life and give a report
with a hand made map. Other than not having to memorize, not much had
changed by the time my kids got to primary school.
This is really too bad. States are unique, quirky, and
interesting.
Dan Green's States And Capitals: United We Stand gives a taste
of the rich geographic and cultural diversity our melting pot nation
serves up. Each state and territory gets a two page spread featuring
a personafied map incorporating information (Missouri holds an ice
cream cone), an inset showing its place in the nation, a sparkly
introduction (Maryland is quoted above), and a sizeable helping of
information in both traditional and interesting formats.
Whether a family vacation is on the horizon, a book a child
reads is set in a different state, or curiosity sets in, States And
Capitals is a fine and reasonably priced investment for home, school,
or public library.
On a personal note, back in second grade I was a victim of my own
success. I added three dimensional products like toothpick oil rigs
to my Texas map. As a reward for my innovation I was assigned one of
the left over states there weren't enough kids in the class to cover.
A great big shout out goes out to teachers who can overcome curriculum
standardization to create actual interest in the states.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile non fiction
"I'm snappy, happy, and totally crabby--crab-crazy in fact. I
fish out these clawed critters, sprinkle 'em with Old Bay, and even
crown a Miss Crustacean every year."
Are your memories of learning about the states a little less
than fond? In second grade I had to memorize capitals, major products,
and other information I'd never use in real life and give a report
with a hand made map. Other than not having to memorize, not much had
changed by the time my kids got to primary school.
This is really too bad. States are unique, quirky, and
interesting.
Dan Green's States And Capitals: United We Stand gives a taste
of the rich geographic and cultural diversity our melting pot nation
serves up. Each state and territory gets a two page spread featuring
a personafied map incorporating information (Missouri holds an ice
cream cone), an inset showing its place in the nation, a sparkly
introduction (Maryland is quoted above), and a sizeable helping of
information in both traditional and interesting formats.
Whether a family vacation is on the horizon, a book a child
reads is set in a different state, or curiosity sets in, States And
Capitals is a fine and reasonably priced investment for home, school,
or public library.
On a personal note, back in second grade I was a victim of my own
success. I added three dimensional products like toothpick oil rigs
to my Texas map. As a reward for my innovation I was assigned one of
the left over states there weren't enough kids in the class to cover.
A great big shout out goes out to teachers who can overcome curriculum
standardization to create actual interest in the states.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
No Safe Secret
No Safe Secret
Adult Fiction
One of the most powerful, hard to put down books I have read
this year is Fern Michaels' No Safe Secret. In a gripping narrative
that segues seamlessly between a woman's past and present, it argues
very cogently that secrets one spends decades running away from can
exert a noxious influence for decades and reveal themselves at the
worst possible times.
Molly is a woman lots of folks would envy. She and her dentist
husband have all the accoutrements of success: the fine house, the
pricey clothes, the top of the line cars. What they spend on
entertaining alone is probably more than what many people subsist on.
Then there are the children: twin boy Harvard graduates and a daughter
about to start her college education.
There is, however, a lot of rot beneath the veneer of
perfection. Molly's dentist husband is self centered, demanding
perfection of all around him and punishing for anything less. He is
verbally and physically abusive to her. His first wife died under
suspicious circumstances. Molly's stepsons, following in their dad's
footsteps, are cruel and disrespectful. Her only family ally is
daughter Kristen.
As if things weren't bad enough, an anonymous caller informs
Molly that he knows who she is and what she did in a past she has done
everything possible to put behind her--a past in which she was Maddy
Carmichael, the grossly neglected daughter of a promiscuous drug
addict, and a long awaited prom turned into a night of tragedy and
terror.
No Safe Secret is a must read on two levels. It's a perfectly
paced suspense story. Additionally it emphasizes the scars inflicted
by rape. In a country where a mam can be sentenced to a mere six
months for raping an unconscious woman that is a message we can never
get too much of.
On a personal note, I've found out that there can be a difficult
balancing act when there are secrets that can effect how a parent
feels for decades. You want your kids to understand there are reasons
you have areas of weakness and vulnerability. However, it can be hard
to believe they are ever old enough to know about say a father who was
never capable of parenting putting you in danger and not just once.
A great big shout out to all who, through no fault of their own, have
secrets.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult Fiction
One of the most powerful, hard to put down books I have read
this year is Fern Michaels' No Safe Secret. In a gripping narrative
that segues seamlessly between a woman's past and present, it argues
very cogently that secrets one spends decades running away from can
exert a noxious influence for decades and reveal themselves at the
worst possible times.
Molly is a woman lots of folks would envy. She and her dentist
husband have all the accoutrements of success: the fine house, the
pricey clothes, the top of the line cars. What they spend on
entertaining alone is probably more than what many people subsist on.
Then there are the children: twin boy Harvard graduates and a daughter
about to start her college education.
There is, however, a lot of rot beneath the veneer of
perfection. Molly's dentist husband is self centered, demanding
perfection of all around him and punishing for anything less. He is
verbally and physically abusive to her. His first wife died under
suspicious circumstances. Molly's stepsons, following in their dad's
footsteps, are cruel and disrespectful. Her only family ally is
daughter Kristen.
As if things weren't bad enough, an anonymous caller informs
Molly that he knows who she is and what she did in a past she has done
everything possible to put behind her--a past in which she was Maddy
Carmichael, the grossly neglected daughter of a promiscuous drug
addict, and a long awaited prom turned into a night of tragedy and
terror.
No Safe Secret is a must read on two levels. It's a perfectly
paced suspense story. Additionally it emphasizes the scars inflicted
by rape. In a country where a mam can be sentenced to a mere six
months for raping an unconscious woman that is a message we can never
get too much of.
On a personal note, I've found out that there can be a difficult
balancing act when there are secrets that can effect how a parent
feels for decades. You want your kids to understand there are reasons
you have areas of weakness and vulnerability. However, it can be hard
to believe they are ever old enough to know about say a father who was
never capable of parenting putting you in danger and not just once.
A great big shout out to all who, through no fault of their own, have
secrets.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Unbecoming
Unbecoming
YA fiction
Harper Lee once said it was a good thing her To Kill A
Mockingbird was published when it was because these days it would have
been categorized young adult instead of adult adult. It's amazing how
many of today's most read worthy novels end up on the YA shelves.
Jenny Downham's Unbecoming, the narratives of three generations of
women, is a prime example of this.
Grandmother Mary was the wild child of an impoverished family.
Of two sisters, she was the one who clashed with their dictator
father. She was also the one who received his gifts of contrition.
Oddly enough, despite his suspicions that she would come to no good
end, he favored her over her obedient sister. In his eyes, she was
the one who had fire.
More recently life has not been kind to her. A dementia patient,
she has just lost the devoted boyfriend who kindly and diligently took
care of her. Told she can no longer live in her home anymore, she has
been taken in by family members who don't seem to want her.
Granddaughter Katie is on the cusp of young adulthood, unsure
what she wants to do with her life. The reliable sister of a brother
with disabilities, she resents her mother's taking her and her
sensible future for granted. She'd like to escape to a big city, full
of possibilities where she could reinvent herself and make her own
decisions.
Daughter/mother Caroline is the put upon filling for this
generational sandwich. Out of the blue a mother she hasn't seen in
ages, a very demanding person who frequently escapes and must be
tracked down, has become her responsibility as if working and
parenting was not enough. Social services will not have the decency
to take the older woman off her hands. Old forgotten grievances
fester. To add insult to injury, her daughter seems to be on Mary's
side, adding to the drama instead of taking off some of the pressure.
Told in turn from Mary and Katie's perspectives and alternating
between the present and key moments in the past, Unbecoming explores
family dynamics vividly and realistically. It's a good read not only
for its target demographic, but for the generations parenting and
grandparenting them.
On a personal note, the second UMaine marathon went off without a
hitch. Even Mother Nature cooperated in contrast to last year which
featured pouring rain.
A great big shout out goes out to the runners, my fellow volunteers,
and, of course, Lisa Morin, who was in charge of basically everything.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
Harper Lee once said it was a good thing her To Kill A
Mockingbird was published when it was because these days it would have
been categorized young adult instead of adult adult. It's amazing how
many of today's most read worthy novels end up on the YA shelves.
Jenny Downham's Unbecoming, the narratives of three generations of
women, is a prime example of this.
Grandmother Mary was the wild child of an impoverished family.
Of two sisters, she was the one who clashed with their dictator
father. She was also the one who received his gifts of contrition.
Oddly enough, despite his suspicions that she would come to no good
end, he favored her over her obedient sister. In his eyes, she was
the one who had fire.
More recently life has not been kind to her. A dementia patient,
she has just lost the devoted boyfriend who kindly and diligently took
care of her. Told she can no longer live in her home anymore, she has
been taken in by family members who don't seem to want her.
Granddaughter Katie is on the cusp of young adulthood, unsure
what she wants to do with her life. The reliable sister of a brother
with disabilities, she resents her mother's taking her and her
sensible future for granted. She'd like to escape to a big city, full
of possibilities where she could reinvent herself and make her own
decisions.
Daughter/mother Caroline is the put upon filling for this
generational sandwich. Out of the blue a mother she hasn't seen in
ages, a very demanding person who frequently escapes and must be
tracked down, has become her responsibility as if working and
parenting was not enough. Social services will not have the decency
to take the older woman off her hands. Old forgotten grievances
fester. To add insult to injury, her daughter seems to be on Mary's
side, adding to the drama instead of taking off some of the pressure.
Told in turn from Mary and Katie's perspectives and alternating
between the present and key moments in the past, Unbecoming explores
family dynamics vividly and realistically. It's a good read not only
for its target demographic, but for the generations parenting and
grandparenting them.
On a personal note, the second UMaine marathon went off without a
hitch. Even Mother Nature cooperated in contrast to last year which
featured pouring rain.
