It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
Juvenile fiction
"After 'dinner,' I go in the living room, where my parents are
listening to the radio in silence. The reporter is interviewing some
of the families of the hostages. We'd been hoping they would all be
released before Thanksgiving. My mom keeps saying that she feels
especially sorry for the two women. My dad keeps saying he never
imagined that Iran would be the enemy of the world.
I wish we could just be like everyone else in Newport Beach,
worrying whether or not we're going to have time to buy all the gifts
on our Christmas list, wrap them, and bake cookies shaped like candy
canes. I'd gladly trade unemployment and dead hamsters for those
worries any day."
Zomorod Yousefzadeh, the protagonist of Firoozah Dumas' It Ain't
So Awful, Falafel, originally from Iran, moves with her parents to
Newport Beach, California just in time to start sixth grade. This
time she is going to fit in and not be the strange foreign kid. She's
even picked out an American name--Cindy--gleaned from the Brady Bunch,
a period tv show. (If you haven't seen it, don't bother).
Things seem to start out well. Cindy finds her classes easy.
She makes really good friends. She enjoys Girl Scouts and adores
sleep away camp.
But clouds are looming on the horizon. In Iran Ayatollah
Khomeini has ascended to power, taking revenge on anyone who could
possibly have been an ally to the Shah. Friends and even family
members could be in dire peril.
"It is the first time in my entire life that the shah is no
longer the ruler. I have a huge science test today, but I feel like
my brain has just frozen. I wish my dad could write a note: Please
excuse Cindy from the test today. Our country just had a revolution."
Then there's the hostage crisis. As the number of days the
Americans are held captive in Iran lengthens thngs start getting ugly
in the United States. There are hateful bumper stickers and an act so
vicious Cindy hides it from her disheartened parents.
Speaking of this semi autobiographical novel, Dumas says:
"I hope that reading this book will increase your interest in
history. I used to think that history was just about memorizing dates
of battles, but history is really stories about people and the battles
we fight within. It's about all the stuff you don't see on the
evening news. It's about hopes, dreams, and popular music. The life
you are living right now will someday be history.
How will you tell it?"
If that isn't a challenge, I don't know what is.
On a personal note, yesterday I tabled at the UMaine Student
Organization Fair all four hours for Wilson Center. We got lots of
interest. In the evening we had the first Wilson Center Wednesday
supper of the semester. We got a bunch of freshpeople who I hope will
become regulars.
A great big shout out goes out to my Wilson Center family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Monday, August 28, 2017
My Sister Rosa
My Sister Rosa
YA fiction
"Rosa is a ticking bomb.
I don't think it matters what you call it: psychopathy,
sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, evil, or the devil
within. What matters is how to prevent the bomb from exploding.
It would be a lot easier if the parentals believed Rosa is a
bomb. It would be even easier if she wasn't a bomb. I would give
anything for her not to be the way she is. Rosa ticks off everything
on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist except for promiscuity, driving too
fast, and other adult sins. Give her time."
For some reason I didn't read William March's The Bad Seed when
it came out...maybe because I turned three that year. I mastered
functional literacy but was still in the children's wing as far as
literary choices were concerned. I did see the movie, being something
like five when it came out. It and Hitchcock's The Birds were the
movies that terrified me the most from my formative years. Recall
those were the years before movies were age rated.
Lucky for horror story affecianados in the YA/adult adult
range, Justine Larbalestier was inspired to reread the book and
research state of the art intelligence on psychopathology. My Sister
Rosa (source of the above quote) is the impossible to put down result
of her inspiration.
Narrator Che and his family are en route to New York City when
readers first encounter them. His parents are embarking on a business
venture bankrolled by old friends. Che is anything but thrilled. On
the eve of his seventeenth birthday, he'd much rather be headed back
to his native Australia.
The family moves a lot. In each place Che writes a goal list.
The items always start off with keeping Rosa under control. Almost
from the beginning she's been like unlike other kids. Emotions and
responses to other human beings came slow for her. And then there was
her fascination with killing insects.
Che and Rosa's parents will accept that Rosa may be socially
awkward or developmentally delayed. But they won't go anywhere near
to believing they may have brought a full fledged sociopath into the
world. Rosa is smart, manipulative, beautiful, and very charismatic.
