Night of the Moon
Picture book
Most kids adore the special holidays of their faith traditions.
I know in the Decembers of my childhood it seemed like Christmas would
never arrive. Hena Khan's Night of the Moon, an older book very worth
borrowing through inter library loan, combines the universality of
childhood celebration with a lovely introduction to Ramadan and Eid.
Yasmeen's mother shows her that the moon is in its first
crescent. It is the beginning of Ramaden, a month when Muslims old
enough to do so safely fast from sunrise to sundown. Families and
friends celebrate night meals together. There is sharing with the
poor. Finally the month ends with the very festive Eid and Yasmeen
receives a very special gift.
Remember the saying about small pitchers having big ears?
During this election season a lot of kids will hear nasty and
misleading statements about followers of Islam. Books that show the
truth about this ancient faith and its practitioners can go forward to
innoculate then against fear and hatred.
On a personal note, one on the secular Maine traditions is the Common
Ground Fair. This year I was lucky enough to go on a Common Ground
road trip with my Real Food Challenge crew. We explored, checked out
exhibits, ate yummy local food, and had a great time.
A great big shout out goes out to all the fine folks who made the fair
possible.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Big Book Of Why
Big Book Of Why
Juvenile nonfiction
If you're a parent or teacher you will probably agree with me
that why is one of kids' favorite words. Four-year-olds want to know
why the sky is blue. Teens want to know why they have to obey rules
none of their peers have to cope with. In between these points they
begin a myriad of questions with this ubiquitous word.
Which is why a book built around whys (with a bright, eye
catching cover) will fly off the shelves when spotted by youngsters
(and adults like me who never completely grew up).
I mean who doesn't want to know why cats meow or why penguins
can't fly?
Within Time For Kids Big Book Of Why fascinating facts
accompanied by colorful photographs are organized into categories and
subcategories. So I could go to the animal section and find that page
12 is devoted to my favorite beast, felis domesticus, and discover why
cats land on their feet, meow, and hack up hairballs.
Some questions can lead to serious follow up discourse and action:
*Why is composting so good for the planet?
*Why are bees good for flowers?
*Why did the U.S. drop bombs on Japan?
*Why do kids send paper cranes to Japan?
Anyway, if you're lucky enough to have pre high school kids
still to home or you're acquiring books for a public or school library
Time For Kids Big Book Of Why is a great investment. Just don't be
surprised if it also piques your curiosity.
On a personal note, I had the greatest birthday anyone could possibly
have. I spent the day with close friends. I had cakes at
multicultural center and rainbow resource room. And at the dinner at
Wilson Center we had ice cream cones in honor of the occassion.
People sang Happy Birthday and I got to blow out the candle (and make
a wish). Who could ask for more?
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who helped make my birthday
truly special.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
If you're a parent or teacher you will probably agree with me
that why is one of kids' favorite words. Four-year-olds want to know
why the sky is blue. Teens want to know why they have to obey rules
none of their peers have to cope with. In between these points they
begin a myriad of questions with this ubiquitous word.
Which is why a book built around whys (with a bright, eye
catching cover) will fly off the shelves when spotted by youngsters
(and adults like me who never completely grew up).
I mean who doesn't want to know why cats meow or why penguins
can't fly?
Within Time For Kids Big Book Of Why fascinating facts
accompanied by colorful photographs are organized into categories and
subcategories. So I could go to the animal section and find that page
12 is devoted to my favorite beast, felis domesticus, and discover why
cats land on their feet, meow, and hack up hairballs.
Some questions can lead to serious follow up discourse and action:
*Why is composting so good for the planet?
*Why are bees good for flowers?
*Why did the U.S. drop bombs on Japan?
*Why do kids send paper cranes to Japan?
Anyway, if you're lucky enough to have pre high school kids
still to home or you're acquiring books for a public or school library
Time For Kids Big Book Of Why is a great investment. Just don't be
surprised if it also piques your curiosity.
On a personal note, I had the greatest birthday anyone could possibly
have. I spent the day with close friends. I had cakes at
multicultural center and rainbow resource room. And at the dinner at
Wilson Center we had ice cream cones in honor of the occassion.
People sang Happy Birthday and I got to blow out the candle (and make
a wish). Who could ask for more?
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who helped make my birthday
truly special.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Chosen One
The Chosen One
YA fiction
"Here are my father's children.
Adam, 17.
Finn, 16.
Emily, 15.
Nathaniel, 15.
Me, almost 14.
Jackson, 13.
Robert, 13.
Laura, 12.
Thomas, 11.
Margaret, 10.
Candice, 10.
Abe, 9.
April, 8.
Christian, 6.
Meadow, 5.
Marie and Ruth, 4.
Carolina, 3.
Trevor, 2.
Foster, 1.
Mariah, 8 months.
And two more babies on the way."
I know what you're thinking. Impossible. Not where polygamy is
concerned. Carol Lynch Williams' The Chosen One is a fine example of
one of my guilty pleasure favorite subgenres: religious cult dystopias.
Kyra's dad has three wives who he keeps in a near perpetual
state of pregnancy. His three households dwell in a small cluster in
the isolated sect compound. The Prophet and his Apostles (who live in
luxury while the rest of the faithful are poor) make all the
decisions. In a cleansing all books except the Bible were burned.
There is evidence of euthanasia being practiced on the most fragile.
All marriages are arranged and tend to pair off young girls with men
at least old enough to be their fathers.
Kyra has her secrets. She has discovered a book mobile with a
route that passes her compound. Each week she borrows a forbidden
volume, careful to hide it. And she has fallen in love with a young
man who feels the same way about her. She's even had fantasies about
the prophet's death.
Then one day Kyra is forced to make a terrible decision. The
Prophet and his Apostles meet with the combined family to announce
that it is God's will for her to become the seventh wife of Apostle
Hyrum Carlson in a month. If Kyra stays she must be the child bride
of and make babies with her 60 something year old uncle. If she runs
away and manages to escape (some who have tried to flee were shot) she
will never see her beloved family again.
On a personal note, we are in that short part of the year when local
ripe tomatoes abound. Now that we no longer deliver this year, I
collect them from the greenhouse. My husband grows me some also in a
plot beside the house. This year he grew almost brown ones with a
faint chocolate taste.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who grows me tomatoes every
summer even though he does not eat them.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"Here are my father's children.
Adam, 17.
Finn, 16.
Emily, 15.
Nathaniel, 15.
Me, almost 14.
Jackson, 13.
Robert, 13.
Laura, 12.
Thomas, 11.
Margaret, 10.
Candice, 10.
Abe, 9.
April, 8.
Christian, 6.
Meadow, 5.
Marie and Ruth, 4.
Carolina, 3.
Trevor, 2.
Foster, 1.
Mariah, 8 months.
And two more babies on the way."
I know what you're thinking. Impossible. Not where polygamy is
concerned. Carol Lynch Williams' The Chosen One is a fine example of
one of my guilty pleasure favorite subgenres: religious cult dystopias.
Kyra's dad has three wives who he keeps in a near perpetual
state of pregnancy. His three households dwell in a small cluster in
the isolated sect compound. The Prophet and his Apostles (who live in
luxury while the rest of the faithful are poor) make all the
decisions. In a cleansing all books except the Bible were burned.
There is evidence of euthanasia being practiced on the most fragile.
All marriages are arranged and tend to pair off young girls with men
at least old enough to be their fathers.
Kyra has her secrets. She has discovered a book mobile with a
route that passes her compound. Each week she borrows a forbidden
volume, careful to hide it. And she has fallen in love with a young
man who feels the same way about her. She's even had fantasies about
the prophet's death.
Then one day Kyra is forced to make a terrible decision. The
Prophet and his Apostles meet with the combined family to announce
that it is God's will for her to become the seventh wife of Apostle
Hyrum Carlson in a month. If Kyra stays she must be the child bride
of and make babies with her 60 something year old uncle. If she runs
away and manages to escape (some who have tried to flee were shot) she
will never see her beloved family again.
On a personal note, we are in that short part of the year when local
ripe tomatoes abound. Now that we no longer deliver this year, I
collect them from the greenhouse. My husband grows me some also in a
plot beside the house. This year he grew almost brown ones with a
faint chocolate taste.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who grows me tomatoes every
summer even though he does not eat them.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Barefoot Heart
Barefoot Heart
Adult/YA biography
"My whole childhood, I never had a bed. In the one-bedroom
rancho where I was born, my apa suspended a wooden box from the
exposed rafters in the ceiling. My ama made a blanket nest for me in
the box. It hung free in the air over my parents' bed, within reach
of both. If I cried, they would swing the box."
I can't imagine a reader with a heart and soul putting down Elva
Trevino Hart's Barefoot Heart. In her earliest years Hart lacked a
lot more than a bed. Her family, for example, still used an outhouse.
In 1953 Hart's family (she was the youngest of six children)
drove with another family from Texas to Minnesota to become migrant
farmworkers. Her father was excited about what he saw as an
opportunity to get ahead financially. Her mother was frantic at the
prospect of moving six children far away from family and friends for
four or five months. It did not help that when they arrived they
learned that all school-age children (all children but Elva) had to
attend school until it ended in June.
"'...I didn't know they would have to go to school! You told me
to pack light. We brought mostly work clothes! The girls only
brought a couple of dresses to wear in case there was an occasional
day off! How can you expect me to dress five children for a month in
a gringo school when we didn't bring anything!...'"
Hart was in for her own rude awakening. After she had watched
her siblings get on the school bus for the first time she saw three
habit-wearing nuns heading toward her temporary home. They offered to
take the children too young to work in the fields for the summer. She
ended up separated from most of her family except for occassional
visits for months at the age of three.