A great big shout out goes out to the runners, my fellow volunteers,
and, of course, Lisa Morin, who was in charge of basically everything.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Hip Hop Speaks to Children
Hip Hop Speaks to Children
Juvenile poetry
A lot of youngsters, particularly those who have not been
exposed to truly inspiring poetry, groan when this genre is assigned
in school. It's too boring, childish, stilted...nothing to do with
them. This can be very frustrating for teachers. How can they kindle
a passion for poems in a very resistant class?
Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat,
edited by Nikki Giovanni, would be a good place for a poetry loving
teacher or parent to start. This book and CD combo enables children
to absorb its message through words, pictures, and sound. Poetry and
music are intimately intertwined and have everything to do with the
life of the people.
Before today's kids (and many of their parents) were born
Gwendolyn Brooks commented on pool players:
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon."
Queen Latifah speaks up for women.
"Ladies first, there's no time to rehearse
I'm divine and my mind expands through the universe
I'm a female rapper with a message to send
The Queen Latifah is a perfect specimen"
Gary Soto describes the joy of making his own musical instruments.
Nikki Giovanni paints a poignant picture of little girls strive toward
adulthood.
"They look so grown up
With that high heel wiggle.
Their pearls are flapping.
Their dresses flow.
They are so sorry
They have no place to go.
Mother refuses to drive them
Anywhere
Looking like that."
You can go through the book front to back or skip around. There
are a wealth of educational activities that will help kids make the
verses meaningful and personal. This is a very good book for a
classroom or family library, especially next April when poetry month
comes around again.
On a personal note, I lost.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who voted for me.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile poetry
A lot of youngsters, particularly those who have not been
exposed to truly inspiring poetry, groan when this genre is assigned
in school. It's too boring, childish, stilted...nothing to do with
them. This can be very frustrating for teachers. How can they kindle
a passion for poems in a very resistant class?
Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat,
edited by Nikki Giovanni, would be a good place for a poetry loving
teacher or parent to start. This book and CD combo enables children
to absorb its message through words, pictures, and sound. Poetry and
music are intimately intertwined and have everything to do with the
life of the people.
Before today's kids (and many of their parents) were born
Gwendolyn Brooks commented on pool players:
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon."
Queen Latifah speaks up for women.
"Ladies first, there's no time to rehearse
I'm divine and my mind expands through the universe
I'm a female rapper with a message to send
The Queen Latifah is a perfect specimen"
Gary Soto describes the joy of making his own musical instruments.
Nikki Giovanni paints a poignant picture of little girls strive toward
adulthood.
"They look so grown up
With that high heel wiggle.
Their pearls are flapping.
Their dresses flow.
They are so sorry
They have no place to go.
Mother refuses to drive them
Anywhere
Looking like that."
You can go through the book front to back or skip around. There
are a wealth of educational activities that will help kids make the
verses meaningful and personal. This is a very good book for a
classroom or family library, especially next April when poetry month
comes around again.
On a personal note, I lost.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who voted for me.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Tortoise And The Soldier
The Tortoise And The Soldier
Juvenile biography
On the battlefield humans have often had the company and help of
four footed or winged beings. Before tanks and other mechanized
vehicles horses bore warriors into combat. Carrier pigeons delivered
vital strategy messages. Dogs did and still do everything from
detecting dangerous devices to providing much needed companionship.
But a tortoise?
Yes, a tortoise. Young Henry Friston survived World War I with
a reptilian roommate (actually shipmate but I never pass up a chance
to alliterate) he named Ali Pasha. Michael Foreman brings us their
incredible story in his The Tortoise And The Soldier: A Story Of
Courage And Friendship In World War I.
As a lad, Friston was mesmerized by the world map on his
schoolroom wall, daydreaming of going to places that even had exotic
names. He left school at thirteen. (Many boys did then.) He became a
deckhand on his fourteenth birthday. When the North Sea became too
small for his daydreams he joined the (British) Royal Navy.
A year after Friston enlisted, now an able seaman and one of the
caretakers of Number Two Gun, war is declared on Germany. Instead of
hauling fish he's shelling and trying to not get shot. His ship heads
out to Belgium and continue on to Gallipoli. Landing--wading through
an ocean full of floating corpses and then dashing for cover--he
becomes a stretcher bearer, bringing the wounded to the beach for
evacuation "with bullets whistling past our ears."
One day, thrown off his feet by the force of an explosion, he is
alone and terrified. Something hard hits him on the head...something
with four stubby legs and a head it can pull into its shell.
"We lie like that for ages, the tortoise and me, side by side.
Somehow having another living, breathing thing next to me in that
crater calmed me right down. The python [fear] relaxed its grip on my
heart, and I was able to imagine myself far away from Gallipolli,
lying in a cornfield back in Carton instead, dozing and waiting for Ma
to call me in for my tea, with the summer sun warming my body."
That was the start of a beautiful friendship...one that lasted
longer than most marriages these days.
The Tortoise And The Soldier beautifully evokes a time before
the Internet and television when a young man could go off to war with
a knowledge of foreign lands limited to grammer school maps, when
contact with home was limited to cherished letters, and when combat
was up close and personal. The pictures, I believe watercolors, are
perfectly suited to the narrative. I would recommend it not only to
the targeted demographics, but to some more vintage folks with war
experience like my friend Paul Lucy who flew a Corsair in World War II.
On a personal note, Artsapalooza is coming up fast. It's an Orono
tradition: a festival of music, writing, and the visual arts. Last
year, my first year as a performer, I read 40 minutes of my poetry.
This year I'm back with Thai Orchid restaurant as a venue. I've gotta
get ready to entrance my audience who deserve nothing but my best.
A great big shout out goes out to the folks who make Artsapalooza
possible.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile biography
On the battlefield humans have often had the company and help of
four footed or winged beings. Before tanks and other mechanized
vehicles horses bore warriors into combat. Carrier pigeons delivered
vital strategy messages. Dogs did and still do everything from
detecting dangerous devices to providing much needed companionship.
But a tortoise?
Yes, a tortoise. Young Henry Friston survived World War I with
a reptilian roommate (actually shipmate but I never pass up a chance
to alliterate) he named Ali Pasha. Michael Foreman brings us their
incredible story in his The Tortoise And The Soldier: A Story Of
Courage And Friendship In World War I.
As a lad, Friston was mesmerized by the world map on his
schoolroom wall, daydreaming of going to places that even had exotic
names. He left school at thirteen. (Many boys did then.) He became a
deckhand on his fourteenth birthday. When the North Sea became too
small for his daydreams he joined the (British) Royal Navy.
A year after Friston enlisted, now an able seaman and one of the
caretakers of Number Two Gun, war is declared on Germany. Instead of
hauling fish he's shelling and trying to not get shot. His ship heads
out to Belgium and continue on to Gallipoli. Landing--wading through
an ocean full of floating corpses and then dashing for cover--he
becomes a stretcher bearer, bringing the wounded to the beach for
evacuation "with bullets whistling past our ears."
One day, thrown off his feet by the force of an explosion, he is
alone and terrified. Something hard hits him on the head...something
with four stubby legs and a head it can pull into its shell.
"We lie like that for ages, the tortoise and me, side by side.
Somehow having another living, breathing thing next to me in that
crater calmed me right down. The python [fear] relaxed its grip on my
heart, and I was able to imagine myself far away from Gallipolli,
lying in a cornfield back in Carton instead, dozing and waiting for Ma
to call me in for my tea, with the summer sun warming my body."
That was the start of a beautiful friendship...one that lasted
longer than most marriages these days.
The Tortoise And The Soldier beautifully evokes a time before
the Internet and television when a young man could go off to war with
a knowledge of foreign lands limited to grammer school maps, when
contact with home was limited to cherished letters, and when combat
was up close and personal. The pictures, I believe watercolors, are
perfectly suited to the narrative. I would recommend it not only to
the targeted demographics, but to some more vintage folks with war
experience like my friend Paul Lucy who flew a Corsair in World War II.
On a personal note, Artsapalooza is coming up fast. It's an Orono
tradition: a festival of music, writing, and the visual arts. Last
year, my first year as a performer, I read 40 minutes of my poetry.
This year I'm back with Thai Orchid restaurant as a venue. I've gotta
get ready to entrance my audience who deserve nothing but my best.
A great big shout out goes out to the folks who make Artsapalooza
possible.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Belzhar
Belzhar
YA fiction
"'...But it's not like you can ask anyone about it now, because
no one who was in that class is still at school. It's mixed grades,
but the last of them graduated or left. I swear, it's like one of
those secret societies.'"
There are five students at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic
boarding high school, who are admitted into a Soecial Topics in
English, the most hard to get into class. On the surface they would
seem to have little or nothing in common. But each has lived through
a tragedy.
*Jam (Jamaica), narrator of Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar, is a cute, sweet
girl, not A list, but not nerd, who fell apart when her British
exchange student boyfriend died.
*Ballerina Sierra, originally from New York, let her beloved little
brother, Andre, get off the bus four blocks from their apartment. He
never came home.
*Rich girl Casey became paralyzed and wheelchair bound when her drunk
mother crashed into a stone wall driving home from a neighbor's house.
*Student council president/debate team captain Marc looked up to his
lawyer father until he found graphic evidence of dad's infidelity.
When he told his mother their family fell apart.
*Hostile seeming farmer's son Griffin carries a hidden psychic scar.
The class lasts just one semester. It revolves around the study
of the writings of Sylvia Plath, a poet who took her own life at an
early age, a sort of strange choice given the setting. In addition to
reading and discussing her work, they are to write in journals they
are given twice a week. Although she will never read them, their
teacher will collect and keep them at the end of the class.