So far no being larger than a guinea pig has died. But in New
York Rosa is quick to set goals of her own and identify people who
might stand in the way of her getting what she wants.
For ten years Che has been in charge of protecting Rosa from the
world. Now he has to find a way to protect the world from her.
On a personal note, yesterday I decided I'd get a bunch of signatures
on my YOU ARE WELCOME HERE sign before I turn it into Multicultural
Center. I started with my 2 churches. It's looking good. My sign
and I were cited in a sermon on combatting racism as a good example.
Today is my first college class in 27 years. I am so ready. I am
also bogged down in a massive project of rearranging furniture so I
can move an old recliner and bureau out of the studio. Nothing a sane
person would do on the first day of school. The house has to not look
like a hurricane struck when Eugene comes home. Yikes!
A great big shout goes out to all who are going back to school today.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA fiction
"Rosa is a ticking bomb.
I don't think it matters what you call it: psychopathy,
sociopathy, antisocial personality disorder, evil, or the devil
within. What matters is how to prevent the bomb from exploding.
It would be a lot easier if the parentals believed Rosa is a
bomb. It would be even easier if she wasn't a bomb. I would give
anything for her not to be the way she is. Rosa ticks off everything
on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist except for promiscuity, driving too
fast, and other adult sins. Give her time."
For some reason I didn't read William March's The Bad Seed when
it came out...maybe because I turned three that year. I mastered
functional literacy but was still in the children's wing as far as
literary choices were concerned. I did see the movie, being something
like five when it came out. It and Hitchcock's The Birds were the
movies that terrified me the most from my formative years. Recall
those were the years before movies were age rated.
Lucky for horror story affecianados in the YA/adult adult
range, Justine Larbalestier was inspired to reread the book and
research state of the art intelligence on psychopathology. My Sister
Rosa (source of the above quote) is the impossible to put down result
of her inspiration.
Narrator Che and his family are en route to New York City when
readers first encounter them. His parents are embarking on a business
venture bankrolled by old friends. Che is anything but thrilled. On
the eve of his seventeenth birthday, he'd much rather be headed back
to his native Australia.
The family moves a lot. In each place Che writes a goal list.
The items always start off with keeping Rosa under control. Almost
from the beginning she's been like unlike other kids. Emotions and
responses to other human beings came slow for her. And then there was
her fascination with killing insects.
Che and Rosa's parents will accept that Rosa may be socially
awkward or developmentally delayed. But they won't go anywhere near
to believing they may have brought a full fledged sociopath into the
world. Rosa is smart, manipulative, beautiful, and very charismatic.
So far no being larger than a guinea pig has died. But in New
York Rosa is quick to set goals of her own and identify people who
might stand in the way of her getting what she wants.
For ten years Che has been in charge of protecting Rosa from the
world. Now he has to find a way to protect the world from her.
On a personal note, yesterday I decided I'd get a bunch of signatures
on my YOU ARE WELCOME HERE sign before I turn it into Multicultural
Center. I started with my 2 churches. It's looking good. My sign
and I were cited in a sermon on combatting racism as a good example.
Today is my first college class in 27 years. I am so ready. I am
also bogged down in a massive project of rearranging furniture so I
can move an old recliner and bureau out of the studio. Nothing a sane
person would do on the first day of school. The house has to not look
like a hurricane struck when Eugene comes home. Yikes!
A great big shout goes out to all who are going back to school today.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Oskar and the Eight Blessings
Oskar and the Eight Blessings
Picture book
At this time in America's history when people seeking refuge
from perilous war torn nations is such a hot button issue, Richard and
Tanya Simon's Oskar and the Eight Blessings could not be more timely.
The year was 1938. In the wake of Kristallnacht (a violent mass
assault on Germany and Austria's Jews and their property) Oscar's
parents have sent him alone to America to join his Aunt Esther whom he
has never met. It's the seventh day of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve.
0skar, hungry and ill clad for the cold, has quite a long trek
in a foreign land to get to an address written on paper. His last
words from his father were that people can be good and he must look
for the blessings. As he walks along the strangers he encounters show
the wisdom in his father's words.