That was only the first of Hart's families immigrant summers in
Minnesota and Wisconsin. She candidly describes the primitive living
conditions which once included living in a stable, the grueling work,
and the other challenges--financial, physical, and psychological faced
by migrant farm workers in the years her family worked the circuit.
Barefoot is a eye opening and poignant book that would be
worthwhile reading for all of us fortunate enough to live in the same
place year round and enjoy luxeries like indoor plumbing and a bed to
sleep in. Sadly, over half a century later, it is still relevant.
On a personal note, my mentor, Silvestre, gave a talk about his
immigrant experience. It was a real eye opener. He had to leave
school and work full time in the fields to help his family at the age
of eleven. There were years he made the dangerous trip to the United
States where anyone who complained of exploitation could be deported.
When he arrived in Maine he had a sixth grade education and very
little English. Now he has a high position at UMaine and is working
on his masters degree. Silvestre is amazing. He is a hero to me. I
am going to wrote his story in the form of a YA book. Si Dios
quiere. (God willing)
A great big shout goes out to Silvestre for not only succeeding, but
doing so with integrity, kindness, and hope.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult/YA biography
"My whole childhood, I never had a bed. In the one-bedroom
rancho where I was born, my apa suspended a wooden box from the
exposed rafters in the ceiling. My ama made a blanket nest for me in
the box. It hung free in the air over my parents' bed, within reach
of both. If I cried, they would swing the box."
I can't imagine a reader with a heart and soul putting down Elva
Trevino Hart's Barefoot Heart. In her earliest years Hart lacked a
lot more than a bed. Her family, for example, still used an outhouse.
In 1953 Hart's family (she was the youngest of six children)
drove with another family from Texas to Minnesota to become migrant
farmworkers. Her father was excited about what he saw as an
opportunity to get ahead financially. Her mother was frantic at the
prospect of moving six children far away from family and friends for
four or five months. It did not help that when they arrived they
learned that all school-age children (all children but Elva) had to
attend school until it ended in June.
"'...I didn't know they would have to go to school! You told me
to pack light. We brought mostly work clothes! The girls only
brought a couple of dresses to wear in case there was an occasional
day off! How can you expect me to dress five children for a month in
a gringo school when we didn't bring anything!...'"
Hart was in for her own rude awakening. After she had watched
her siblings get on the school bus for the first time she saw three
habit-wearing nuns heading toward her temporary home. They offered to
take the children too young to work in the fields for the summer. She
ended up separated from most of her family except for occassional
visits for months at the age of three.
That was only the first of Hart's families immigrant summers in
Minnesota and Wisconsin. She candidly describes the primitive living
conditions which once included living in a stable, the grueling work,
and the other challenges--financial, physical, and psychological faced
by migrant farm workers in the years her family worked the circuit.
Barefoot is a eye opening and poignant book that would be
worthwhile reading for all of us fortunate enough to live in the same
place year round and enjoy luxeries like indoor plumbing and a bed to
sleep in. Sadly, over half a century later, it is still relevant.
On a personal note, my mentor, Silvestre, gave a talk about his
immigrant experience. It was a real eye opener. He had to leave
school and work full time in the fields to help his family at the age
of eleven. There were years he made the dangerous trip to the United
States where anyone who complained of exploitation could be deported.
When he arrived in Maine he had a sixth grade education and very
little English. Now he has a high position at UMaine and is working
on his masters degree. Silvestre is amazing. He is a hero to me. I
am going to wrote his story in the form of a YA book. Si Dios
quiere. (God willing)
A great big shout goes out to Silvestre for not only succeeding, but
doing so with integrity, kindness, and hope.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
On My Journey Now
On My Journey Now
YA nonfiction
"I do not see a downside to black Americans. All we did was
clear the land, find a way to worship our God, find a way to sing a
song. That song went from the work song, to the spirituals, to
gospel, to blues, to musical theater, to rhythm and blues, to hip-
hop. What is the downside to this story?"
From the time that kidnapped Africans (those who surived the
treacherous ocean voyage) were forced into slavery in America
spirituals helped them to survive and even hope under inhuman living
conditions. Sadly these days few of us grasp their meaning or
significance. Fortunately Nikki Giovanni has studied this subject
extensively. In On My Journey Now she shares her wisdom with readers.
Giovanni beautifully interweaves the words of the songs and the
conditions under which they came into being. She tells us like it was:
"America was looking for very, very, very cheap labor, because
they wanted workers who were even cheaper than indentured servants.
The Africans were taken from their homes, their villages, their
cities. They were chained and lined up, and people who could not keep
up were thrown to the side. So many people dying changed the patterns
of the predators, especially the hyenas, the buzzards, the
scavengers..."
My favorite chapter is the one about the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
When Fisk University was founded in 1866 most of its students were
former slaves. It wasn't very long before hostility on the part of
the KKK and financial hardship threatened to do the school in. A
group of students sacrificed their educations to travel around America
singing to raise money. When they sang popular songs of the day
things did not go well. Fortunately they changed over to the
spirituals that told their stories. That was their key to success.
They even toured Europe and performed for Queen Victoria.
The complete lyrics of all the songs are in the back of the
book. You may be surprised how many you find familiar. When I was
reading it we sang "Let Us Break Bread Together" in my church.
On a personal note, the day before my birthday was the last delivery
day for Orono Community Garden. Once again we had a wonderful run
delivering bags of lovely organic veggies to people who otherwise
couldn't afford to them. In addition to melon and juice we had
cookies to celebrate my birthday early.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA nonfiction
"I do not see a downside to black Americans. All we did was
clear the land, find a way to worship our God, find a way to sing a
song. That song went from the work song, to the spirituals, to
gospel, to blues, to musical theater, to rhythm and blues, to hip-
hop. What is the downside to this story?"
From the time that kidnapped Africans (those who surived the
treacherous ocean voyage) were forced into slavery in America
spirituals helped them to survive and even hope under inhuman living
conditions. Sadly these days few of us grasp their meaning or
significance. Fortunately Nikki Giovanni has studied this subject
extensively. In On My Journey Now she shares her wisdom with readers.
Giovanni beautifully interweaves the words of the songs and the
conditions under which they came into being. She tells us like it was:
"America was looking for very, very, very cheap labor, because
they wanted workers who were even cheaper than indentured servants.
The Africans were taken from their homes, their villages, their
cities. They were chained and lined up, and people who could not keep
up were thrown to the side. So many people dying changed the patterns
of the predators, especially the hyenas, the buzzards, the
scavengers..."
My favorite chapter is the one about the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
When Fisk University was founded in 1866 most of its students were
former slaves. It wasn't very long before hostility on the part of
the KKK and financial hardship threatened to do the school in. A
group of students sacrificed their educations to travel around America
singing to raise money. When they sang popular songs of the day
things did not go well. Fortunately they changed over to the
spirituals that told their stories. That was their key to success.
They even toured Europe and performed for Queen Victoria.
The complete lyrics of all the songs are in the back of the
book. You may be surprised how many you find familiar. When I was
reading it we sang "Let Us Break Bread Together" in my church.
On a personal note, the day before my birthday was the last delivery
day for Orono Community Garden. Once again we had a wonderful run
delivering bags of lovely organic veggies to people who otherwise
couldn't afford to them. In addition to melon and juice we had
cookies to celebrate my birthday early.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
The Slowest Book Ever
The Slowest Book Ever
Juvenile nonfiction
"If you think a table of contents will tell you what is inside
so that you can put down a book and not turn a page you are wrong.
This is a slow book written with snails and sloths in mind.
It may take gumption to read it all the way. But don't worry;
this book was manufactured for sampling. Page flipping and rereading
are enabled, even encouraged on this device. Read it slowly and you
will age."
I don't know about gumption. I wasn't sure what to expect when
I borrowed April Pulley Sayre's The Slowest Book Ever. But when I
read on one of the first pages that some sequia trees started growing
before the births of Christ and Muhammed I was captivated. When I
read a few pages later that caterpillars taught to avoid a certain gas
remembered this as butterflies (even though in the pupa stage there is
a complete body dissolution and rebuilding) I could not put the book
down.
We and our children live in a world where fast is generally
considered best. Fast food. Fast service. Fast information. When it
comes to cognition, however, deep trumps speedy any day. And many
things that take a long time are pretty important. The Slowest Book
Ever presents readers with information such as:
*the long time it takes for synthetic garbage to decompose;
*the reason microorganisms don't move as quickly as they seem to when
they are seen under a microscope;
*the role of magnets in cow digestion;
*the activity brains carry on during sleep;
and *and some of humankind's slowest construction projects.
I'd recommend that kids (and adults) who enjoy interesting new
information to read this book...
...appropriately slowly.
On a personal note, the Ending Violence Together rally and march went
really well. There were lots of groups tabling. I took pictures for
organizers. There were speeches, poetry, and music. I read one of my
poems. We marched around downtown. Finally we had a closing prayer
as we passed around a huge earth beach ball. Everything was perfect
including the weather.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow organizers and participants.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"If you think a table of contents will tell you what is inside
so that you can put down a book and not turn a page you are wrong.
This is a slow book written with snails and sloths in mind.
It may take gumption to read it all the way. But don't worry;
this book was manufactured for sampling. Page flipping and rereading
are enabled, even encouraged on this device. Read it slowly and you
will age."
I don't know about gumption. I wasn't sure what to expect when
I borrowed April Pulley Sayre's The Slowest Book Ever. But when I
read on one of the first pages that some sequia trees started growing
before the births of Christ and Muhammed I was captivated. When I
read a few pages later that caterpillars taught to avoid a certain gas
remembered this as butterflies (even though in the pupa stage there is
a complete body dissolution and rebuilding) I could not put the book
down.