But the old fashioned, red leather covered journals are not like
the random volumes I scribble in daily and adorn with stickers and
pictures. These volumes have very strange magical powers...powers
that may prove dangerous as well as alluring.
Alluring is also the best word to describe Belzhar. The
seamless path from realistic fiction into plausible fantasy
transforms what could otherwise be a more maudlin or didactic work.
The characters are complex and believable. The plot is engaging.
What more can I say?
On a personal note, today is election day in Veazie. After six weeks
of campaigning for reelection to school committee (that has felt like
carrying a 350 lb. gorilla on my back) I will know if I'm still chair
or even on the committee.
A great big shout out goes out to people who have to live with
seemingly insurmountable tragedies in a world where magic journals
don't exist.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"'...But it's not like you can ask anyone about it now, because
no one who was in that class is still at school. It's mixed grades,
but the last of them graduated or left. I swear, it's like one of
those secret societies.'"
There are five students at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic
boarding high school, who are admitted into a Soecial Topics in
English, the most hard to get into class. On the surface they would
seem to have little or nothing in common. But each has lived through
a tragedy.
*Jam (Jamaica), narrator of Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar, is a cute, sweet
girl, not A list, but not nerd, who fell apart when her British
exchange student boyfriend died.
*Ballerina Sierra, originally from New York, let her beloved little
brother, Andre, get off the bus four blocks from their apartment. He
never came home.
*Rich girl Casey became paralyzed and wheelchair bound when her drunk
mother crashed into a stone wall driving home from a neighbor's house.
*Student council president/debate team captain Marc looked up to his
lawyer father until he found graphic evidence of dad's infidelity.
When he told his mother their family fell apart.
*Hostile seeming farmer's son Griffin carries a hidden psychic scar.
The class lasts just one semester. It revolves around the study
of the writings of Sylvia Plath, a poet who took her own life at an
early age, a sort of strange choice given the setting. In addition to
reading and discussing her work, they are to write in journals they
are given twice a week. Although she will never read them, their
teacher will collect and keep them at the end of the class.
But the old fashioned, red leather covered journals are not like
the random volumes I scribble in daily and adorn with stickers and
pictures. These volumes have very strange magical powers...powers
that may prove dangerous as well as alluring.
Alluring is also the best word to describe Belzhar. The
seamless path from realistic fiction into plausible fantasy
transforms what could otherwise be a more maudlin or didactic work.
The characters are complex and believable. The plot is engaging.
What more can I say?
On a personal note, today is election day in Veazie. After six weeks
of campaigning for reelection to school committee (that has felt like
carrying a 350 lb. gorilla on my back) I will know if I'm still chair
or even on the committee.
A great big shout out goes out to people who have to live with
seemingly insurmountable tragedies in a world where magic journals
don't exist.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, June 13, 2016
Searching For Silverheels
Searching For Silverheels
Juvenile historical fiction
Pearl (13), protagonist of Jeannie Mobley's Searching for
Silverheels, has a nemesis. Josie, a vintage suffragist practically
lives in Pearl's family's restaurant where Pearl waits tables and her
mom presides over the kitchen. (Her dad is off mining minerals
essential for the war and her brother is perilously close to draft
age). Besides being all round cantankerous, opinionated, and
unpleasant, Josie gets under Pearl's skin in a number of ways. She
hands out leaflets and preaches on women's right to vote in a way that
Pearl fears will drive away paying customers. She expresses opinions
that some leading town citizens feel are seditious. Criticizing a
president during a world war is not a way to win friends and influence
people in a small western town. She ridicules the ideas about romance
Pearl has gleaned from dime novels and penny dreadfuls and has nothing
to say about the good looking boy Pearl has a crush on.
Pearl's mother indulges in many acts of kindness toward Josie
and insists that Pearl be polite and gracious. It's rude to be
disrespectful to one's elders. Perhaps more importantly, neighbors
take care of one another.
Perhaps their area of most contention is Silverheels, the
legendary gold rush dancer for whom a mountain and the restaurant are
named. Pearl tells tourists a story of a woman, beloved by miners,
who stayed with them to tend to the desperately ill during a smallpox
epidemic and tragically lost the love of her life. Josie sees a
scoundrel and opportunist who used her beauty to manipulate and
steal. If she stuck around during the epidemic it was to cadge the
gold from dead and dying miners.
Eventually things come to a head and they make a wager. If
Pearl proves conclusively that Silverheels was a "sweet angel of
mercy" Josie will stop talking politics in the cafe. If Josie's
version of the story turns out to be true and Silverheels was a "con
and theif" Pearl will have to help her give out handbills for a week.
This novel with its captivating plot is rich in a sense of time
and place. It takes readers back to when women fighting for the right
to vote clashed with proponants of paternalism and patriarchy, young
boys fearing being thrust into combat hid their feelings, fearful of
being ostracized for cowardice, long term neighbors were suddenly
shunned for Germanic ancestry and names, and a rich, influential
family can enforce its every whim on a small town.
On a personal note, once again clean sweep was a total success. It's
a UMaine tradition: a big old yard sale of all the stuff students
leave behind in dorms. It's the yard sale all the other yard sales
wish they were. I was in charge of the clothes room like always.
That's why they always call it Julia's closet. I had fun helping
customers. I had a grand time hanging with the students. Lisa got us
lunch from Family Dog the first day and lunch from Governors and
Blizzards from Dairy Queen the second. In between she had a mini
fridge full of cold drinks. I ended up with lots of good stuff
including to die for clothes and jewelery, pens, household stuff, and
even a minions snow globe. And the journal. Every year I find me at
least one journal.
A great big shout out goes out to the students, the customers, and, of
course, Lisa Morin who kept everything running smoothly and made it
all look easy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile historical fiction
Pearl (13), protagonist of Jeannie Mobley's Searching for
Silverheels, has a nemesis. Josie, a vintage suffragist practically
lives in Pearl's family's restaurant where Pearl waits tables and her
mom presides over the kitchen. (Her dad is off mining minerals
essential for the war and her brother is perilously close to draft
age). Besides being all round cantankerous, opinionated, and
unpleasant, Josie gets under Pearl's skin in a number of ways. She
hands out leaflets and preaches on women's right to vote in a way that
Pearl fears will drive away paying customers. She expresses opinions
that some leading town citizens feel are seditious. Criticizing a
president during a world war is not a way to win friends and influence
people in a small western town. She ridicules the ideas about romance
Pearl has gleaned from dime novels and penny dreadfuls and has nothing
to say about the good looking boy Pearl has a crush on.
Pearl's mother indulges in many acts of kindness toward Josie
and insists that Pearl be polite and gracious. It's rude to be
disrespectful to one's elders. Perhaps more importantly, neighbors
take care of one another.
Perhaps their area of most contention is Silverheels, the
legendary gold rush dancer for whom a mountain and the restaurant are
named. Pearl tells tourists a story of a woman, beloved by miners,
who stayed with them to tend to the desperately ill during a smallpox
epidemic and tragically lost the love of her life. Josie sees a
scoundrel and opportunist who used her beauty to manipulate and
steal. If she stuck around during the epidemic it was to cadge the
gold from dead and dying miners.
Eventually things come to a head and they make a wager. If
Pearl proves conclusively that Silverheels was a "sweet angel of
mercy" Josie will stop talking politics in the cafe. If Josie's
version of the story turns out to be true and Silverheels was a "con
and theif" Pearl will have to help her give out handbills for a week.
This novel with its captivating plot is rich in a sense of time
and place. It takes readers back to when women fighting for the right
to vote clashed with proponants of paternalism and patriarchy, young
boys fearing being thrust into combat hid their feelings, fearful of
being ostracized for cowardice, long term neighbors were suddenly
shunned for Germanic ancestry and names, and a rich, influential
family can enforce its every whim on a small town.
On a personal note, once again clean sweep was a total success. It's
a UMaine tradition: a big old yard sale of all the stuff students
leave behind in dorms. It's the yard sale all the other yard sales
wish they were. I was in charge of the clothes room like always.
That's why they always call it Julia's closet. I had fun helping
customers. I had a grand time hanging with the students. Lisa got us
lunch from Family Dog the first day and lunch from Governors and
Blizzards from Dairy Queen the second. In between she had a mini
fridge full of cold drinks. I ended up with lots of good stuff
including to die for clothes and jewelery, pens, household stuff, and
even a minions snow globe. And the journal. Every year I find me at
least one journal.
A great big shout out goes out to the students, the customers, and, of
course, Lisa Morin who kept everything running smoothly and made it
all look easy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, June 11, 2016
The True American
The True American
Adult nonfiction
Mark Stroman, a native Texan, was one of the US citizens a new
economy was leaving way behind. Outsourcing to third world countries
and mechanization left fewer and fewer decent jobs for white men with
rap sheets and without much education. In his mind people from other
countries, minorities, and women were getting all the breaks. "...the
old equations that had made it mean something to be white and a man,
no matter how trifling a white man you were, no longer really
computed." A warrior, he chafed at the lack of a tangible enemy to
fight until 9/11 left him eager to defend his nation under siege.
Rais (Rassudin) Bhuiyan seemed to symbolize those Stroman saw as
hijacking his country, killing the American dream. A native of
Bangladesh, a former Air Force man with an elite education, he had
come to America, convinced that, unlike his nation of birth, it would
hold unlimited opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and not
give up. In 2001 he worked in a convenience store in a poor
neighborhood. He was sure this was not forever. Entry into
electronics would give him and his fiancée the keys to a decent middle
class life.
As described vividly in Anand Giridharadas' The True American:
Murder and Mercy in Texas, the two met tragically September 21, 2001.
Bhuiyan was working the cash register solo. Stroman walked in with a
gun pointed at his head. Encountering a man who looked like "one of
them," he fired it. Bhuiyan lived, seriously injured, determined to
overcome that adversity and achieve his dream.