These days a lot of haters and prejudiced people are striving to
keep war emperilled folks out of the United States. Oskar and the
Eight Blessings shows readers and families that we don't need to be
rich or influential to help the strangers in our midst. The smallest
of acts help to show that people can be good...
...even here and now.
On a personal note, I had an amazing Saturday!!! I started out at
community garden. We had a really big group of incoming UMaine
freshpeople to help us with some of our big chores like cover cropping
some beds for winter. I had my group to supervise. Then I did some
sign holding on College Ave. There were six of us and we got good
reactions. Then I went to a family dinner with Eugene, all my kids,
and two significant others. That was truly precious!!! Family
dinners are a wonderful tradition.
A great shout out goes out to our amazing student helpers (with best
wishes for wonderful UMaine stays), my fellow sign holders, and my
precious family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Picture book
At this time in America's history when people seeking refuge
from perilous war torn nations is such a hot button issue, Richard and
Tanya Simon's Oskar and the Eight Blessings could not be more timely.
The year was 1938. In the wake of Kristallnacht (a violent mass
assault on Germany and Austria's Jews and their property) Oscar's
parents have sent him alone to America to join his Aunt Esther whom he
has never met. It's the seventh day of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve.
0skar, hungry and ill clad for the cold, has quite a long trek
in a foreign land to get to an address written on paper. His last
words from his father were that people can be good and he must look
for the blessings. As he walks along the strangers he encounters show
the wisdom in his father's words.
These days a lot of haters and prejudiced people are striving to
keep war emperilled folks out of the United States. Oskar and the
Eight Blessings shows readers and families that we don't need to be
rich or influential to help the strangers in our midst. The smallest
of acts help to show that people can be good...
...even here and now.
On a personal note, I had an amazing Saturday!!! I started out at
community garden. We had a really big group of incoming UMaine
freshpeople to help us with some of our big chores like cover cropping
some beds for winter. I had my group to supervise. Then I did some
sign holding on College Ave. There were six of us and we got good
reactions. Then I went to a family dinner with Eugene, all my kids,
and two significant others. That was truly precious!!! Family
dinners are a wonderful tradition.
A great shout out goes out to our amazing student helpers (with best
wishes for wonderful UMaine stays), my fellow sign holders, and my
precious family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, August 25, 2017
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise
Miss Moore Thought Otherwise
Juvenile biography
"Today libraries across America have thousands of books for
children. And thanks to the help of a little girl from Limerick,
Maine, who had ideas of her own, any child can choose a book from a
library shelf, curl up in a comfortable seat to look through it--and
then take it home to read."
The day I discovered Jan Pinborough's Miss Moore Thought
Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore created Libraries for Children at
the Orono Public Library story time was in full swing. Kids and
parents were singing enthusiastically about the itsy bitsy spider and
its water spout adventures. I was shelving in the spacious children's
wing, being careful not to bump into little people. Later the corner
puppet theater would become quite popular. I closed my eyes and found
it hard to imagine the library without our younger patrons.
Not that long ago, however, public libraries were adults only
affairs. Children weren't even allowed to enter them, never mind take
books out. Kids would forget to return the books. They'd get sticky
fingerprints all over them. Libraries remained hushed, age segregated
institutions...
...until Moore and a few visionary peers started changing
things. She wasn't just settling for child inclusion. She wanted no
less than whole sections of interesting juvenile literature with kid
sized furniture, live entertainment, and beautiful, fascinating
objects that could be touched.
In addition to running her own children's wing in New York,
Moore wrote book reviews to help peers discover good children's lit.
And her retirement was anything but.
Some of the most memorable hours of my childhood were spent in
the children's wing of the Beverly (Massachusetts) Public library
browsing and skimming. It was the reward for being good during
grocery shopping. When I had children of my own we took full
advantage of the children's programming of the Bangor and Orono Public
Libraries.
If you have similar memories you owe Miss Moore big time. Maybe
it's about time to learn a bit about the lady?
On a personal note, I've had an exciting couple of days. Thursday I
got to attend the Hasbrouk summer cookout. The Orono police and
firefighters grilled burgers and hot dogs and residents made sides and
dessert. That was some good eating!