We and our children live in a world where fast is generally
considered best. Fast food. Fast service. Fast information. When it
comes to cognition, however, deep trumps speedy any day. And many
things that take a long time are pretty important. The Slowest Book
Ever presents readers with information such as:
*the long time it takes for synthetic garbage to decompose;
*the reason microorganisms don't move as quickly as they seem to when
they are seen under a microscope;
*the role of magnets in cow digestion;
*the activity brains carry on during sleep;
and *and some of humankind's slowest construction projects.
I'd recommend that kids (and adults) who enjoy interesting new
information to read this book...
...appropriately slowly.
On a personal note, the Ending Violence Together rally and march went
really well. There were lots of groups tabling. I took pictures for
organizers. There were speeches, poetry, and music. I read one of my
poems. We marched around downtown. Finally we had a closing prayer
as we passed around a huge earth beach ball. Everything was perfect
including the weather.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow organizers and participants.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
The Usual Rules
The Usual Rules
YA fiction
"One thing Wendy had learned from carrying on her own normal-
looking behavior for a month now--pushing her tray along the line in
the cafeteria, working on her geometry proofs, buttering her toast:
you never knew who else was doing exactly the same thing--which people
were really okay, and which ones only looked like it, even though they
could just as easily go jump in front of an oncoming subway train as
step inside it for a ride to the next station."
September 10, 2001 Wendy, protagonist of Joyce Maynard's The
Usual Rules, had an argument with her mother. She had wanted to visit
her father in California; her mom had said school was too important.
Wendy had accused her of hating her father and hating her for her
resemblence to him. Like probably all of us at least once she'd
regretted her words. Just her parents were getting on her nerves so
much.
The next morning Wendy didn't get to speak to her mother before
school. The bell between home room and first class didn't ring on
time. A voice on the loudspeaker said there had been sn accident. A
plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers...where
her mother worked.
At first Wendy and her stepfather, Josh, and very young
stepbrother, Louie, held out hope that her mother got out alive or
would be found on time by emergency rescuers. They put up flyers with
her picture. But days turned into weeks with no sign of hope. Then
on Halloween, with Josh out and Louie asleep, Wendy hears a knock on
the door. Her biological father has flown in to take her back to
California.
Not surprisingly, The Usual Rules made the YALSA 10 Best Books
for Young Adults. This poignant coming of age novel perfectly
portrays a young teen in a situation most adult adults would be hard
pressed to cope with.
On a personal note, I was able to help out at a wonderful outdoor
fiesta at UMaine. There was lots of food, wonderful music,
dancing... I helped to serve food. When I noticed no one was taking
pictures I put my new camera to good use. I saw lots of friends and
found a lucky dime for my grad school fund.
A great big shout out goes out to Silvestre and David and all the
others who planned the event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"One thing Wendy had learned from carrying on her own normal-
looking behavior for a month now--pushing her tray along the line in
the cafeteria, working on her geometry proofs, buttering her toast:
you never knew who else was doing exactly the same thing--which people
were really okay, and which ones only looked like it, even though they
could just as easily go jump in front of an oncoming subway train as
step inside it for a ride to the next station."
September 10, 2001 Wendy, protagonist of Joyce Maynard's The
Usual Rules, had an argument with her mother. She had wanted to visit
her father in California; her mom had said school was too important.
Wendy had accused her of hating her father and hating her for her
resemblence to him. Like probably all of us at least once she'd
regretted her words. Just her parents were getting on her nerves so
much.
The next morning Wendy didn't get to speak to her mother before
school. The bell between home room and first class didn't ring on
time. A voice on the loudspeaker said there had been sn accident. A
plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers...where
her mother worked.
At first Wendy and her stepfather, Josh, and very young
stepbrother, Louie, held out hope that her mother got out alive or
would be found on time by emergency rescuers. They put up flyers with
her picture. But days turned into weeks with no sign of hope. Then
on Halloween, with Josh out and Louie asleep, Wendy hears a knock on
the door. Her biological father has flown in to take her back to
California.
Not surprisingly, The Usual Rules made the YALSA 10 Best Books
for Young Adults. This poignant coming of age novel perfectly
portrays a young teen in a situation most adult adults would be hard
pressed to cope with.
On a personal note, I was able to help out at a wonderful outdoor
fiesta at UMaine. There was lots of food, wonderful music,
dancing... I helped to serve food. When I noticed no one was taking
pictures I put my new camera to good use. I saw lots of friends and
found a lucky dime for my grad school fund.
A great big shout out goes out to Silvestre and David and all the
others who planned the event.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, September 26, 2016
The Macho Paradox
The Macho Paradox
Adult nonfiction
"In reality, 'real men' can be very selective about what truths
they are willing to confront. Until recently, men as a group have
been largely AWOL from the fight against gender violence. In one
sense, it is easy to see why. Men's violence against women is a
pervasive social phenomenon with deep roots in existing personal,
social, and institutional arrangements. In order for people to
understand and ultimately work together to prevent it, it is first
necessary for them to engage in a great deal of introspection. This
introspection can be especially threatening to men, because as
perpetrators and bystanders, they are responsible for the bulk of the
problem."
Jackson Katz, author of The Macho Paradox: How Some Men Hurt
Women And How All Men Can Help, has lectured on college campuses about
the pervasiveness of men's violence against women for decades. In one
exercise he asks first men and then women what they do on a daily
basis to protect themselves from being sexually assaulted. The guys,
not surprisingly, usually don't have much to say. Many don't give any
thought to the matter. The women, however, have a litany: "Hold my
keys as a potential weapon. Look in the back seat of the car before
getting in. Carry a cell phone. Don't go jogging at night..."
Katz states his thesis clearly and succinctly at the beginning
of his first chapter: although we are conditioned not to realize
this, violence against women is a men's issue. Men are overwhelmingly
the perpetrators. They also often give tacit consent to micro and
sometimes larger aggressions as silent bystanders. Most men have
important women in their lives who have been victimized or can be in
the future...
...not to mention that without active partnership on the part of
men there will not be an awful lot of progress.
Katz shows us how many conventions of our society make achieving
this partnership to be a real uphill struggle. Language that focuses
on the woman, say in a rape trial, makes the male perpetrator
practically invisible. What was she wearing? Was she sexually
active? Making sexual violence seen as solely caused by individual
pathology ignores the huge role of social customs and gives most guys
a "I don't rape women. Nothing to do with me" free pass.
Not so fast, Katz would say. Even the nice guys who do not
agress against women benefit from the system in much the same way that
non racist Caucasions are unfairly advantaged by white privilege.
Fortunately he discusses a number of ways that men can be enlisted in
the cause.
I think The Macho Paradox is a men's must read.
On a personal note, the week before my birthday I donated blood which
went very well (except that the rest of the day I felt like I'd had a
few beers and I couldn't do much at community garden). The next day,
rested and hydrated back to my usual self, I volunteered at the canteen.
A great big shout goes out to the Red Cross nurses and my fellow donors.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"In reality, 'real men' can be very selective about what truths
they are willing to confront. Until recently, men as a group have
been largely AWOL from the fight against gender violence. In one
sense, it is easy to see why. Men's violence against women is a
pervasive social phenomenon with deep roots in existing personal,
social, and institutional arrangements. In order for people to
understand and ultimately work together to prevent it, it is first
necessary for them to engage in a great deal of introspection. This
introspection can be especially threatening to men, because as
perpetrators and bystanders, they are responsible for the bulk of the
problem."
Jackson Katz, author of The Macho Paradox: How Some Men Hurt
Women And How All Men Can Help, has lectured on college campuses about
the pervasiveness of men's violence against women for decades. In one
exercise he asks first men and then women what they do on a daily
basis to protect themselves from being sexually assaulted. The guys,
not surprisingly, usually don't have much to say. Many don't give any
thought to the matter. The women, however, have a litany: "Hold my
keys as a potential weapon. Look in the back seat of the car before
getting in. Carry a cell phone. Don't go jogging at night..."
Katz states his thesis clearly and succinctly at the beginning
of his first chapter: although we are conditioned not to realize
this, violence against women is a men's issue. Men are overwhelmingly
the perpetrators. They also often give tacit consent to micro and
sometimes larger aggressions as silent bystanders. Most men have
important women in their lives who have been victimized or can be in
the future...
...not to mention that without active partnership on the part of
men there will not be an awful lot of progress.
Katz shows us how many conventions of our society make achieving
this partnership to be a real uphill struggle. Language that focuses
on the woman, say in a rape trial, makes the male perpetrator
practically invisible. What was she wearing? Was she sexually
active? Making sexual violence seen as solely caused by individual
pathology ignores the huge role of social customs and gives most guys
a "I don't rape women. Nothing to do with me" free pass.
Not so fast, Katz would say. Even the nice guys who do not
agress against women benefit from the system in much the same way that
non racist Caucasions are unfairly advantaged by white privilege.
Fortunately he discusses a number of ways that men can be enlisted in
the cause.
I think The Macho Paradox is a men's must read.
On a personal note, the week before my birthday I donated blood which
went very well (except that the rest of the day I felt like I'd had a
few beers and I couldn't do much at community garden). The next day,
rested and hydrated back to my usual self, I volunteered at the canteen.
A great big shout goes out to the Red Cross nurses and my fellow donors.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Every Body's Talking
Every Body's Talking
Picture book
Silvestre is my mentor. I consult him often when I am deciding
whether to do something. When he says yes in words his body language
is congruent. He smiles and makes eye contact. If he said yes while
looking away and narrowing his eyes I would be confused. Have you
ever experienced someone saying one thing (of course I will) verbally
and another one (when Hell freezes over) kinetically? How did that
make you feel?
When we teach our children to communicate we tend to focus on
words. Other than making some gestures, say flipping the bird, taboo,
we tend to skip over the performing and interpreting of nonverbal
clues...even though they carry more weight in everyday discourse.