Ten years later the two men's lives came together under very
unexpected conditions. Stroman was on death row, appeals nearly
exhausted, his window of opportunity for life quickly shrinking.
Despite his suffering caused by Stroman, Bhuiyan was doing his best to
prevent the State of Texas from carrying out the execution.
The True American is one of The New York Times Book Review's 100
Notable Books for 2014...for very good reason. It goes way beyond a
darkly chilling but fascinating narrative. Giridharas has delved
deeply into the backgrounds, thoughts, and feelings of both men and
their significant others and the nation in which their drama played
out. It shows how the devolution of the American dream for many
native born and the quickly growing gap between the rich and the rest
of us may lead to an awful lot more desperation born violence at the
hands of those who feel that they have no other option.
On a personal note, recently I learned that I have done 736 posts in
under five years. Of course, since some contain several books that
makes over 750 I have read and reviewed. Am I a library geek? If I
get accepted into the masters program of my dreams with a teaching
assistantship that will drastically cut into my reading time. So
let's see if I can hit 1,000 before than.
A great big shout goes out to all like Rais who strive for peace and
understanding and a society where both immigrant and native born have
a fair chance to achieve a decent life.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
Mark Stroman, a native Texan, was one of the US citizens a new
economy was leaving way behind. Outsourcing to third world countries
and mechanization left fewer and fewer decent jobs for white men with
rap sheets and without much education. In his mind people from other
countries, minorities, and women were getting all the breaks. "...the
old equations that had made it mean something to be white and a man,
no matter how trifling a white man you were, no longer really
computed." A warrior, he chafed at the lack of a tangible enemy to
fight until 9/11 left him eager to defend his nation under siege.
Rais (Rassudin) Bhuiyan seemed to symbolize those Stroman saw as
hijacking his country, killing the American dream. A native of
Bangladesh, a former Air Force man with an elite education, he had
come to America, convinced that, unlike his nation of birth, it would
hold unlimited opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and not
give up. In 2001 he worked in a convenience store in a poor
neighborhood. He was sure this was not forever. Entry into
electronics would give him and his fiancée the keys to a decent middle
class life.
As described vividly in Anand Giridharadas' The True American:
Murder and Mercy in Texas, the two met tragically September 21, 2001.
Bhuiyan was working the cash register solo. Stroman walked in with a
gun pointed at his head. Encountering a man who looked like "one of
them," he fired it. Bhuiyan lived, seriously injured, determined to
overcome that adversity and achieve his dream.
Ten years later the two men's lives came together under very
unexpected conditions. Stroman was on death row, appeals nearly
exhausted, his window of opportunity for life quickly shrinking.
Despite his suffering caused by Stroman, Bhuiyan was doing his best to
prevent the State of Texas from carrying out the execution.
The True American is one of The New York Times Book Review's 100
Notable Books for 2014...for very good reason. It goes way beyond a
darkly chilling but fascinating narrative. Giridharas has delved
deeply into the backgrounds, thoughts, and feelings of both men and
their significant others and the nation in which their drama played
out. It shows how the devolution of the American dream for many
native born and the quickly growing gap between the rich and the rest
of us may lead to an awful lot more desperation born violence at the
hands of those who feel that they have no other option.
On a personal note, recently I learned that I have done 736 posts in
under five years. Of course, since some contain several books that
makes over 750 I have read and reviewed. Am I a library geek? If I
get accepted into the masters program of my dreams with a teaching
assistantship that will drastically cut into my reading time. So
let's see if I can hit 1,000 before than.
A great big shout goes out to all like Rais who strive for peace and
understanding and a society where both immigrant and native born have
a fair chance to achieve a decent life.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Adult humor
"And when I see another couple, who seem normal and conventional
and aren't having a loud, recurring argument in the park about whether
Jesus was a zombie, I don't feel envious. I feel contentment and
pride as Victor and I pause our shouting to share a smug, knowing
smile with each other as we pass the baffled couple, who move to give
us room on the sidewalk. Then I lean in to rest my head on Victor's
shoulder as he laughs quietly and lovingly whispers to me, 'Fucking
amateurs.'"
Recall recently I was captivated by Jenny Lawson's Furiously
Happy? I laughed so hard (in the privacy of our own home) my hubby
broke eye contact with his computer screen to give me strange looks.
(And then went back to scanning prices of truck parts. Which I
totally don't get. If I heard someone react to a book that way I would
put everything aside to discover the title). Anyway when I got to the
end I was thrilled to see that Lawson had written a previous book:
Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir).
It lived up beautifully to the promise of its sequel. You
recall Lawson has a surreal life in which a dead raccoon can ride a
live cat in a 2;00 a.m. rodeo and a spousal argument can carry an
allusion to George Washington's dildo? Recall also that she is candid
in describing the challenges of living with mental illness in a world
that just does not get it?
Let's Pretend This Never Happened is based on the same winning
theme with added insight into Lawson's childhood. You will learn how
she;
*stood inside a dead animal;
*had live raccoons in her childhood home;
*had a armadillo racer/professional taxidermist for a father;
*had a childhood pet devoured by homeless people;
And *shared a swimming pool with pigs...
...all in the first twenty pages.
There's one of the most incredible love stories of our time.
Although Larson and Victor came from families that might have dwelt on
different planets, they managed to survive challenging trips to each
others homes, tie the knot, and stay together...
...Despite the many times each wonders what the f word (sorry,
Larson would not have said heck) the other is thinking.
You'll get the inside scoop on Lawson's former career in
(believe it or not) human resources. Penises find their way into even
these pages.
If you enjoyed Furiously Happy you will love Let's Pretend This
Never Happened. If you have read neither, in the words of the hubby,
you don't know what you're missing. There's a remedy for that,
On a personal note, one of the days I was reading the book I came upon
upon a piece by Trish Callahan in the good old Bangor Daily News that
truly resonated with its theme. It contains this insightful
sentence: "For some of us, recovery is about learning to be OK with
being broken and learning to find ways to make our brokenness
beautiful and purposeful." Well I found one way this week. I was
shocked that a guy got only six months for raping an unconscious woman
and that his father said he shouldn't be punished harshly for "twenty
minutes of action". I wrote my own little story about how twenty
minutes of action can lead to decades of suffering. I want to help
people see that rape is a vicious crime (not an oops I did it again)
so it will become as unacceptable as drunk driving. I want a safer
world for my daughters and their peers.
A great big shout goes out to Jenny, Trish, and the many other people
who, like us, are both flawed and fabulous.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult humor
"And when I see another couple, who seem normal and conventional
and aren't having a loud, recurring argument in the park about whether
Jesus was a zombie, I don't feel envious. I feel contentment and
pride as Victor and I pause our shouting to share a smug, knowing
smile with each other as we pass the baffled couple, who move to give
us room on the sidewalk. Then I lean in to rest my head on Victor's
shoulder as he laughs quietly and lovingly whispers to me, 'Fucking
amateurs.'"
Recall recently I was captivated by Jenny Lawson's Furiously
Happy? I laughed so hard (in the privacy of our own home) my hubby
broke eye contact with his computer screen to give me strange looks.
(And then went back to scanning prices of truck parts. Which I
totally don't get. If I heard someone react to a book that way I would
put everything aside to discover the title). Anyway when I got to the
end I was thrilled to see that Lawson had written a previous book:
Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir).
It lived up beautifully to the promise of its sequel. You
recall Lawson has a surreal life in which a dead raccoon can ride a
live cat in a 2;00 a.m. rodeo and a spousal argument can carry an
allusion to George Washington's dildo? Recall also that she is candid
in describing the challenges of living with mental illness in a world
that just does not get it?
Let's Pretend This Never Happened is based on the same winning
theme with added insight into Lawson's childhood. You will learn how
she;
*stood inside a dead animal;
*had live raccoons in her childhood home;
*had a armadillo racer/professional taxidermist for a father;
*had a childhood pet devoured by homeless people;
And *shared a swimming pool with pigs...
...all in the first twenty pages.
There's one of the most incredible love stories of our time.
Although Larson and Victor came from families that might have dwelt on
different planets, they managed to survive challenging trips to each
others homes, tie the knot, and stay together...
...Despite the many times each wonders what the f word (sorry,
Larson would not have said heck) the other is thinking.
You'll get the inside scoop on Lawson's former career in
(believe it or not) human resources. Penises find their way into even
these pages.
If you enjoyed Furiously Happy you will love Let's Pretend This
Never Happened. If you have read neither, in the words of the hubby,
you don't know what you're missing. There's a remedy for that,
On a personal note, one of the days I was reading the book I came upon
upon a piece by Trish Callahan in the good old Bangor Daily News that
truly resonated with its theme. It contains this insightful
sentence: "For some of us, recovery is about learning to be OK with
being broken and learning to find ways to make our brokenness
beautiful and purposeful." Well I found one way this week. I was
shocked that a guy got only six months for raping an unconscious woman
and that his father said he shouldn't be punished harshly for "twenty
minutes of action". I wrote my own little story about how twenty
minutes of action can lead to decades of suffering. I want to help
people see that rape is a vicious crime (not an oops I did it again)
so it will become as unacceptable as drunk driving. I want a safer
world for my daughters and their peers.
A great big shout goes out to Jenny, Trish, and the many other people
who, like us, are both flawed and fabulous.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Girl, Interrupted
Girl, Interrupted
YA or adult autobiography
I first learned about about Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted
as a school committee member a number of years ago. Some parents, I
think down the road in Orono, were very upset that high school
students were being introduced to this book and wanted it pulled or at
least not taught. I don't recall which. Even though Veazie has no
high school, I put reading it on my to do list.
Well you know what happens. Plans get interrupted by life.
Items slide down to do lists until by the time they slip off you don't
really notice. So recently when I discovered the paperback safely
tucked away in the library adult section I finally got around to
checking it out.