That night I was at a sign making party. We were making signs for the
weekend which was students returning to or beginning at UMaine. They
were showing international students, LGBTQ students, and others who
experience prejudice and hate that UMaine wants them. We made some
good signs. I held mine on the bridge leading to UMaine for 5 hours
today. Traffic was crazy--literally thousands of vehicles. I got no
bad reactions--just good ones like waves, thumbs ups, peeps taking
pictures with smart phones...
A great big shout out goes out to the Orono fire and police
departments and my fellow sign makers and displayers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile biography
"Today libraries across America have thousands of books for
children. And thanks to the help of a little girl from Limerick,
Maine, who had ideas of her own, any child can choose a book from a
library shelf, curl up in a comfortable seat to look through it--and
then take it home to read."
The day I discovered Jan Pinborough's Miss Moore Thought
Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore created Libraries for Children at
the Orono Public Library story time was in full swing. Kids and
parents were singing enthusiastically about the itsy bitsy spider and
its water spout adventures. I was shelving in the spacious children's
wing, being careful not to bump into little people. Later the corner
puppet theater would become quite popular. I closed my eyes and found
it hard to imagine the library without our younger patrons.
Not that long ago, however, public libraries were adults only
affairs. Children weren't even allowed to enter them, never mind take
books out. Kids would forget to return the books. They'd get sticky
fingerprints all over them. Libraries remained hushed, age segregated
institutions...
...until Moore and a few visionary peers started changing
things. She wasn't just settling for child inclusion. She wanted no
less than whole sections of interesting juvenile literature with kid
sized furniture, live entertainment, and beautiful, fascinating
objects that could be touched.
In addition to running her own children's wing in New York,
Moore wrote book reviews to help peers discover good children's lit.
And her retirement was anything but.
Some of the most memorable hours of my childhood were spent in
the children's wing of the Beverly (Massachusetts) Public library
browsing and skimming. It was the reward for being good during
grocery shopping. When I had children of my own we took full
advantage of the children's programming of the Bangor and Orono Public
Libraries.
If you have similar memories you owe Miss Moore big time. Maybe
it's about time to learn a bit about the lady?
On a personal note, I've had an exciting couple of days. Thursday I
got to attend the Hasbrouk summer cookout. The Orono police and
firefighters grilled burgers and hot dogs and residents made sides and
dessert. That was some good eating!
That night I was at a sign making party. We were making signs for the
weekend which was students returning to or beginning at UMaine. They
were showing international students, LGBTQ students, and others who
experience prejudice and hate that UMaine wants them. We made some
good signs. I held mine on the bridge leading to UMaine for 5 hours
today. Traffic was crazy--literally thousands of vehicles. I got no
bad reactions--just good ones like waves, thumbs ups, peeps taking
pictures with smart phones...
A great big shout out goes out to the Orono fire and police
departments and my fellow sign makers and displayers.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
The Hidden Life of a Toad
The Hidden Life of a Toad
Juvenile nonfiction
"April sunshine warms a shallow pool. In the water, strings of
jelly twist over, under, around. What is this tangle of stuff? It
looks like a pile of spaghetti."
A number of years ago when my girls were young (Adam hadn't
arrived) and we were exploring the shallowest edges of a lake I caught
a very strange looking creature with a tadpole tail and strong looking
hind legs. Of course after I showed Amber and Katie I gently released
it.
Well in the Orono Public Library's children's wing I discovered
Doug Wechsler's The Hidden Life of a Toad. It's an album of the toad
growth cycle from the spaghetti like stage to propogating the
species. The pictures are amazingly up close and detailed. Some are
quIte lovely. And, yes, there was a legged tadpole just like the one
I saw all those years ago.
Did you know that in Philadelphia a road is closed for several
nights to allow toads to reach their breeding place without getting
squished? People are finally realizing what an important part of the
web of nature toads are. (My mom used to relocate them to her garden
where they served as very vigilant insect devourers). Readers can
learn ways they and their families can help make the world safer for
amphibians.
If The Hidden Life of a Toad isn't in your library I suggest
that you hop to suggest they acquire it. You'll be glad you did.