Donna M. Jackson's Every Body's Talking: What We Say Without Words
gives the evolving intermediate grade child a good introduction to the
topic.
Through a lively discourse illustrated with intriguing
photographs young readers can learn methods for interpreting others'
nonverbal cues. For instance:
*the many messages that can be sent with the eyes alone,
*the complexity of facial expressions,
*possible clues to verbal deception,
and *how interpretation of gestures differs widely between cultures.
There are also helpful hints for overcoming anxieties such as stage
fright.
These days when the ubiquitous social media is often replacing
person to person communication, even for the very young, learning the
nuances of real life social situations is crucial. Every Body's
Talking can be an important part of this education.
On a personal note, I went to a solidarity protest against putting
polluting pipelines through North Dakota sacred tribal land. It was
at the Bangor waterfront. We listened to speeches and drumming. We
took a walk with signs, crossing two bridges. Lots of people honked
in approval. We had some delicious food before we headed home.
A great big shout out goes out to the people fighting to protect their
precious land and water from being ravaged by greedy corporations.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Silvestre is my mentor. I consult him often when I am deciding
whether to do something. When he says yes in words his body language
is congruent. He smiles and makes eye contact. If he said yes while
looking away and narrowing his eyes I would be confused. Have you
ever experienced someone saying one thing (of course I will) verbally
and another one (when Hell freezes over) kinetically? How did that
make you feel?
When we teach our children to communicate we tend to focus on
words. Other than making some gestures, say flipping the bird, taboo,
we tend to skip over the performing and interpreting of nonverbal
clues...even though they carry more weight in everyday discourse.
Donna M. Jackson's Every Body's Talking: What We Say Without Words
gives the evolving intermediate grade child a good introduction to the
topic.
Through a lively discourse illustrated with intriguing
photographs young readers can learn methods for interpreting others'
nonverbal cues. For instance:
*the many messages that can be sent with the eyes alone,
*the complexity of facial expressions,
*possible clues to verbal deception,
and *how interpretation of gestures differs widely between cultures.
There are also helpful hints for overcoming anxieties such as stage
fright.
These days when the ubiquitous social media is often replacing
person to person communication, even for the very young, learning the
nuances of real life social situations is crucial. Every Body's
Talking can be an important part of this education.
On a personal note, I went to a solidarity protest against putting
polluting pipelines through North Dakota sacred tribal land. It was
at the Bangor waterfront. We listened to speeches and drumming. We
took a walk with signs, crossing two bridges. Lots of people honked
in approval. We had some delicious food before we headed home.
A great big shout out goes out to the people fighting to protect their
precious land and water from being ravaged by greedy corporations.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, September 24, 2016
We Are The Ship
We Are The Ship
Juvenile nonfiction
"Makes you mad to hear players today squawk about jet lag, and
all of this. Try sleeping in a car with your knees to your chest,
crammed with eight other guys, only to play a game the next day.
Players today just don't know how bad it could be. We look back and
wonder, 'How did we do all of that?' It's simple. We loved the game
so much, we just looked past everything else. We were ballplayers.
There was nothing we would have rather spent our time doing."
Not surprisingly, when America's favorite sport became really
popular in the 1860s most professional baseball players were white.
The few black players who did get on teams were treated very badly.
And after 1887, following a secret agreement on the part of white
owners, even those few were let go. In order to stay in the game,
blacks had to form leagues of their own. In Kadir Nelson's We Are The
Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball you can read the fascinating
story of a lesser known chapter in sports history. The voice is that
of an unnamed every pitcher. The narrative is built around nine
innings.
Playing in these leagues was not for the faint of heart. On the
field whatever it took to win was the rule of the game. (This was
before they came out with all the safety equipment we take for granted
today). White fans were abusive. Off the field a lot of time was
spent on buses because segregation existed in both South and North.
Restaurants and hotels that would serve blacks were few and far between.
But play they did. We Are The Ship brings those colorful years
and the players who made them memorable to life. Nelson's oil
paintings, based on vintage photographs are amazingly detailed and
animated. They look three dimensional.
On a personal note, when Rogers Farm had a field day I went with my
real food challenge gang. There were all kinds of exhibits and all
kinds of yummy food. I got to puppysit Pat's puppy Rosie. Rosie was
happy to walk with us. (My posse was happy to help). And she cuddled
with me when we sat to listen to fiddle music.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who put on such a
fabulous day.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"Makes you mad to hear players today squawk about jet lag, and
all of this. Try sleeping in a car with your knees to your chest,
crammed with eight other guys, only to play a game the next day.
Players today just don't know how bad it could be. We look back and
wonder, 'How did we do all of that?' It's simple. We loved the game
so much, we just looked past everything else. We were ballplayers.
There was nothing we would have rather spent our time doing."
Not surprisingly, when America's favorite sport became really
popular in the 1860s most professional baseball players were white.
The few black players who did get on teams were treated very badly.
And after 1887, following a secret agreement on the part of white
owners, even those few were let go. In order to stay in the game,
blacks had to form leagues of their own. In Kadir Nelson's We Are The
Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball you can read the fascinating
story of a lesser known chapter in sports history. The voice is that
of an unnamed every pitcher. The narrative is built around nine
innings.
Playing in these leagues was not for the faint of heart. On the
field whatever it took to win was the rule of the game. (This was
before they came out with all the safety equipment we take for granted
today). White fans were abusive. Off the field a lot of time was
spent on buses because segregation existed in both South and North.
Restaurants and hotels that would serve blacks were few and far between.
But play they did. We Are The Ship brings those colorful years
and the players who made them memorable to life. Nelson's oil
paintings, based on vintage photographs are amazingly detailed and
animated. They look three dimensional.
On a personal note, when Rogers Farm had a field day I went with my
real food challenge gang. There were all kinds of exhibits and all
kinds of yummy food. I got to puppysit Pat's puppy Rosie. Rosie was
happy to walk with us. (My posse was happy to help). And she cuddled
with me when we sat to listen to fiddle music.
A great big shout out goes out to the people who put on such a
fabulous day.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Barbed Wire Baseball
Barbed Wire Baseball
Picture book
I believe we're heading toward the World Series. (Keeping
sports seasons straight is not my forte.) However, I know for sure
we're headed toward an election where we could end up seriously
mistreating people of non white ethnicity. Marissa Moss' Barbed Wire
Baseball, the story of the man considered the father of Japanese
American baseball, takes a look at one time America did just that from
a very interesting perspective.
Kenichi Zenimura (Zeni) decided that he wanted to play baseball
the first time he saw a game. Family and friends considered him too
small and frail. His parents considered his passion a waste of time.
They wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer.
As an adult, despite standing five feet tall and tipping the
scales at one hundred pounds, Zeni managed, coached, and played. He
was advancing quite well in his beloved sport when something happened
that was way out of his control.
Pearl Harbor.
As America entered into World War II, the West Coast was
considered in need of protection from enemy spies. Zeni and his wife
and sons were some of the 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent who
were locked up without trials in primitive barracks put in the
desert. He was sure baseball could help to make those barracks home
for their inhabitants. But how in such desolation could he build a
field and get the uniforms and equipment?
I guess you'll have to read the book to see.
On a personal note, we had some jamming at the Wilson Center the
second Wednesday in September. Dylan had his guitar. There were some
pretty awesome drums. The rest of us played simpler instruments. I
was a gypsy dancer with a tambourine. Didn't we make some beautiful
music together!
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
I believe we're heading toward the World Series. (Keeping
sports seasons straight is not my forte.) However, I know for sure
we're headed toward an election where we could end up seriously
mistreating people of non white ethnicity. Marissa Moss' Barbed Wire
Baseball, the story of the man considered the father of Japanese
American baseball, takes a look at one time America did just that from
a very interesting perspective.
Kenichi Zenimura (Zeni) decided that he wanted to play baseball
the first time he saw a game. Family and friends considered him too
small and frail. His parents considered his passion a waste of time.
They wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer.
As an adult, despite standing five feet tall and tipping the
scales at one hundred pounds, Zeni managed, coached, and played. He
was advancing quite well in his beloved sport when something happened
that was way out of his control.
Pearl Harbor.
As America entered into World War II, the West Coast was
considered in need of protection from enemy spies. Zeni and his wife
and sons were some of the 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent who
were locked up without trials in primitive barracks put in the
desert. He was sure baseball could help to make those barracks home
for their inhabitants. But how in such desolation could he build a
field and get the uniforms and equipment?
I guess you'll have to read the book to see.
On a personal note, we had some jamming at the Wilson Center the
second Wednesday in September. Dylan had his guitar. There were some
pretty awesome drums. The rest of us played simpler instruments. I
was a gypsy dancer with a tambourine. Didn't we make some beautiful
music together!
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, September 23, 2016
Guess Who, Haiku
Guess Who, Haiku
Picture book
Most children are fascinated by animals. Most kids enjoy
riddles. In Deana Caswell and Bob Shea's Guess Who, Haiku these
interests are used to introduce young readers to a fascinating style
of Japanese poetry.
The book consists of a series of two page spreads. On the right
hand page is a lively haiku about a critter. The child reader is
encouraged to guess its identity before flipping the page to see a
charming picture of the described creature.
My favorite of the haikus reads as follows:
"full belly purring
whiskers frame milk-scented yawns
beloved stuffed pet"
A ball of yarn at the bottom of the page gives a visual clue. Flip
the page and you see an adorable big eyed kitten.
Guess, Who, Haiku is a wonderful investment for a teacher or
youth group leader. Reading the book is only the start of the fun.
Children can be encouraged, singly or in small groups, to make their
own haiku books and share them with younger kids or present them to
proud parents at an authors tea.