Kaysen was eighteen in 1967. She went to see a psychiatrist and
ended up being put in a taxi with the doctor instructing the driver to
drive her to MacLean hospital and not let her out til they get there.
He'd told her she needed a rest for a couple of weeks. She ended up
locked in and drugged for a year and a half.
Stephen King's dystopias don't get much more nightmarish than
that.
That was the sixties...a time when people with or even without
psychological challenges were hospitalized and treated in sometimes
extreme ways. Homosexuality was still a DSM listed mental illness. A
husband could get a frontal lobotomy for a wife who wasn't into
housewifely subserviance and excessive pursuit of brighter than
white. I kid you not.
Kaysen relates her MacLean experiences with candor and
reflection. They seem for the most part like warehousing even she was
in a well reputed (and very expensive) institution. Being seem by
three doctors (ward doctor, resident, therapist), meals, and
medication seem to be the extent of the program. There wasn't even
education for these very young patients. When they were out of
control upset they were locked in tiny windowless rooms. What were
the people in charge thinking?
In my mind Girl, Interrupted is a book high school students
should be encouraged to read. Services have, in my mind, improved for
people with psychological challenges (although there is a lot of
stigma and lack of access for too many people). Society, however,
seems to have merely changed its objects of fear and loathing. We've
had witches, Communists, Japanese just to name a few. Now there are
the poor, particularly those who receive any kind of government
assistance, blacks (school to jail pipelines), and anyone remotely
immigrant or Islamic.
On a personal note, back in May my latest op ed piece came out in the
Bangor Daily News. It was a piece within a piece. Ostensibly it
covered how EITC can not adequately replace welfare. Wrapped around
that was the idea that with the American political system as it is it
would be very hard if not impossible for politicians to do the in
depth work that would result in real solutions to say poverty. My
piece was honored by a cartoon by George Danby. A little Bill Clinton
was running in a hamster wheel. I was thinking, "OMG! He totally got
it!" We are fortunate to have him in the BDN editorial gang.
A great big shout out goes out to George Danby and his son, Nicholas,
Bangor High School Class of 2016, who gave a really fine speech at his
graduation. And also my editor, Matthew Stone who I really enjoy
writing pieces for.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA or adult autobiography
I first learned about about Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted
as a school committee member a number of years ago. Some parents, I
think down the road in Orono, were very upset that high school
students were being introduced to this book and wanted it pulled or at
least not taught. I don't recall which. Even though Veazie has no
high school, I put reading it on my to do list.
Well you know what happens. Plans get interrupted by life.
Items slide down to do lists until by the time they slip off you don't
really notice. So recently when I discovered the paperback safely
tucked away in the library adult section I finally got around to
checking it out.
Kaysen was eighteen in 1967. She went to see a psychiatrist and
ended up being put in a taxi with the doctor instructing the driver to
drive her to MacLean hospital and not let her out til they get there.
He'd told her she needed a rest for a couple of weeks. She ended up
locked in and drugged for a year and a half.
Stephen King's dystopias don't get much more nightmarish than
that.
That was the sixties...a time when people with or even without
psychological challenges were hospitalized and treated in sometimes
extreme ways. Homosexuality was still a DSM listed mental illness. A
husband could get a frontal lobotomy for a wife who wasn't into
housewifely subserviance and excessive pursuit of brighter than
white. I kid you not.
Kaysen relates her MacLean experiences with candor and
reflection. They seem for the most part like warehousing even she was
in a well reputed (and very expensive) institution. Being seem by
three doctors (ward doctor, resident, therapist), meals, and
medication seem to be the extent of the program. There wasn't even
education for these very young patients. When they were out of
control upset they were locked in tiny windowless rooms. What were
the people in charge thinking?
In my mind Girl, Interrupted is a book high school students
should be encouraged to read. Services have, in my mind, improved for
people with psychological challenges (although there is a lot of
stigma and lack of access for too many people). Society, however,
seems to have merely changed its objects of fear and loathing. We've
had witches, Communists, Japanese just to name a few. Now there are
the poor, particularly those who receive any kind of government
assistance, blacks (school to jail pipelines), and anyone remotely
immigrant or Islamic.
On a personal note, back in May my latest op ed piece came out in the
Bangor Daily News. It was a piece within a piece. Ostensibly it
covered how EITC can not adequately replace welfare. Wrapped around
that was the idea that with the American political system as it is it
would be very hard if not impossible for politicians to do the in
depth work that would result in real solutions to say poverty. My
piece was honored by a cartoon by George Danby. A little Bill Clinton
was running in a hamster wheel. I was thinking, "OMG! He totally got
it!" We are fortunate to have him in the BDN editorial gang.
A great big shout out goes out to George Danby and his son, Nicholas,
Bangor High School Class of 2016, who gave a really fine speech at his
graduation. And also my editor, Matthew Stone who I really enjoy
writing pieces for.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
In regard to most recent blog post: oops!!! I forwarded an email to the wrong address. Moral of the story: I should never touch my iPod before my first cup of coffee.
In regard to most recent blog post: oops!!! I forwarded an email to
the wrong address. Moral of the story: I should never touch my iPod
before my first cup of coffee.
Oh, well, could have been a lot worse. :)
Sent from my iPod
the wrong address. Moral of the story: I should never touch my iPod
before my first cup of coffee.
Oh, well, could have been a lot worse. :)
Sent from my iPod
Fwd: Re:
Sent from my iPod
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Sandra L. Oliver" <sandyoliver47@gmail.com>
Date: June 8, 2016 7:49:52 AM EDT
To: Julia Hathaway <beaniebabylover@gmail.com>
Subject: Re:
Good luck with your campaign, Jules. My term as a selectboard member is up June 18--I am debating whether to do another--no campaign, tho, I'd be nominated from the floor.Happy Birthday, Joey. You going to bake the rhubarb cake and put candles on it?cheers - SandyOn Wed, Jun 8, 2016 at 7:00 AM, Julia Hathaway <beaniebabylover@gmail.com> wrote:Now that's a recipe I gotta try!
So how's life treating you?
My biggest thing this week (actually the past 5 weeks) is my reelection campaign. Next week we'll learn whether I'm still Veazie school committee chair.
Today is Joey cat's thirteenth birthday. He is doing very well for a cat who almost died last year. He suggests you celebrate his big day with any culinary indulgence your heart desires.
Best,
jules
PS Happy Oceans Day
Sent from my iPod
--
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
A Thousand Naked Strangers
A Thousand Naked Strangers
Probably Not What You're Thinking
"In a job where it's possible to scoop up a stranger's brain,
it's important to have levity. But after awhile, I lose the ability
to judge which stories to tell my friends and which go beyond the
limits of good taste. Death cracks inside jokes that only we
emergency workers--with our knowledge of the post-mortem human--will
ever laugh at."
September 11, 2001 had a way of changing many people's
priorities. In a nation suddenly at war many people wanted to be
tested. Legions began showing up at military recruiting offices.
Many of Kevin Hazzards friends who had gone to The Citadel with him
were in that line of work. He, however, opted for paramedical
training. Fortunately for readers he documented his journey from EMT
school on through years in his chosen field.
A Thousand Naked Strangers makes for a fascinating narrative.
But I gotta warn you right up front. If graphic descriptions of
blood, gore, and people's brains leaking out onto the pavement make
you spleeny (as we say in Maine) do not pick up the book. Don't even
finishing this review. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Some of those stories you'll hear are about:
*rescuing a person having multiple seizures in a decrepit homeless
shelter where onlookers get it the way and a a minister feels that the
patient needs to be prayed over;
*transporting three high school shooting victims to a hospital and
finding that the quietest and calmest has been shot in the kidney;
*participating in a mandated disaster preparedness in which anything
that could go wrong does;
and *delivering a seemingly still born baby who suddenly acquires a
heart beat.
There is, however, a depth beyond the incidents. Hazzard shares
his thoughts and feelings from the fear of doing the wrong thing at
the beginning of his practice through the ups and downs of working
closely with a partner in unpredictable life or death situations to
the end where he realizes he's burning out. Basically his narrative
is an enthralling adult coming of age story. I'd especially recommend
it to people in the field and their loved ones.
On a personal note Veazie had its first ever candidates' night where
we have three people running for two seats on both school committee
and town council. There were brochures printed up. We had to sit in
front of everyone, give speeches, and answer questions. Then we
mingled, talking to people and eating cookies. The high points for me
were oatmeal raisin cookies and getting to hold and rock a really
young baby.
A great big shout out goes out to all the emergency medical people who
rush into situations most of us would do everything to avoid. You are
rock stars.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Probably Not What You're Thinking
"In a job where it's possible to scoop up a stranger's brain,
it's important to have levity. But after awhile, I lose the ability
to judge which stories to tell my friends and which go beyond the
limits of good taste. Death cracks inside jokes that only we
emergency workers--with our knowledge of the post-mortem human--will
ever laugh at."
September 11, 2001 had a way of changing many people's
priorities. In a nation suddenly at war many people wanted to be
tested. Legions began showing up at military recruiting offices.
Many of Kevin Hazzards friends who had gone to The Citadel with him
were in that line of work. He, however, opted for paramedical
training. Fortunately for readers he documented his journey from EMT
school on through years in his chosen field.
A Thousand Naked Strangers makes for a fascinating narrative.
But I gotta warn you right up front. If graphic descriptions of
blood, gore, and people's brains leaking out onto the pavement make
you spleeny (as we say in Maine) do not pick up the book. Don't even
finishing this review. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Some of those stories you'll hear are about:
*rescuing a person having multiple seizures in a decrepit homeless
shelter where onlookers get it the way and a a minister feels that the
patient needs to be prayed over;
*transporting three high school shooting victims to a hospital and
finding that the quietest and calmest has been shot in the kidney;
*participating in a mandated disaster preparedness in which anything
that could go wrong does;
and *delivering a seemingly still born baby who suddenly acquires a
heart beat.