On a personal note, I got to spend yesterday with Joey writing and
cleaning. But my life is starting to speed up even before fall
semester starts. Tonight I have community garden. I'm hoping my new
promising recruits show up. (I promised to bring in white chocolate
craisin cookies so I'd better channel my inner Betty Crocker.) Then I
have the international student social. What does one wear to
gardening and a social? Hopefully I can get away with my favorite tie
dye capris and coral tee shirt.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden crew and the
UMaine international students family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile nonfiction
"April sunshine warms a shallow pool. In the water, strings of
jelly twist over, under, around. What is this tangle of stuff? It
looks like a pile of spaghetti."
A number of years ago when my girls were young (Adam hadn't
arrived) and we were exploring the shallowest edges of a lake I caught
a very strange looking creature with a tadpole tail and strong looking
hind legs. Of course after I showed Amber and Katie I gently released
it.
Well in the Orono Public Library's children's wing I discovered
Doug Wechsler's The Hidden Life of a Toad. It's an album of the toad
growth cycle from the spaghetti like stage to propogating the
species. The pictures are amazingly up close and detailed. Some are
quIte lovely. And, yes, there was a legged tadpole just like the one
I saw all those years ago.
Did you know that in Philadelphia a road is closed for several
nights to allow toads to reach their breeding place without getting
squished? People are finally realizing what an important part of the
web of nature toads are. (My mom used to relocate them to her garden
where they served as very vigilant insect devourers). Readers can
learn ways they and their families can help make the world safer for
amphibians.
If The Hidden Life of a Toad isn't in your library I suggest
that you hop to suggest they acquire it. You'll be glad you did.
On a personal note, I got to spend yesterday with Joey writing and
cleaning. But my life is starting to speed up even before fall
semester starts. Tonight I have community garden. I'm hoping my new
promising recruits show up. (I promised to bring in white chocolate
craisin cookies so I'd better channel my inner Betty Crocker.) Then I
have the international student social. What does one wear to
gardening and a social? Hopefully I can get away with my favorite tie
dye capris and coral tee shirt.
A great big shout out goes out to my community garden crew and the
UMaine international students family.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Are You An Echo?
Are You An Echo?
Juvenile bilingual biography/poetry
"If I say, 'Let's play?'
you say, 'Let's play!'
If I say, 'Stupid!'
you say, 'Stupid!'
If I say, 'I don't want to play anymore,'
you say, 'I don't want to play anymore'.
And then, after awhile,
Becoming lonely
I say, 'Sorry."
You say, 'Sorry.'
Are you just an echo?
No, you are everyone."
The simple seeming poem above spurred over a million volunteers
to muster to help following a 2011 Japanese disaster: the one two
punch of an earthquake and tsunami that left over 200,000 people
homeless. It was a poem that had been saved from obscurity by a
writer's extreme tenacity. Are You An Echo?: The Lost Poetry Of
Misuzo Kaneko by David Jacobson et al tells the fascinating story of
the poem and its creator.
Misuzu was born in 1903 and grew up in a Japanese fishing
village. She was so imaginative she sometimes had difficulty telling
the difference between events she had experienced and ones she'd read
about. She was very fortunate early in life. Her mother managed a
book store. Unlike most Japanese girls of that time, she was able to
stay in school until the age of seventeen. As an adult she became a
popular children's poet.
She died tragically young.
Setsuo Yazaki grew up with a great fondness for a poem, Big
Catch. As an adult poet he embarked on a quest to find more about its
author. Fortunately he was tenacious. In 1982, after sixteen years
of searching, he tracked down her brother who had her diaries which
contained all her poems.
Decades later David Jacobson encountered some of Misuzu's
published work and was astounded that her poetry had not been
translated into English. Are You An Echo? is his beautiful
remediation of the situation. It combines her poems, beautifully
illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri, with the story of their creation and
rediscovery. It's a beautiful addition to multicultural literature.
It just goes to show, as I always say, if you have a library
card and make good use of it, you're never far from discovering
treasures.
Oh, yeah, you probably want to know how the poem inspired over a
million volunteers...
...read the book and see.