In today's schools, where there is often too much pressure to
teach to the test, too often poetry is left to an age where students
greet its introduction with anything but unmitigated joy. Younger
students who haven't discovered its potential peer uncoolness or
developed caution around self expression and trying new things are in
a great position to make this spirited writing genre their own.
On a personal note, after I went to the customer appreciation day the
farmers market put on I was walking to the bus stop to go home and
work. Only one of my international friends asked if I was coming to
their barbecue. Faced with the choice of good food and friends to
chill with at a lovely riverside location or dishes and laundry I was
only too happy to opt for the former. What a night it was!
A great big shout out to our international students who so enrich the
UMaine community by dwelling among us and sharing their heritages.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Most children are fascinated by animals. Most kids enjoy
riddles. In Deana Caswell and Bob Shea's Guess Who, Haiku these
interests are used to introduce young readers to a fascinating style
of Japanese poetry.
The book consists of a series of two page spreads. On the right
hand page is a lively haiku about a critter. The child reader is
encouraged to guess its identity before flipping the page to see a
charming picture of the described creature.
My favorite of the haikus reads as follows:
"full belly purring
whiskers frame milk-scented yawns
beloved stuffed pet"
A ball of yarn at the bottom of the page gives a visual clue. Flip
the page and you see an adorable big eyed kitten.
Guess, Who, Haiku is a wonderful investment for a teacher or
youth group leader. Reading the book is only the start of the fun.
Children can be encouraged, singly or in small groups, to make their
own haiku books and share them with younger kids or present them to
proud parents at an authors tea.
In today's schools, where there is often too much pressure to
teach to the test, too often poetry is left to an age where students
greet its introduction with anything but unmitigated joy. Younger
students who haven't discovered its potential peer uncoolness or
developed caution around self expression and trying new things are in
a great position to make this spirited writing genre their own.
On a personal note, after I went to the customer appreciation day the
farmers market put on I was walking to the bus stop to go home and
work. Only one of my international friends asked if I was coming to
their barbecue. Faced with the choice of good food and friends to
chill with at a lovely riverside location or dishes and laundry I was
only too happy to opt for the former. What a night it was!
A great big shout out to our international students who so enrich the
UMaine community by dwelling among us and sharing their heritages.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Every Breath We Take
Every Breath We Take
Picture book
When I was a child, although air pollution had entered the
consciousness of at least liberals, people pretty much took that
invisible compound we need for life pretty much for granted. We
surely don't have that luxury any more. Very few, if any, places have
pristine air. Too many of our fellow beings, human and otherwise,
inhale toxic blends of chemicals. We all need to be thinking of air
and how we can repurify it. Maya Ajmera and Dominique Browning's
Every Breath We Take is a powerful way to introduce this subject to
young readers and read aloud listeners.
Quite frankly, the pictures are my favorite part of the book.
An amazingly intricate grasshopper looks sidewise at the reader. A
tiny sprout pokes up through the earth. Hot air balloons ride on the
wind. Baby birds sqwauk to be fed. Lovely multicultural people blow
up balloons, harvest vegetables, fly a kite, blow bubbles, cuddle in a
hammock... The text wraps beautifully around the pictures, explaining
succinctly how air keeps us alive and in touch with many aspects of
our environment.
Buying this fine volume not only enhances your book collection,
but helps a very worthy cause. A portion of proceeds goes to Moms
Clean Air Force. It's a community of people working to get clean air
and climate stability. If this issue matters to you please check out
their website which is listed on the back flap.
On a personal note, my husband spent much of the Labor Day weekend at
his camp. Monday morning I made him a batch of fudge and his favorite
chocolate chip cookies. I was taking them out of the oven when he got
home. We went on a yard saling road trip. At one place I got a
musical snow globe, two coffee mugs, and a cat that miaows when you
press its tummy.
A great big shout out goes out to my husband of 27 years.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
When I was a child, although air pollution had entered the
consciousness of at least liberals, people pretty much took that
invisible compound we need for life pretty much for granted. We
surely don't have that luxury any more. Very few, if any, places have
pristine air. Too many of our fellow beings, human and otherwise,
inhale toxic blends of chemicals. We all need to be thinking of air
and how we can repurify it. Maya Ajmera and Dominique Browning's
Every Breath We Take is a powerful way to introduce this subject to
young readers and read aloud listeners.
Quite frankly, the pictures are my favorite part of the book.
An amazingly intricate grasshopper looks sidewise at the reader. A
tiny sprout pokes up through the earth. Hot air balloons ride on the
wind. Baby birds sqwauk to be fed. Lovely multicultural people blow
up balloons, harvest vegetables, fly a kite, blow bubbles, cuddle in a
hammock... The text wraps beautifully around the pictures, explaining
succinctly how air keeps us alive and in touch with many aspects of
our environment.
Buying this fine volume not only enhances your book collection,
but helps a very worthy cause. A portion of proceeds goes to Moms
Clean Air Force. It's a community of people working to get clean air
and climate stability. If this issue matters to you please check out
their website which is listed on the back flap.
On a personal note, my husband spent much of the Labor Day weekend at
his camp. Monday morning I made him a batch of fudge and his favorite
chocolate chip cookies. I was taking them out of the oven when he got
home. We went on a yard saling road trip. At one place I got a
musical snow globe, two coffee mugs, and a cat that miaows when you
press its tummy.
A great big shout out goes out to my husband of 27 years.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Divorce Is The Worst
Divorce Is The Worst
Juvenile nonfiction
Back in the day when I was guiding my brain damaged sibling
through our parents' messy divorce there was nothing on the library
shelves to help us make sense of parental breakup. By the time I was
raising my own children there were offerings in this subgenre--volumes
that were trite, preachy, didactic...anything but useful in helping
them to understand what was going on in friends' families.
Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to discover Anastasia
Higginbotham's Divorce Is The Worst. Whether a child reads it
independently or discusses it with family, it can help her/him cope
with can truly seem like the worst.
What makes Divorce Is The Worst so exceptional is the perfect
blend of sparse text and evocative pictures. Sentences are succinct
and direct. "You may get angry or feel guilty." "You might cry over
little things." Use of words like may or might acknowledges and
authenticates differences in the ways children perceive and feel. The
art consists of dynamic collages done on brown paper bags with pieces
of all kinds of materials. Everychild's expressions are beautifully
evocative. He/she looks devastated when telling unseen parents "You
promised to be together forever!" and "You broke your promise.". "You
may get angry" features a picture of vividly stormy eyes. A picture
of horses and "They might buy you outrageous gifts" evokes a stunned
expression and "whooa..."
At the end children are reminded that their story is still
theirs even if some parts of their lives are beyond their control and
shown how to use scraps to create their own narratives. Even kids
with parents who stay together.
Divorce Is The Worst is a must acquire for school and public
libraries and savvy guidance counselors. It's also a good investment
for families. Even if you're parenting in a stable, committed
twosome, kids your children care deeply about, say cousins or
classmates, may be members of breaking up households.
Divorce Is The Worst is part of the Ordinary Terrible Things
Series. I promise to check out other books in the series. In fact I
am delighted to discover the publisher, The Feminist Press. They
operate out of City University of New York. I'm going to send away
for their catelog because, dear readers, I have a feeling it will be
the source of more awesome volumes for me to bring to your attention.
What wonderful literary experiences lie ahead of us!!!
On a personal note, I am posting this review on my birthday.* I will
be celebrating for sure. I have baked cakes for my friends in
Multicultural Center and Rainbow Resource Room. I will get to have my
birthday supper with my Wilson Center family. How lucky can a woman
get?
jules hathaway
*Which also happens to be World Peace Day and the birthday of Maine's
own master of horror, Mr. Stephen King.
Minor correction: life got hectic and I'm posting it two days later.
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
Back in the day when I was guiding my brain damaged sibling
through our parents' messy divorce there was nothing on the library
shelves to help us make sense of parental breakup. By the time I was
raising my own children there were offerings in this subgenre--volumes
that were trite, preachy, didactic...anything but useful in helping
them to understand what was going on in friends' families.
Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to discover Anastasia
Higginbotham's Divorce Is The Worst. Whether a child reads it
independently or discusses it with family, it can help her/him cope
with can truly seem like the worst.
What makes Divorce Is The Worst so exceptional is the perfect
blend of sparse text and evocative pictures. Sentences are succinct
and direct. "You may get angry or feel guilty." "You might cry over
little things." Use of words like may or might acknowledges and
authenticates differences in the ways children perceive and feel. The
art consists of dynamic collages done on brown paper bags with pieces
of all kinds of materials. Everychild's expressions are beautifully
evocative. He/she looks devastated when telling unseen parents "You
promised to be together forever!" and "You broke your promise.". "You
may get angry" features a picture of vividly stormy eyes. A picture
of horses and "They might buy you outrageous gifts" evokes a stunned
expression and "whooa..."
At the end children are reminded that their story is still
theirs even if some parts of their lives are beyond their control and
shown how to use scraps to create their own narratives. Even kids
with parents who stay together.
Divorce Is The Worst is a must acquire for school and public
libraries and savvy guidance counselors. It's also a good investment
for families. Even if you're parenting in a stable, committed
twosome, kids your children care deeply about, say cousins or
classmates, may be members of breaking up households.
Divorce Is The Worst is part of the Ordinary Terrible Things
Series. I promise to check out other books in the series. In fact I
am delighted to discover the publisher, The Feminist Press. They
operate out of City University of New York. I'm going to send away
for their catelog because, dear readers, I have a feeling it will be
the source of more awesome volumes for me to bring to your attention.
What wonderful literary experiences lie ahead of us!!!
On a personal note, I am posting this review on my birthday.* I will
be celebrating for sure. I have baked cakes for my friends in
Multicultural Center and Rainbow Resource Room. I will get to have my
birthday supper with my Wilson Center family. How lucky can a woman
get?
jules hathaway
*Which also happens to be World Peace Day and the birthday of Maine's
own master of horror, Mr. Stephen King.