There is, however, a depth beyond the incidents. Hazzard shares
his thoughts and feelings from the fear of doing the wrong thing at
the beginning of his practice through the ups and downs of working
closely with a partner in unpredictable life or death situations to
the end where he realizes he's burning out. Basically his narrative
is an enthralling adult coming of age story. I'd especially recommend
it to people in the field and their loved ones.
On a personal note Veazie had its first ever candidates' night where
we have three people running for two seats on both school committee
and town council. There were brochures printed up. We had to sit in
front of everyone, give speeches, and answer questions. Then we
mingled, talking to people and eating cookies. The high points for me
were oatmeal raisin cookies and getting to hold and rock a really
young baby.
A great big shout out goes out to all the emergency medical people who
rush into situations most of us would do everything to avoid. You are
rock stars.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Try to imagine a futuristic library designed and bankrolled by a
slightly eccentric gazillionaire game creator. There are a dome that
can be converted into scenes like outer space, 3-D holographic
projection statues, moving ladder contraptions that move patrons to
the shelves their books are located on when they type in the numbers,
an electronic learning center, and so much more. The benefactor is
not a game creator for nothing. The library will become the venue for
real life middle school competition. That is the delightful premise
behind Chris Grabenstein's Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and
Mr. Lemencello's Library Olympics.
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library starts with an essay
contest. The library has just been completed under great secrecy.
There will be a library lock-in where the twelve twelve-year-old
winners will spend the night there before anyone else gets to set foot
in it. There will be games and prizes. One of them is the chance to
star in television commercials for the very popular Lemoncello games.
What the contestants don't know is that one game will test their
ability to get out of the building.
In the equally enchanting sequel it turns out that middle
schoolers from other parts of the country are seeing red. They could
have won the competition if only they'd had a chance. To squelch
accusations of no fairness, an Olympics competition is designed.
Seven regional teams are brought in to compete against the reigning
champions.
There are, however, games going on that aren't seen on the
agenda. Some people who think libraries should be a lot more subdued
and traditional are seeking to sabotage the Olympics. Their goal is
to get Mr. Lemoncello out of the picture and bring the library back to
the 1950s, complete with shushing librarians.
Either book (preferably both) would make a wonderful summer time
read.
On a personal note, recently when I was shelf reading in the
children's room a patron apologized to me for the "mess" a group of
children (including hers) had made. I explained that the kidlets had
given us (staff and volunteers) the ultimate compliment. We had made
the place enticing and welcoming. If everything stayed in place we'd
be heartbroken.
A great big shout out goes out to all people who truly know how to
occupy a library.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Try to imagine a futuristic library designed and bankrolled by a
slightly eccentric gazillionaire game creator. There are a dome that
can be converted into scenes like outer space, 3-D holographic
projection statues, moving ladder contraptions that move patrons to
the shelves their books are located on when they type in the numbers,
an electronic learning center, and so much more. The benefactor is
not a game creator for nothing. The library will become the venue for
real life middle school competition. That is the delightful premise
behind Chris Grabenstein's Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and
Mr. Lemencello's Library Olympics.
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library starts with an essay
contest. The library has just been completed under great secrecy.
There will be a library lock-in where the twelve twelve-year-old
winners will spend the night there before anyone else gets to set foot
in it. There will be games and prizes. One of them is the chance to
star in television commercials for the very popular Lemoncello games.
What the contestants don't know is that one game will test their
ability to get out of the building.
In the equally enchanting sequel it turns out that middle
schoolers from other parts of the country are seeing red. They could
have won the competition if only they'd had a chance. To squelch
accusations of no fairness, an Olympics competition is designed.
Seven regional teams are brought in to compete against the reigning
champions.
There are, however, games going on that aren't seen on the
agenda. Some people who think libraries should be a lot more subdued
and traditional are seeking to sabotage the Olympics. Their goal is
to get Mr. Lemoncello out of the picture and bring the library back to
the 1950s, complete with shushing librarians.
Either book (preferably both) would make a wonderful summer time
read.
On a personal note, recently when I was shelf reading in the
children's room a patron apologized to me for the "mess" a group of
children (including hers) had made. I explained that the kidlets had
given us (staff and volunteers) the ultimate compliment. We had made
the place enticing and welcoming. If everything stayed in place we'd
be heartbroken.
A great big shout out goes out to all people who truly know how to
occupy a library.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Therese Makes A Tapestry
Therese Makes A Tapestry
Picture book
These days what pass for tapestries are pretty much mass
produced, nothing really special. It wasn't always this way. In the
seventeenth century they were painstakingly created from hand spun and
dyed yarn and woven from cartoons created from paintings on complex
looms. Some of these creations were fit for kings. Literally.
Alexandra S. D. Hinrich's Therese Makes A Tapestry takes the reader
back in time to witness this.
Therese's family consists of painters and weavers who create
tapestries for King Louis XIV of France. Therese dreams of someday
working a loom. However, the actual painting and weaving are done by
men. The women do the behind the scenes stuff like spinning.
One day when he returns from traveling with the king and
painting scenes, Therese's father gives her a very special present: a
beautiful painting he has created for her. She wishes that she could
create him something truly special in return for such a precious gift.
What if she could weave this picture into a painting she can
give her father on his next visit home...
...accompanied by the king.
Any girl or woman who has chafed under gender role restrictions
or worked hard to do away with them will love this tale of a spunky
and determined protagonist meeting challenges aplenty in the name of
love.
On a personal note, even picture books set in the past require
extensive research to ensure accuracy. Someday my many journals,
which I shall leave to UMaine, will be treasures for future
researchers and writers. This makes me quite pleased.
A great big shout out goes out to people who create primary sources
and writers who utilize them skillfully in their narratives.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
These days what pass for tapestries are pretty much mass
produced, nothing really special. It wasn't always this way. In the
seventeenth century they were painstakingly created from hand spun and
dyed yarn and woven from cartoons created from paintings on complex
looms. Some of these creations were fit for kings. Literally.
Alexandra S. D. Hinrich's Therese Makes A Tapestry takes the reader
back in time to witness this.
Therese's family consists of painters and weavers who create
tapestries for King Louis XIV of France. Therese dreams of someday
working a loom. However, the actual painting and weaving are done by
men. The women do the behind the scenes stuff like spinning.
One day when he returns from traveling with the king and
painting scenes, Therese's father gives her a very special present: a
beautiful painting he has created for her. She wishes that she could
create him something truly special in return for such a precious gift.
What if she could weave this picture into a painting she can
give her father on his next visit home...
...accompanied by the king.
Any girl or woman who has chafed under gender role restrictions
or worked hard to do away with them will love this tale of a spunky
and determined protagonist meeting challenges aplenty in the name of
love.
On a personal note, even picture books set in the past require
extensive research to ensure accuracy. Someday my many journals,
which I shall leave to UMaine, will be treasures for future
researchers and writers. This makes me quite pleased.
A great big shout out goes out to people who create primary sources
and writers who utilize them skillfully in their narratives.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Places To Look For A Mother
Places To Look For A Mother
"When a picture got taken, what we did was smile. When dried
beans were poured into a pie pan, we glued them onto a paper plate in
the shape of a rooster. Popsickle sticks were chewed, and sleeping
bags could be rolled into neat stools and tied with strings, then
unrolled in front of the TV for watching cartoons. Always, the mom
gave the baths. Always, the dad drove the car."
Many, probably most children are nurtured at least to some
extent, by the parents they are born to or adopted by. Some survive
their early home environments, often at great cost. One example is a
girl who, at eleven, had to not only play mom and dad to disabled
younger siblings, but to extricate their mom from whatever dangerous
predicaments she got herself into. Another is Lucy, narrator of
Nicole Standbury's Places To Look For A Mother.
The narrative begins with a crisis that seems to sum up the
dysfunctionality of Lucy's family. They are en route from California
to Utah. The trailer carrying all their worldly goods, not securely
enough hitched, separates itself from their car and rolls into the
desert. The mother is traumatized over the loss of their belongings
and furious with the dad for insisting on the move. The father tells
her to pull herself together. The girls, Jen and Lucy, try to figure
out what they can do to salvage the situation.
That move is only the first of a number of spur of the moment
relocations, taking the family steadily downward in material comfort
levels. The father, lacking higher education or specialized skills,
tries desperately to provide for the family, often through
entrepreneurial ventures. The mother, who never really adjusts to the
first move, continually reinvents herself in flamboyant ways, much to
the consternation and embarassment of her husband and kids. The kids
struggle to adapt to the constant change foisted upon them and the
obvious differences between their family and everyone else's.
And then the parents are divorced and the mother cohabits with a
series of guys.
A Place To Look For A Mother, besides being a fascinating read,
is a testimony to the experiences many children undergo and the
resilience that enables them to survive them.
On a personal note, Penobscot County is awash in shades of pink and
purple and pure whites as lilacs and other trees and shrubs sport a
wealth of blossoms. The very air is purfumed, which is a delight to
some and torture to those with serious allergies.
A great big shout out goes out to mother nature for all this beauty.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"When a picture got taken, what we did was smile. When dried
beans were poured into a pie pan, we glued them onto a paper plate in
the shape of a rooster. Popsickle sticks were chewed, and sleeping
bags could be rolled into neat stools and tied with strings, then
unrolled in front of the TV for watching cartoons. Always, the mom
gave the baths. Always, the dad drove the car."
Many, probably most children are nurtured at least to some
extent, by the parents they are born to or adopted by. Some survive
their early home environments, often at great cost. One example is a
girl who, at eleven, had to not only play mom and dad to disabled
younger siblings, but to extricate their mom from whatever dangerous
predicaments she got herself into. Another is Lucy, narrator of
Nicole Standbury's Places To Look For A Mother.