On a personal note, I am having a blissful weekend. Yesterday I
stayed to home to write and clean. I made incredible progress in my
studio. It's more beautiful and inspiring together. Today after
church Eugene and I went for a drive. We stopped at Mardens and
Brewer Goodwill. Eugene got clothes. I found the most incedible
Things Remembered musical snow globe in perfect shape!!! Eugene got
it for me. Joey cat is now the happy owner of nine new jingle balls
and a bigger new light up ball. In a few minutes I'm going to heat up
a frozen pizza which is a treat.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and our good Joey cat.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile bilingual biography/poetry
"If I say, 'Let's play?'
you say, 'Let's play!'
If I say, 'Stupid!'
you say, 'Stupid!'
If I say, 'I don't want to play anymore,'
you say, 'I don't want to play anymore'.
And then, after awhile,
Becoming lonely
I say, 'Sorry."
You say, 'Sorry.'
Are you just an echo?
No, you are everyone."
The simple seeming poem above spurred over a million volunteers
to muster to help following a 2011 Japanese disaster: the one two
punch of an earthquake and tsunami that left over 200,000 people
homeless. It was a poem that had been saved from obscurity by a
writer's extreme tenacity. Are You An Echo?: The Lost Poetry Of
Misuzo Kaneko by David Jacobson et al tells the fascinating story of
the poem and its creator.
Misuzu was born in 1903 and grew up in a Japanese fishing
village. She was so imaginative she sometimes had difficulty telling
the difference between events she had experienced and ones she'd read
about. She was very fortunate early in life. Her mother managed a
book store. Unlike most Japanese girls of that time, she was able to
stay in school until the age of seventeen. As an adult she became a
popular children's poet.
She died tragically young.
Setsuo Yazaki grew up with a great fondness for a poem, Big
Catch. As an adult poet he embarked on a quest to find more about its
author. Fortunately he was tenacious. In 1982, after sixteen years
of searching, he tracked down her brother who had her diaries which
contained all her poems.
Decades later David Jacobson encountered some of Misuzu's
published work and was astounded that her poetry had not been
translated into English. Are You An Echo? is his beautiful
remediation of the situation. It combines her poems, beautifully
illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri, with the story of their creation and
rediscovery. It's a beautiful addition to multicultural literature.
It just goes to show, as I always say, if you have a library
card and make good use of it, you're never far from discovering
treasures.
Oh, yeah, you probably want to know how the poem inspired over a
million volunteers...
...read the book and see.
On a personal note, I am having a blissful weekend. Yesterday I
stayed to home to write and clean. I made incredible progress in my
studio. It's more beautiful and inspiring together. Today after
church Eugene and I went for a drive. We stopped at Mardens and
Brewer Goodwill. Eugene got clothes. I found the most incedible
Things Remembered musical snow globe in perfect shape!!! Eugene got
it for me. Joey cat is now the happy owner of nine new jingle balls
and a bigger new light up ball. In a few minutes I'm going to heat up
a frozen pizza which is a treat.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and our good Joey cat.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, August 18, 2017
It
It
"The terror which would not end for another twenty-eight years--
if it ever did end--began, so far as I can know or tell, with a boat
made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with
rain."
Stephen King's It begins with one of the all time best opening
lines in the history of novel writing. The use of the everyday and
banal as a conduit to unspeakable evil is the spine chilling premise
around which the story is built. It is amazing that King can carry it
flawlessly for 1093 pages. Kudos to the master of horror! I take off
my backwards UMaine baseball cap to him.
It's the fall of 1957. A big time storm has just passed through
the town of Derry, Maine. The electricity is still out. Little
George Denbrough has a paper boat crafted by his big brother William
(Stuttering Bill) who is in bed getting over the flu. He's having a
great time chasing the boat through the swollen street streams. The
fun abruptly ends when the boat is sucked into a storm drain...from
which two yellow eyes peer out.
Of course that isn't going to end well. (The author's name
should be a big time clue). Little George's bloody body is found with
an arm missing. He's only the first. When kids start turning up
murdered and mutilated...well think how that would play out in your
neighborhood.