Minor correction: life got hectic and I'm posting it two days later.
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
It's Complicated
It's Complicated
YA nonfiction
I can't remember a time when America has not been ageist, a
place where generations are reduced to shallow stereotypes. I don't
know if the actual amount is increasing or if I'm just rebelling
against the limited expectations for over 50's mindset that seems to
prevail. But reducing beings as complex as humans to lowest common
denoinator is never a good thing. For this reason I was delighted
when I picked Robin Bowman's It's Complicated: The American Teenager
up at the Orono Public Library.
Over the course of four years Bowman traveled 21,731 miles
around the country photographing and interviewing teens. (The
comprehensive 26 question interview script is included). Although she
connected with some subjects through traditional means, she met most
of them as strangers on the street. Through a several step process
she would photograph, collaboratively choose which image to use, and
then ask the questions. All the four-hundred nineteen young people
she interviewed were included--and what a beautiful diversity they
represent: debutant to homeless; atheist to fundamentalist; student,
worker, parent; wide ranges of color, ethnicity, gender and sexual
orientation...
Here are just a few you will meet:
*Elizabeth (17) lived (at the time she was interviewed) on a
small island off the coast of Maine. There were only fifty students
in her high school. Rather than going on to college, she planned to
join her family business: lobstering.
"For work I'm up at five and I'm usually going by five thirty,
six o'clock. We're [she and her father] usually in by two or three.
We have, like, six hundred traps...I usually make like, a hundred
bucks a day. I've been doing this for probably ten years."
Said [15] had fled war torn Somalia. He had to walk for months
to get to Kenya. He arrived in America (Minnesota) during winter with
only shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals.
"But here, when I go to school I see black kids cursing at
Somalians. I see white people hating Native Americans. People hate
you and then you have to hate them back...I don't want to do that. I
want to be friend with everybody. We should all get along."
Aramitha [19] had to raise herself the best she could because
her mother was a drug addict. When she was sixteen she learned that
her boyfriend was cheating on her. She went to the girl's house to
talk to her and ended up shooting her. She lost the baby she was
carrying in prison.
"Killing that girl bothers me a lot. I feel bad and that's
something I'm gonna have to live with every day of my life. I ask God
every day for forgiveness. It's not nothing that I'm proud of, but I
can't change it."
Menucha (19) was born to parents who grew up nonreligious and
returned to their faith after marriage. She fantasized about getting
a law degree and becoming a detective but considered motherhood more
likely. She said that being a Hasidic Jew fulfills her need to find
meaningfulness in life.
"To be Hasidic means basically someone who does more than what
is required from them. The whole religion is geared to keep yourself
separate from non-Jews. Not in a bad way, but simply to protect, to
keep yourself Jewish. You have requirements to fulfill, and you have
things to do, and you can't forget that..."
If you have the good sense to read the book you will learn more
about them and meet four hundred fifteen more unforgettable teens. I
highly recommend it.
On a personal note, I had a great Labor Day weekend. Saturday I met
up with my Real Food Challenge chums at UMaine near the steam plant.
The farmers market people were having their annual customer day. They
put on a feast! Fruits, veggies, salads, shortbread, lobster
rolls...my favorite was the chicken wings. I lost track of how many I
ate. Great food, great company, a perfect day...who could ask for more?
A great big shout out goes to local, ethical, and sustainable farmers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA nonfiction
I can't remember a time when America has not been ageist, a
place where generations are reduced to shallow stereotypes. I don't
know if the actual amount is increasing or if I'm just rebelling
against the limited expectations for over 50's mindset that seems to
prevail. But reducing beings as complex as humans to lowest common
denoinator is never a good thing. For this reason I was delighted
when I picked Robin Bowman's It's Complicated: The American Teenager
up at the Orono Public Library.
Over the course of four years Bowman traveled 21,731 miles
around the country photographing and interviewing teens. (The
comprehensive 26 question interview script is included). Although she
connected with some subjects through traditional means, she met most
of them as strangers on the street. Through a several step process
she would photograph, collaboratively choose which image to use, and
then ask the questions. All the four-hundred nineteen young people
she interviewed were included--and what a beautiful diversity they
represent: debutant to homeless; atheist to fundamentalist; student,
worker, parent; wide ranges of color, ethnicity, gender and sexual
orientation...
Here are just a few you will meet:
*Elizabeth (17) lived (at the time she was interviewed) on a
small island off the coast of Maine. There were only fifty students
in her high school. Rather than going on to college, she planned to
join her family business: lobstering.
"For work I'm up at five and I'm usually going by five thirty,
six o'clock. We're [she and her father] usually in by two or three.
We have, like, six hundred traps...I usually make like, a hundred
bucks a day. I've been doing this for probably ten years."
Said [15] had fled war torn Somalia. He had to walk for months
to get to Kenya. He arrived in America (Minnesota) during winter with
only shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals.
"But here, when I go to school I see black kids cursing at
Somalians. I see white people hating Native Americans. People hate
you and then you have to hate them back...I don't want to do that. I
want to be friend with everybody. We should all get along."
Aramitha [19] had to raise herself the best she could because
her mother was a drug addict. When she was sixteen she learned that
her boyfriend was cheating on her. She went to the girl's house to
talk to her and ended up shooting her. She lost the baby she was
carrying in prison.
"Killing that girl bothers me a lot. I feel bad and that's
something I'm gonna have to live with every day of my life. I ask God
every day for forgiveness. It's not nothing that I'm proud of, but I
can't change it."
Menucha (19) was born to parents who grew up nonreligious and
returned to their faith after marriage. She fantasized about getting
a law degree and becoming a detective but considered motherhood more
likely. She said that being a Hasidic Jew fulfills her need to find
meaningfulness in life.
"To be Hasidic means basically someone who does more than what
is required from them. The whole religion is geared to keep yourself
separate from non-Jews. Not in a bad way, but simply to protect, to
keep yourself Jewish. You have requirements to fulfill, and you have
things to do, and you can't forget that..."
If you have the good sense to read the book you will learn more
about them and meet four hundred fifteen more unforgettable teens. I
highly recommend it.
On a personal note, I had a great Labor Day weekend. Saturday I met
up with my Real Food Challenge chums at UMaine near the steam plant.
The farmers market people were having their annual customer day. They
put on a feast! Fruits, veggies, salads, shortbread, lobster
rolls...my favorite was the chicken wings. I lost track of how many I
ate. Great food, great company, a perfect day...who could ask for more?
A great big shout out goes to local, ethical, and sustainable farmers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Free Verse
Free Verse
Juvenile fiction
"'Harless, this is dispatch, please respond.'
We wait for his voice to come over the air.
'Harless, this is dispatch, come back?'
Come back! I think.
'Dispatch to Harless, please respond.'
He doesn't, and he doesn't, and he doesn't.
'Dispatch to Harless,' the voice on the radio says. 'You are
relieved of your duty. God bless you for your service.'"
As I (and my regular readers) can personally attest, poetry can
become a working out of salvation for people who go through a lot of
trauma and change. It can help glean insight into self and others,
give comfort, create identity, and communicate with others. Sarah
Dooley's Free Verse explores this process beautifully through the
thoughts of an unforgettable protagonist.
Sasha's troubles began when she was only five. Her mother took
off, leaving her coal miner father as sole parent for her older
brother, Michael, and her. Then a mine collapse took their dad's
life. While only eighteen, Michael put his dreams of Navy or college,
of escaping their worn out town, on hold to care for Sasha to the best
of his ability.
[flashback] "I thought of our mother, who ran away, and I linked
my arm through Michael's, suddenly scared he might disappear too. It
wasn't till a long time later, thinking back, that I realized that was
around the time Michael stopped talking about getting himself out of
here. The only escape he talked about anymore was mine."
Sadly Michael died in the line of [fire fighter] duty.
Sasha is having a hard time of it in her foster home. She's
constantly running off. She does destructive things she can't
remember. She finds sessions with the school guidance counselor
pointless. She does her best to save for the escape Michael had
convinced her was essential.
But Sasha has two things going for her. There's the next door
neighbors turn out to be cousins, separated from her closer kin by a
long ago falling out. And there's her newly discovered ability in
poetry and the peer poetry club she is invited to join. The poetry,
however (as I have also discovered) is a mixed blessing.
"Now there are even more words, too many words for me to write
down, bubbling up in my head and through my heart, and I can't make
them stop. I hear patterns of syllables in my head, 5-7-5, and they
are all about loss and death and sadness and men with grimy faces who
leave for work and don't come home. It's like haiku has opened a door
inside me that I'm trying with all my might to shove closed..."
At that point she swears off poetry. Don't worry. It's a
promise she can't keep. Her narrative is authentic and well worth
reading.
On a personal note, now that I have a fire fighter son, I notice
sirens in a way I never did before. I look for the truck(s) to see
the town(s) responding. I have a new fear of losing the young man who
towers over me but will always be my baby to the call of duty. Every
time I read the excerpt I quoted at the beginning of this review I
have tears in my eyes.
A great big shout out goes out to all the firefighters who protect and
serve us.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
"'Harless, this is dispatch, please respond.'
We wait for his voice to come over the air.
'Harless, this is dispatch, come back?'
Come back! I think.
'Dispatch to Harless, please respond.'
He doesn't, and he doesn't, and he doesn't.
'Dispatch to Harless,' the voice on the radio says. 'You are
relieved of your duty. God bless you for your service.'"
As I (and my regular readers) can personally attest, poetry can
become a working out of salvation for people who go through a lot of
trauma and change. It can help glean insight into self and others,
give comfort, create identity, and communicate with others. Sarah
Dooley's Free Verse explores this process beautifully through the
thoughts of an unforgettable protagonist.