The narrative begins with a crisis that seems to sum up the
dysfunctionality of Lucy's family. They are en route from California
to Utah. The trailer carrying all their worldly goods, not securely
enough hitched, separates itself from their car and rolls into the
desert. The mother is traumatized over the loss of their belongings
and furious with the dad for insisting on the move. The father tells
her to pull herself together. The girls, Jen and Lucy, try to figure
out what they can do to salvage the situation.
That move is only the first of a number of spur of the moment
relocations, taking the family steadily downward in material comfort
levels. The father, lacking higher education or specialized skills,
tries desperately to provide for the family, often through
entrepreneurial ventures. The mother, who never really adjusts to the
first move, continually reinvents herself in flamboyant ways, much to
the consternation and embarassment of her husband and kids. The kids
struggle to adapt to the constant change foisted upon them and the
obvious differences between their family and everyone else's.
And then the parents are divorced and the mother cohabits with a
series of guys.
A Place To Look For A Mother, besides being a fascinating read,
is a testimony to the experiences many children undergo and the
resilience that enables them to survive them.
On a personal note, Penobscot County is awash in shades of pink and
purple and pure whites as lilacs and other trees and shrubs sport a
wealth of blossoms. The very air is purfumed, which is a delight to
some and torture to those with serious allergies.
A great big shout out goes out to mother nature for all this beauty.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Furiously Happy
Furiously Happy
Adult biography
"Some people might think this 'furiously happy' movement is just
an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of
kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first
because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly
liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would
invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I
speak from personal experience. My husband, Victor, says that 'none'
is the new limit. He should have been clear about that before I
rented all those kangaroos."
If you're looking for a book to smuggle into a church known for
long sermons or a boring board meeting or to peruse in an old school
bibliotheque with actual hushing librarians, you'd do well to leave
Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things to
home. Again and again Lawsons stories will leave you rocking with
loud unhushable laughter and everyone around you sending dirty looks
your way. Even if you are in a dentist's waiting room.
Lawson deals in the surreal. You never know what she will come
up with. My favorite episodes involve taxidermied dead raccoons. You
read me right. She did a number of amusing things with them that her
husband Victor did not appreciate. One day she realized she could
create a rodeo by having them ride her very much alive cats. At 2:00
Victor came down to ask what the Hell was going on. "...I prayed he'd
just go away questioning his sanity, and he did, but probably less
because I'd fooled him and more because he'd married someone who took
secret pictures of cats wearing raccoons in the wee hours of the
morning..."
Some of the other experiences Lawson describes:
*a visit to a diagnostic sleep clinic;
*an arguement with Victor with a reference to George Washington's dildo;
*conversations with her therapist;
*an attempt at marital therapy; and
*close encounters of the (maybe chlamydia carrying) koala kind.
But under the humor there's a lot of sadness and anger. Lawson
lives with clinical depression and anxiety disorder, vaccilating
between functioning and barely being able to get out of bed.
"...Imagine having a disease so overwhelming that your mind causes you
to want to murder yourself. Imagine having a malignant disorder that
no one understands. Imagine having a dangerous affliction that even
you can't control or suppress..."
Only a lot of people won't have to imagine this, especially in a
society where people with psychological challenges are treated far
differently from those with physical diseases. A number of people who
have read this book have been given the comfort of knowing they aren't
the only one. In fact its message has brought people back from the
brink of suicide.
Basically I would recommend Furiously Happy to members of the
human race because it's highly likely that even the most "normal"
member of the species has at least one loved one who deals in challenge.
On a personal note, while some people die of anorexia and others are
cured, a lot of us learn to live with it. I went for a long time
convinced I'd beat the odds. So I felt crushing shame when I'd slip
up. When I acknowledged this might not happen life got easier. I
learned how to recognize situations that could trigger and people who
can help me. Paradoxically I have made it 3 1/2 years (by far my
longest) with healthy weight and attitude toward it.
A great big shout out goes out to the trusted friends who help me when
situations (like being up for reelection) really put me to the test.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult biography
"Some people might think this 'furiously happy' movement is just
an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of
kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first
because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly
liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would
invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I
speak from personal experience. My husband, Victor, says that 'none'
is the new limit. He should have been clear about that before I
rented all those kangaroos."
If you're looking for a book to smuggle into a church known for
long sermons or a boring board meeting or to peruse in an old school
bibliotheque with actual hushing librarians, you'd do well to leave
Jenny Lawson's Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things to
home. Again and again Lawsons stories will leave you rocking with
loud unhushable laughter and everyone around you sending dirty looks
your way. Even if you are in a dentist's waiting room.
Lawson deals in the surreal. You never know what she will come
up with. My favorite episodes involve taxidermied dead raccoons. You
read me right. She did a number of amusing things with them that her
husband Victor did not appreciate. One day she realized she could
create a rodeo by having them ride her very much alive cats. At 2:00
Victor came down to ask what the Hell was going on. "...I prayed he'd
just go away questioning his sanity, and he did, but probably less
because I'd fooled him and more because he'd married someone who took
secret pictures of cats wearing raccoons in the wee hours of the
morning..."
Some of the other experiences Lawson describes:
*a visit to a diagnostic sleep clinic;
*an arguement with Victor with a reference to George Washington's dildo;
*conversations with her therapist;
*an attempt at marital therapy; and
*close encounters of the (maybe chlamydia carrying) koala kind.
But under the humor there's a lot of sadness and anger. Lawson
lives with clinical depression and anxiety disorder, vaccilating
between functioning and barely being able to get out of bed.
"...Imagine having a disease so overwhelming that your mind causes you
to want to murder yourself. Imagine having a malignant disorder that
no one understands. Imagine having a dangerous affliction that even
you can't control or suppress..."
Only a lot of people won't have to imagine this, especially in a
society where people with psychological challenges are treated far
differently from those with physical diseases. A number of people who
have read this book have been given the comfort of knowing they aren't
the only one. In fact its message has brought people back from the
brink of suicide.
Basically I would recommend Furiously Happy to members of the
human race because it's highly likely that even the most "normal"
member of the species has at least one loved one who deals in challenge.
On a personal note, while some people die of anorexia and others are
cured, a lot of us learn to live with it. I went for a long time
convinced I'd beat the odds. So I felt crushing shame when I'd slip
up. When I acknowledged this might not happen life got easier. I
learned how to recognize situations that could trigger and people who
can help me. Paradoxically I have made it 3 1/2 years (by far my
longest) with healthy weight and attitude toward it.
A great big shout out goes out to the trusted friends who help me when
situations (like being up for reelection) really put me to the test.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, June 3, 2016
Life with Mother
Life with Mother
Adult nonfiction
Whoever first said that a picture is worth a thousand words
surely knew what (s)he was talking about. A well taken photograph
conveys nuances of ambiance and feeling and a sense of time and place
it would take paragraphs of description to convey. If you're anything
like me you'd choose the picture format.
Many of us are mothers. Nearly all of us are born to mothers
and depend on them for a sizeable chunk of our lives. There is
something nearly universal about the tenderness and intimacy of mother/
child moments...that awww factor. Life with Mother, put together by
the editors of Life Magazine is an album of such moments. Some of
them include:
*a mom (and cat) watching a very young baby sprawled on a bed;
*a mom and daughter posing (and pouting) draped with identical pearl
necklaces;
*a mom and frilly gowned preschooler dress shopping juxtaposed with
*a mom kissing her daughter on prom night;
*a tour of duty bound mom in combat garb kissing her sleeping baby
goodbye.
It isn't all sweetness and light. On facing pages moms struggle to
get kids through morning and evening routines and you should see the
look on the face of a mom entering her children's trashed bedroom.
I borrow this book from the library just about every year close
to mother's day. It evoke so many memories of my own childhood and
child raising years. If you have raised children or enjoyed a special
relationship with your own mom I think you'll enjoy the book also.
On a personal note my older daughter, Amber, just turned (can you
believe it?) 26. She and her fiancée, Brian, put on a party that was
the total bee's knees. The food was delish. The decorations were
hand crafted and perfect. (You can learn how to make some if you
check out Amber's craft blog http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com)
The family was together. It was truly quality time. The theme was
The Shining, Amber's all time favorite. I got to glam up as a ball
room ghost.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber and Brian, the hosts with the
most. They really know how to throw a party.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
Whoever first said that a picture is worth a thousand words
surely knew what (s)he was talking about. A well taken photograph
conveys nuances of ambiance and feeling and a sense of time and place
it would take paragraphs of description to convey. If you're anything
like me you'd choose the picture format.
Many of us are mothers. Nearly all of us are born to mothers
and depend on them for a sizeable chunk of our lives. There is
something nearly universal about the tenderness and intimacy of mother/
child moments...that awww factor. Life with Mother, put together by
the editors of Life Magazine is an album of such moments. Some of
them include:
*a mom (and cat) watching a very young baby sprawled on a bed;
*a mom and daughter posing (and pouting) draped with identical pearl
necklaces;
*a mom and frilly gowned preschooler dress shopping juxtaposed with
*a mom kissing her daughter on prom night;
*a tour of duty bound mom in combat garb kissing her sleeping baby
goodbye.
It isn't all sweetness and light. On facing pages moms struggle to
get kids through morning and evening routines and you should see the
look on the face of a mom entering her children's trashed bedroom.
I borrow this book from the library just about every year close
to mother's day. It evoke so many memories of my own childhood and
child raising years. If you have raised children or enjoyed a special
relationship with your own mom I think you'll enjoy the book also.