Only it isn't a one time gruesome chapter in the history of
Derry. Every twenty-seven years or so the town becomes a little
chamber of horrors. In addition to individual gruesome homicides
there are events like the explosion of an ironworks in which an Easter
egg hunt is being held.
Stuttering Bill and his group of bully beleaguered preteens must
somehow do battle with a supreme evil. Then as adults they are called
to a grizzly reunion. It is back...
This is a very powerful book that should probably not be read
home alone on a dark night unless being startled by every noise is
your cup of tea. Actually it might be best holding off on reading
until the next presidency. During a Trump reign it can be very easy
to imagine Pennywise the clown has left Derry for bigger digs. This
can lead to colorful nightmares. Trust me on this.
On a personal note, planning for the Ending Violence Together event in
September is going really well. There will be tabling and speeches
followed by a march around downtown Bangor. I think, given current
political conditions, we so need this chance to come together over
this topic.
I had an amazing dumpster find: a sturdy, soft book bag (you know who
can always use a book bag) covered with sparkly sequins. Everyone
notices it and is surprised to learn where it came from.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow committee members. It's a
privilege to work with you. :-)
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"The terror which would not end for another twenty-eight years--
if it ever did end--began, so far as I can know or tell, with a boat
made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with
rain."
Stephen King's It begins with one of the all time best opening
lines in the history of novel writing. The use of the everyday and
banal as a conduit to unspeakable evil is the spine chilling premise
around which the story is built. It is amazing that King can carry it
flawlessly for 1093 pages. Kudos to the master of horror! I take off
my backwards UMaine baseball cap to him.
It's the fall of 1957. A big time storm has just passed through
the town of Derry, Maine. The electricity is still out. Little
George Denbrough has a paper boat crafted by his big brother William
(Stuttering Bill) who is in bed getting over the flu. He's having a
great time chasing the boat through the swollen street streams. The
fun abruptly ends when the boat is sucked into a storm drain...from
which two yellow eyes peer out.
Of course that isn't going to end well. (The author's name
should be a big time clue). Little George's bloody body is found with
an arm missing. He's only the first. When kids start turning up
murdered and mutilated...well think how that would play out in your
neighborhood.
Only it isn't a one time gruesome chapter in the history of
Derry. Every twenty-seven years or so the town becomes a little
chamber of horrors. In addition to individual gruesome homicides
there are events like the explosion of an ironworks in which an Easter
egg hunt is being held.
Stuttering Bill and his group of bully beleaguered preteens must
somehow do battle with a supreme evil. Then as adults they are called
to a grizzly reunion. It is back...
This is a very powerful book that should probably not be read
home alone on a dark night unless being startled by every noise is
your cup of tea. Actually it might be best holding off on reading
until the next presidency. During a Trump reign it can be very easy
to imagine Pennywise the clown has left Derry for bigger digs. This
can lead to colorful nightmares. Trust me on this.
On a personal note, planning for the Ending Violence Together event in
September is going really well. There will be tabling and speeches
followed by a march around downtown Bangor. I think, given current
political conditions, we so need this chance to come together over
this topic.
I had an amazing dumpster find: a sturdy, soft book bag (you know who
can always use a book bag) covered with sparkly sequins. Everyone
notices it and is surprised to learn where it came from.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow committee members. It's a
privilege to work with you. :-)
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The Ethan I Was Before
The Ethan I Was Before
"I'm not lying when I say Mom and Dad don't have to worry about
me trying to run again.
Back in Boston, I ran because I wanted to find Kacey.
If I could find her, then I could make everything okay again.
But I know that I can't.
Because where Kacey has gone, I'll never be able to find her."
Ethan's family has moved from Boston to a small town in
Georgia. Ostensibly it's to help his grandfather who has been living
solo. Actually it's to give Ethan a chance for the fresh start his
parents and shrink believe he needs. He is seriously grieving the
loss of a mysterious girl named Kacey.
Things start out far from smoothly in the newly combined
household. Ethan's parents hover, fearful that he will run away as he
has done in the past or attempt something else dangerous. His brother
resents having to leave the place where his girlfriend and future seem
to lie. The newly met grandfather and his mom are always fighting.