Sasha's troubles began when she was only five. Her mother took
off, leaving her coal miner father as sole parent for her older
brother, Michael, and her. Then a mine collapse took their dad's
life. While only eighteen, Michael put his dreams of Navy or college,
of escaping their worn out town, on hold to care for Sasha to the best
of his ability.
[flashback] "I thought of our mother, who ran away, and I linked
my arm through Michael's, suddenly scared he might disappear too. It
wasn't till a long time later, thinking back, that I realized that was
around the time Michael stopped talking about getting himself out of
here. The only escape he talked about anymore was mine."
Sadly Michael died in the line of [fire fighter] duty.
Sasha is having a hard time of it in her foster home. She's
constantly running off. She does destructive things she can't
remember. She finds sessions with the school guidance counselor
pointless. She does her best to save for the escape Michael had
convinced her was essential.
But Sasha has two things going for her. There's the next door
neighbors turn out to be cousins, separated from her closer kin by a
long ago falling out. And there's her newly discovered ability in
poetry and the peer poetry club she is invited to join. The poetry,
however (as I have also discovered) is a mixed blessing.
"Now there are even more words, too many words for me to write
down, bubbling up in my head and through my heart, and I can't make
them stop. I hear patterns of syllables in my head, 5-7-5, and they
are all about loss and death and sadness and men with grimy faces who
leave for work and don't come home. It's like haiku has opened a door
inside me that I'm trying with all my might to shove closed..."
At that point she swears off poetry. Don't worry. It's a
promise she can't keep. Her narrative is authentic and well worth
reading.
On a personal note, now that I have a fire fighter son, I notice
sirens in a way I never did before. I look for the truck(s) to see
the town(s) responding. I have a new fear of losing the young man who
towers over me but will always be my baby to the call of duty. Every
time I read the excerpt I quoted at the beginning of this review I
have tears in my eyes.
A great big shout out goes out to all the firefighters who protect and
serve us.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Their Great Gift
Their Great Gift
Picture book
Immigrants come to the United States from many different
nations. Despite cultural and religious diversity and a wide range or
reasons for making the journey, they experience some universalities.
John Coy and Wing Younh Huie's Their Great Gift explores those deep
similarities.
Sparse text talks about coming from far away because of dreams,
not knowing the language, encountering prejudice, having to work hard
and do without, and pouring all energies into the welfare of one's
children. The pictures steal the show. A mother hugs two daughters.
A family shares a meal. People work in a factory, a restaurant, a
store. They come in a range of colors and ways of dressing.
In an America where political leaders too often score cheap
political points by demonizing newcomers to our nation this is a
beautiful reminder of the courage and determination this journey
requires.
On a personal note, Real Food Challenge had our first meeting of the
school year. We tossed out ideas as we feasted on pizza. We will be
doing a lot of really cool things.
A great big shout out goes out to my RFC gang.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
Immigrants come to the United States from many different
nations. Despite cultural and religious diversity and a wide range or
reasons for making the journey, they experience some universalities.
John Coy and Wing Younh Huie's Their Great Gift explores those deep
similarities.
Sparse text talks about coming from far away because of dreams,
not knowing the language, encountering prejudice, having to work hard
and do without, and pouring all energies into the welfare of one's
children. The pictures steal the show. A mother hugs two daughters.
A family shares a meal. People work in a factory, a restaurant, a
store. They come in a range of colors and ways of dressing.
In an America where political leaders too often score cheap
political points by demonizing newcomers to our nation this is a
beautiful reminder of the courage and determination this journey
requires.
On a personal note, Real Food Challenge had our first meeting of the
school year. We tossed out ideas as we feasted on pizza. We will be
doing a lot of really cool things.
A great big shout out goes out to my RFC gang.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, September 5, 2016
The Land of Forgotten Girls
The Land of Forgotten Girls
Juvenile fiction
"Things I know to be true: Tita Vea married my father so she
could come to the States, and there is nothing magical about that.
And there is nothing magical about Giverny either, even though it's
just outside of New Orleans and people say New Orleans is loud and fun
and vibrant. Giverny must have drained from its gutters."
Soledad, narrator of Erin Entrada Kelly's The Land of Forgotten
Girls, has suffered more loss than many adults. A younger sister died
in an accident she considers her fault. If she had not distracted
their mother, beautiful little Amelia would not have drowned. Not
much later her beloved mother died of cancer. After moving them from
the Philippines to Louisana, her father has abandoned her and her
little sister, Ming, with the woman they consider their evil
stepmother. No one knows when or if he will return.
Soledad and Ming live in a cigarette smelling apartment where
rats run in the walls at night. Vea, resentful of being stuck with
two grieving children, is emotionally and physically abusive. Soledad
desperately wants to save up enough money to run away with Ming to
somewhere better.
But how?
On a personal note, we had our first Wilson Center Program of the
school year. It was great to see people who had been away all
summer. My new friend Sam came like I'd invited him to. After we
feasted on baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings and watermelon we
had a water ceremony.
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
"Things I know to be true: Tita Vea married my father so she
could come to the States, and there is nothing magical about that.
And there is nothing magical about Giverny either, even though it's
just outside of New Orleans and people say New Orleans is loud and fun
and vibrant. Giverny must have drained from its gutters."
Soledad, narrator of Erin Entrada Kelly's The Land of Forgotten
Girls, has suffered more loss than many adults. A younger sister died
in an accident she considers her fault. If she had not distracted
their mother, beautiful little Amelia would not have drowned. Not
much later her beloved mother died of cancer. After moving them from
the Philippines to Louisana, her father has abandoned her and her
little sister, Ming, with the woman they consider their evil
stepmother. No one knows when or if he will return.
Soledad and Ming live in a cigarette smelling apartment where
rats run in the walls at night. Vea, resentful of being stuck with
two grieving children, is emotionally and physically abusive. Soledad
desperately wants to save up enough money to run away with Ming to
somewhere better.
But how?
On a personal note, we had our first Wilson Center Program of the
school year. It was great to see people who had been away all
summer. My new friend Sam came like I'd invited him to. After we
feasted on baked potatoes with all kinds of toppings and watermelon we
had a water ceremony.
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Dare to Disappoint
Dare to Disappoint
YA graphic novel
The literature that captures us the most deeply often skillfully
blends universality of feeling with specificity of time and place.
The reader is hooked by empathy and drawn into exploration and
discovery. This is the case for Ozge Samanci's Dare to Disappoint.
Ozge and her big sister, Pelin, grew up with high expectations.
They were to study medicine or engineering at a prestigious university
so they could get good jobs with high pay. Their dad, who would boast
of not getting pleasure out of anything, focussed on discipline, hard
work, and order. Ozge longed for his approval. But somehow she could
never quite compete with Pelin. And the fields she was being pushed
toward did not align well with her talents or interests.
As you may have guessed from the main characters' names, the
book is not set in America. They grew up in Turkey in very
politically turbulant times. Even for the very young there was huge
pressure for obedience to the state. Government employees who didn't
engage in less than ethical practices, like Ozge's teacher parents,
barely earned enough to support their families.
Graphic novel is the perfect format for this coming of age
tale. The pictures carry nuances that really expand the power of the
written and help to add an element of humor to what could be an
entirely grim narative.
On a personal note, the UMaine students organizational fair was
awesome. There were tables circling the whole mall--something for
everyone. Eager students made the rounds, studying all the
offerings. I tabled with my Real Food Challenge gang. We got some
real interest. Even the weather (the one element CASE has no control
over) was a perfect mix of sun and breeze.
A great big shout goes out to all who enabled this event to happen.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA graphic novel
The literature that captures us the most deeply often skillfully
blends universality of feeling with specificity of time and place.
The reader is hooked by empathy and drawn into exploration and
discovery. This is the case for Ozge Samanci's Dare to Disappoint.
Ozge and her big sister, Pelin, grew up with high expectations.
They were to study medicine or engineering at a prestigious university
so they could get good jobs with high pay. Their dad, who would boast
of not getting pleasure out of anything, focussed on discipline, hard
work, and order. Ozge longed for his approval. But somehow she could
never quite compete with Pelin. And the fields she was being pushed
toward did not align well with her talents or interests.
As you may have guessed from the main characters' names, the
book is not set in America. They grew up in Turkey in very
politically turbulant times. Even for the very young there was huge
pressure for obedience to the state. Government employees who didn't
engage in less than ethical practices, like Ozge's teacher parents,
barely earned enough to support their families.
Graphic novel is the perfect format for this coming of age
tale. The pictures carry nuances that really expand the power of the
written and help to add an element of humor to what could be an
entirely grim narative.
On a personal note, the UMaine students organizational fair was
awesome. There were tables circling the whole mall--something for
everyone. Eager students made the rounds, studying all the
offerings. I tabled with my Real Food Challenge gang. We got some
real interest. Even the weather (the one element CASE has no control
over) was a perfect mix of sun and breeze.
A great big shout goes out to all who enabled this event to happen.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Almost Astronauts
Almost Astronauts
Juvenile nonfiction
"Most men who had fought in the war wanted to leave that grim
scene behind and return to a nice home, a sweet wife, a growing
family...Many women agreed that their place was the home. But others
had tasted independence, had felt the satisfaction of earning their
own money, supporting their families, excelling at jobs outside of the
home. They didn't want to give all that up and did not like this
change in the national mood. They still had hopes and dreams beyond
serving up hot casseroles for their men returning home from work..."
Tanya Lee Stone's Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared To Dream
gives the reader the story of a gutsy group of women whose hopes and
dreams were sky high.
In 1957 Russia's launch of Sputnik gave the United States a bad
case of outer space envy. My generation of schoolkids was found to be
woefully science and math deficient. NASA came into being. President
Kennedy put kicking Soviet butt in this arena at the top of his
national to do list. The all male Mercury 7 astronauts were recruited
and trained.