On a personal note my older daughter, Amber, just turned (can you
believe it?) 26. She and her fiancée, Brian, put on a party that was
the total bee's knees. The food was delish. The decorations were
hand crafted and perfect. (You can learn how to make some if you
check out Amber's craft blog http://amberscraftaweek.blogspot.com)
The family was together. It was truly quality time. The theme was
The Shining, Amber's all time favorite. I got to glam up as a ball
room ghost.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber and Brian, the hosts with the
most. They really know how to throw a party.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Iron Rails, Iron Men
Iron Rails, Iron Men
Juvenile nonfiction
"The reporter could only stare in wonder at the scene before
him. Here, on the vast American prairie, hundreds of workmen, with
nothing but miles of grassland in front of them, were laying tracks.
But it was not just the task; it was the way they were doing it, as he
would later state, that filled him with 'amusement, curiosity,' and
above all else, 'profound respect.'"
These days (at least in America) a lot of people think of
railroads as kind of passé. We do have planes. We've even put people
on the moon. It's hard to imagine what a long shot and test of
engineering skills building a transcontinental railroad seemed like
back in the day when going west involved a lengthy and hazerdous trek
by stagecoach. Martin W. Sandler's Iron Rails, Iron Men, And The Race
To Link The Nation: The Story of The Transcontinental Railroad,
richly illustrated with period photographs, is like a time travel back
to those days.
We're going back to a time when it took six months to cross the
USA because over 2/3 of its terrain was only traversed by covered
wagons and horses. A railroad had been suggested as early as 1932.
When this idea was pitched to Congress about ten years later many
office holders claimed such a task to be impossible while others
stated they'd have no part of it unless their states had a piece of
the action. (Sound familiar?)
What caused government to change its collective mind? The same
thing that works today: the prospect of big money. The gold rush
happened in California. Perhaps a railroad would enable the
government to get a piece of the action.
Finally in 1862 President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway
Act. The Central Pacific Railroad and the newly formed Union Pacific
Railroad Company would start at opposite ends of the proposed route
and work toward one another. In addition to money they were able to
gain large amounts of land they could sell to settlers. In doing
this, Lincoln set the stage for a collosal rivalry.
Iron Rails, Iron Men tells this saga in an intimate, detailed
fashion. Switching between the two companies, it tells of the
challenges they faced and the ways in which they met them. Colorful
sidebars give the life histories of some of the most important people
in this narrative.
Fortunately the darker side of this progress is also revealed.
Dangerous working claimed many lives. Racial prejudice was alive and
well. And acts such as the widespread slaughter of the buffalo had a
devastating effect on our nation's original inhabitants.
"The coming of the railroad would leave the world of the West
forever changed. It would bring more and more European-American
settlers to the plains, resulting in forced removals, bloodshed, legal
battles, and, ultimately, the destruction of the Plains Indians' way
of life."
I'd say this fine book is a must acquire for all school and
public libraries.
On a personal note, my Mothers Day gift from Amber and Brian was a
crafting day at their home. I made two necklaces and worked on a
cross stitch piece while Amber crafted decorations for her upcoming
birthday party. We all had taco soup and homemade bread toast for
lunch. That was for sure quality time.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber and Brian.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"The reporter could only stare in wonder at the scene before
him. Here, on the vast American prairie, hundreds of workmen, with
nothing but miles of grassland in front of them, were laying tracks.
But it was not just the task; it was the way they were doing it, as he
would later state, that filled him with 'amusement, curiosity,' and
above all else, 'profound respect.'"
These days (at least in America) a lot of people think of
railroads as kind of passé. We do have planes. We've even put people
on the moon. It's hard to imagine what a long shot and test of
engineering skills building a transcontinental railroad seemed like
back in the day when going west involved a lengthy and hazerdous trek
by stagecoach. Martin W. Sandler's Iron Rails, Iron Men, And The Race
To Link The Nation: The Story of The Transcontinental Railroad,
richly illustrated with period photographs, is like a time travel back
to those days.
We're going back to a time when it took six months to cross the
USA because over 2/3 of its terrain was only traversed by covered
wagons and horses. A railroad had been suggested as early as 1932.
When this idea was pitched to Congress about ten years later many
office holders claimed such a task to be impossible while others
stated they'd have no part of it unless their states had a piece of
the action. (Sound familiar?)
What caused government to change its collective mind? The same
thing that works today: the prospect of big money. The gold rush
happened in California. Perhaps a railroad would enable the
government to get a piece of the action.
Finally in 1862 President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway
Act. The Central Pacific Railroad and the newly formed Union Pacific
Railroad Company would start at opposite ends of the proposed route
and work toward one another. In addition to money they were able to
gain large amounts of land they could sell to settlers. In doing
this, Lincoln set the stage for a collosal rivalry.
Iron Rails, Iron Men tells this saga in an intimate, detailed
fashion. Switching between the two companies, it tells of the
challenges they faced and the ways in which they met them. Colorful
sidebars give the life histories of some of the most important people
in this narrative.
Fortunately the darker side of this progress is also revealed.
Dangerous working claimed many lives. Racial prejudice was alive and
well. And acts such as the widespread slaughter of the buffalo had a
devastating effect on our nation's original inhabitants.
"The coming of the railroad would leave the world of the West
forever changed. It would bring more and more European-American
settlers to the plains, resulting in forced removals, bloodshed, legal
battles, and, ultimately, the destruction of the Plains Indians' way
of life."
I'd say this fine book is a must acquire for all school and
public libraries.
On a personal note, my Mothers Day gift from Amber and Brian was a
crafting day at their home. I made two necklaces and worked on a
cross stitch piece while Amber crafted decorations for her upcoming
birthday party. We all had taco soup and homemade bread toast for
lunch. That was for sure quality time.
A great big shout out goes out to Amber and Brian.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
101 Things For Kids To Do Outside
101 Things For Kids To Do Outside
Juvenile non fiction
"I could tell you that my family begins every day with a trek
through the woods and ends it by singing songs around a campfire. I
could tell you that but it would be a BIG FAT LIE. And, if you are
that sort of family, why on earth are you sitting around reading this
book? There are bear traps waiting to be set and animal calls to
practice.
Right. Who's left?
This book's for you."
We're on verge of summer vacation for kids grades preK to
twelve. Like the proverbial light at the end of a long tunnel, our
kidlets are seeing the end of classes...much as we did at their age.
Some of us haven't scheduled their every waking moment or made plans
to ship them off to camp til the end of August. A growing number of
us want them to have the chance to make their own fun. Dawn Isaac's
101 Things For Kids To Do Outside is a treasure trove of ideas that
will inspire them to do just that.
Actually the book covers a year, starting off with activities
like planting an alpine colander, and ends in winter with the building
of stuff like snow lanterns. (The few activities that need adult
assistance, like the snow lantern, carry this indication.) Most of the
projects are perfect for the lazy days of summer. Very few require
expensive equipment. An insect net is made from a stick, a wire
clothes hanger, an old pillow case, and that ubiquitous in Maine duct
tape. There is a wide variety of things to do-probably something for
every kid. Among the offerings are:
*flying a home made kite;
*blowing truly giant bubbles;
*making a mini wildlife pond;
*creating a moonlight garden;
*water balloon toss and piñata;
*making a tent out of old sheets and blankets;
And so many more cool ideas for fun times.
Let me tell you something. This book will especially come in
handy when the novelty of vaca has worn off and you start hearing
cries of "I'm boooored. There's nothing to doooo!"
On a personal note, I remember lots of home made fun from my
childhood. Some of that stuff would have turned my mom's hair silver
sooner if she's had a clue. One of my favorite accomplishments was
turning my swing set and mom's victorian looking red velvet living
room curtains into a backyard tent when she decided to bring that room
into the 20th century.
A great big shout out goes out to all adults and kids who go for the
gusto instead of expecting television and electronics to serve up the
entertainment! Party on!!!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile non fiction
"I could tell you that my family begins every day with a trek
through the woods and ends it by singing songs around a campfire. I
could tell you that but it would be a BIG FAT LIE. And, if you are
that sort of family, why on earth are you sitting around reading this
book? There are bear traps waiting to be set and animal calls to
practice.
Right. Who's left?
This book's for you."
We're on verge of summer vacation for kids grades preK to
twelve. Like the proverbial light at the end of a long tunnel, our
kidlets are seeing the end of classes...much as we did at their age.
Some of us haven't scheduled their every waking moment or made plans
to ship them off to camp til the end of August. A growing number of
us want them to have the chance to make their own fun. Dawn Isaac's
101 Things For Kids To Do Outside is a treasure trove of ideas that
will inspire them to do just that.
Actually the book covers a year, starting off with activities
like planting an alpine colander, and ends in winter with the building
of stuff like snow lanterns. (The few activities that need adult
assistance, like the snow lantern, carry this indication.) Most of the
projects are perfect for the lazy days of summer. Very few require
expensive equipment. An insect net is made from a stick, a wire
clothes hanger, an old pillow case, and that ubiquitous in Maine duct
tape. There is a wide variety of things to do-probably something for
every kid. Among the offerings are:
*flying a home made kite;
*blowing truly giant bubbles;
*making a mini wildlife pond;
*creating a moonlight garden;
*water balloon toss and piñata;
*making a tent out of old sheets and blankets;
And so many more cool ideas for fun times.
Let me tell you something. This book will especially come in
handy when the novelty of vaca has worn off and you start hearing
cries of "I'm boooored. There's nothing to doooo!"
On a personal note, I remember lots of home made fun from my
childhood. Some of that stuff would have turned my mom's hair silver
sooner if she's had a clue. One of my favorite accomplishments was
turning my swing set and mom's victorian looking red velvet living
room curtains into a backyard tent when she decided to bring that room
into the 20th century.
A great big shout out goes out to all adults and kids who go for the
gusto instead of expecting television and electronics to serve up the
entertainment! Party on!!!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)