There was a doctor, Randolph Lovelace, who believed that women
were equally capable of space exploration despite popular prejudices.
In his mind they could even save NASA money. He had tested the
Mercury 7 guys. He wanted to evaluate similarly qualified female
subjects. In 1959 he met up with Jerrie Cob who had set records and
won awards as an aviator. She and twelve other aviatrices were put
through grueling physical and psychological tests which they passed
with flying colors, often doing better than the men.
Well you can probably guess what happened. An American public
addicted to Love Lucy and Father Knows Best remained unconvinced that
women belonged in space. NASA showed no interest. John Glenn claimed
that men and women astronauts working together would not be able to
keep their minds on work. Vice President Johnson wrote "Let's stop
this now!" on a letter about woman astronauts. Cartoonists had a
field day.
It would take two decades before woman asonauts finally got the
chance to show that they had the right stuff.
Period photos and cartoons help to vividly establish time and
place. This window on a little known chapter of herstory really
needed to be opened. Feminists, including those well beyond its
target demographics, will find it well worth reading.
On a personal note, Orono Community Garden was helped immensely by a
group of 40 UMaine freshpeople who helped us with the task of turning
some of our beds over to cover crop for the winter. I got my own
group to supervise. It was so much fun talking to them.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine class of 2020!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"Most men who had fought in the war wanted to leave that grim
scene behind and return to a nice home, a sweet wife, a growing
family...Many women agreed that their place was the home. But others
had tasted independence, had felt the satisfaction of earning their
own money, supporting their families, excelling at jobs outside of the
home. They didn't want to give all that up and did not like this
change in the national mood. They still had hopes and dreams beyond
serving up hot casseroles for their men returning home from work..."
Tanya Lee Stone's Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared To Dream
gives the reader the story of a gutsy group of women whose hopes and
dreams were sky high.
In 1957 Russia's launch of Sputnik gave the United States a bad
case of outer space envy. My generation of schoolkids was found to be
woefully science and math deficient. NASA came into being. President
Kennedy put kicking Soviet butt in this arena at the top of his
national to do list. The all male Mercury 7 astronauts were recruited
and trained.
There was a doctor, Randolph Lovelace, who believed that women
were equally capable of space exploration despite popular prejudices.
In his mind they could even save NASA money. He had tested the
Mercury 7 guys. He wanted to evaluate similarly qualified female
subjects. In 1959 he met up with Jerrie Cob who had set records and
won awards as an aviator. She and twelve other aviatrices were put
through grueling physical and psychological tests which they passed
with flying colors, often doing better than the men.
Well you can probably guess what happened. An American public
addicted to Love Lucy and Father Knows Best remained unconvinced that
women belonged in space. NASA showed no interest. John Glenn claimed
that men and women astronauts working together would not be able to
keep their minds on work. Vice President Johnson wrote "Let's stop
this now!" on a letter about woman astronauts. Cartoonists had a
field day.
It would take two decades before woman asonauts finally got the
chance to show that they had the right stuff.
Period photos and cartoons help to vividly establish time and
place. This window on a little known chapter of herstory really
needed to be opened. Feminists, including those well beyond its
target demographics, will find it well worth reading.
On a personal note, Orono Community Garden was helped immensely by a
group of 40 UMaine freshpeople who helped us with the task of turning
some of our beds over to cover crop for the winter. I got my own
group to supervise. It was so much fun talking to them.
A great big shout out goes out to the UMaine class of 2020!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, September 1, 2016
The Two-Family House
The Two-Family House
Adult fiction
"Before today she [a midwife] she thought she had seen every
permutation of circumstance: the girls who cried out for their own
mothers even as they became mothers themselves; the older women who
had marked themselves as cursed, suddenly bursting with joy over a
healthy child come to them at last. She thought she had heard every
kind of sound a person could make, witnessed every expression the
human face could conjure out of pain, joy, or grief. That was what
she thought before this evening."
This paragraph lifted from the prologue of Lynda Cohen Loigman's
The Two-Family House beautifully sets the stage for the rest of the
book. It's a narrative that makes the reader captivated by the
interpersonal drama of ordinary human life. It's a story that any of
us enmeshed in the complexities and loyalties of the multigenerational
family can relate to if we look below the surface of our own lives.
Rose and Helen, married to brothers who are owners of a family
business, have lived intimately for many years as the book's pivotal
event unfolds. Upstairs in their shared duplex Helen and gregarious
Abe are parenting four spirited boys who seem to need their mother for
little more than cleaning up their messes. Downstairs Rose and the
far more reserved Mort are raising three girls--children who are a let
down to their father who wants a son to pass the business on to. (Of
course he wants his brother's children to join the firm--his, however,
would run the show.) Helen longs for the intimate relationship she
could have with a daughter; Rose thinks a son would make her husband
less impossible to please.
Unexpectedly both women become pregnant. The day they both go
into labor is much less than propitious. Mort and Abe are away on
business. Because of a raging blizzard no ambulances or taxis are
available. Luckily a midwife is the area. Side by side the women
give birth within minutes of each other.
Helen has her daughter, Rose her son. All should be well. But
in that stormy night something subtle begins to eat at the
relationship between the sisters-in-law much like one dropped stitch
can gradually unravel an afghan. The inexorable deterioration and its
effect on the family, told from the alternating viewpoints of major
characters makes for enthralling reading.
In my mind, Loigman's greatest strength is her show, don't tell
character development. I chose to close this review with a paragraph
each about Mort and Helen:
"After the news of Rose's pregnancy became public, Mort became
increasingly annoyed with his coworkers. Most of them seemed to think
he had nothing better to do with his time than to answer personal
questions about Rose's condition and their family life...it would be
so much easier to be nice to people if only they would stop talking to
him."
"...The recipe box was the only part of her mother that Rose had
left. When her mother died, Rose didn't care about the jewelry. All
Rose really wanted was the box. Their mother rarely wore her earrings
or necklaces, but Rose knew she had opened the recipe box nearly every
day. To Rose, it was her mother's touchstone, and she was certain it
had absorbed a small part of her mother's essence..."
Now can't you just see them in your mind's eye?
On a personal note, I found myself reading this book at just the right
time. I was feeling overwhelmed with the losses (including a sense of
identity) involved in losing my place on school committee after 11
years in which I'd risen to chair and experiencing my last child to
home move to his first apartment. Somehow I was able to step back and
see the present from the larger perspective of my life to date...like
a sequence of treacherous rapids in a river. It was an epiphany that
I've handled challenges before. This one is no different.
A great big shout out goes out to all families who struggle with the
intricacies of intimacy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult fiction
"Before today she [a midwife] she thought she had seen every
permutation of circumstance: the girls who cried out for their own
mothers even as they became mothers themselves; the older women who
had marked themselves as cursed, suddenly bursting with joy over a
healthy child come to them at last. She thought she had heard every
kind of sound a person could make, witnessed every expression the
human face could conjure out of pain, joy, or grief. That was what
she thought before this evening."
This paragraph lifted from the prologue of Lynda Cohen Loigman's
The Two-Family House beautifully sets the stage for the rest of the
book. It's a narrative that makes the reader captivated by the
interpersonal drama of ordinary human life. It's a story that any of
us enmeshed in the complexities and loyalties of the multigenerational
family can relate to if we look below the surface of our own lives.
Rose and Helen, married to brothers who are owners of a family
business, have lived intimately for many years as the book's pivotal
event unfolds. Upstairs in their shared duplex Helen and gregarious
Abe are parenting four spirited boys who seem to need their mother for
little more than cleaning up their messes. Downstairs Rose and the
far more reserved Mort are raising three girls--children who are a let
down to their father who wants a son to pass the business on to. (Of
course he wants his brother's children to join the firm--his, however,
would run the show.) Helen longs for the intimate relationship she
could have with a daughter; Rose thinks a son would make her husband
less impossible to please.
Unexpectedly both women become pregnant. The day they both go
into labor is much less than propitious. Mort and Abe are away on
business. Because of a raging blizzard no ambulances or taxis are
available. Luckily a midwife is the area. Side by side the women
give birth within minutes of each other.
Helen has her daughter, Rose her son. All should be well. But
in that stormy night something subtle begins to eat at the
relationship between the sisters-in-law much like one dropped stitch
can gradually unravel an afghan. The inexorable deterioration and its
effect on the family, told from the alternating viewpoints of major
characters makes for enthralling reading.
In my mind, Loigman's greatest strength is her show, don't tell
character development. I chose to close this review with a paragraph
each about Mort and Helen:
"After the news of Rose's pregnancy became public, Mort became
increasingly annoyed with his coworkers. Most of them seemed to think
he had nothing better to do with his time than to answer personal
questions about Rose's condition and their family life...it would be
so much easier to be nice to people if only they would stop talking to
him."
"...The recipe box was the only part of her mother that Rose had
left. When her mother died, Rose didn't care about the jewelry. All
Rose really wanted was the box. Their mother rarely wore her earrings
or necklaces, but Rose knew she had opened the recipe box nearly every
day. To Rose, it was her mother's touchstone, and she was certain it
had absorbed a small part of her mother's essence..."
Now can't you just see them in your mind's eye?
On a personal note, I found myself reading this book at just the right
time. I was feeling overwhelmed with the losses (including a sense of
identity) involved in losing my place on school committee after 11
years in which I'd risen to chair and experiencing my last child to
home move to his first apartment. Somehow I was able to step back and
see the present from the larger perspective of my life to date...like
a sequence of treacherous rapids in a river. It was an epiphany that
I've handled challenges before. This one is no different.
A great big shout out goes out to all families who struggle with the
intricacies of intimacy.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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