Although on the surface it's about the renovations she wants to make
to his bachelor pad, Ethan senses something deeper simmering underneath.
Even the girl, Coralee, who befriends him seems to have at least
a little to hide. She never invites him to her home. Despite the
many stories she's told him about her past, how well does he really
know her?
And who is the mysterious spooky lady whom they first encounter
in a decripit, abandoned, supposedly haunted house?
In her debut novel, The Ethan I Was Before, Ali Standish has
crafted a perfectly paced spellbinder for juveniles. I certainly hope
we'll see a lot more stories from this talented newcomer.
On a personal note, last night we had a marvelous Orono Community
Garden night. It was sunny with a lovely breeze. We had melons to
snack on. Conversation was lively. The concert music was cool. Our
people were happy to get their veggies and we had some yummy ones to
take home. (I'll be able to serve Eugene really fresh beans!). And
once again we had so many cukes I was able to give them out to the
concert goers and make so many people happy!!! That's got to be one
of the most fun things in the whole world.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Community Garden family and
to the musicians who made our work so much more fun!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
"I'm not lying when I say Mom and Dad don't have to worry about
me trying to run again.
Back in Boston, I ran because I wanted to find Kacey.
If I could find her, then I could make everything okay again.
But I know that I can't.
Because where Kacey has gone, I'll never be able to find her."
Ethan's family has moved from Boston to a small town in
Georgia. Ostensibly it's to help his grandfather who has been living
solo. Actually it's to give Ethan a chance for the fresh start his
parents and shrink believe he needs. He is seriously grieving the
loss of a mysterious girl named Kacey.
Things start out far from smoothly in the newly combined
household. Ethan's parents hover, fearful that he will run away as he
has done in the past or attempt something else dangerous. His brother
resents having to leave the place where his girlfriend and future seem
to lie. The newly met grandfather and his mom are always fighting.
Although on the surface it's about the renovations she wants to make
to his bachelor pad, Ethan senses something deeper simmering underneath.
Even the girl, Coralee, who befriends him seems to have at least
a little to hide. She never invites him to her home. Despite the
many stories she's told him about her past, how well does he really
know her?
And who is the mysterious spooky lady whom they first encounter
in a decripit, abandoned, supposedly haunted house?
In her debut novel, The Ethan I Was Before, Ali Standish has
crafted a perfectly paced spellbinder for juveniles. I certainly hope
we'll see a lot more stories from this talented newcomer.
On a personal note, last night we had a marvelous Orono Community
Garden night. It was sunny with a lovely breeze. We had melons to
snack on. Conversation was lively. The concert music was cool. Our
people were happy to get their veggies and we had some yummy ones to
take home. (I'll be able to serve Eugene really fresh beans!). And
once again we had so many cukes I was able to give them out to the
concert goers and make so many people happy!!! That's got to be one
of the most fun things in the whole world.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Community Garden family and
to the musicians who made our work so much more fun!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Monday, August 14, 2017
You Throw Like A Girl
You Throw Like A Girl
Juvenile fiction
"It was the first day of summer vacation.
Mom called it the Summer of Girls.
My nine-month-old sister, Ava, called it, 'wah, wah, WAAAAAH!'
And I called it the Summer without Dad.
But the truth was, no matter what you called it, this summer was
going to stink."
Gabby, narrator of Rachel Alpine's You Throw Like A Girl, is en
route to her grandmother's house, an eight hour drive away, with her
mother snd baby sister. Her father has just departed on an overseas
deployment. She's promised to be strong so her mom won't be upset.
She's had to leave her friends and softball team.
Gabby and her father share a passion for baseball. She's
promised him she will join the softball team in her new town and pitch
their way to a championship. There's only one problem. Due to lack
of interest, there's no softball team that summer. Unless she wants
to sit it out she must assume a boy persona to play baseball.
Gabby has mistakenly signed up for the local beauty pageant,
much to the delight of her pageant winner mother who would love for
her to follow in her high heel steps. Coaching Gabby seems to take
her mind off her missing husband, so Gabby feels dropping out is a non
option.
But how can Gabby balance both identities in a really small
town? What will happen if her ruse is discovered?
On a personal note, yesterday after church Eugene invited me to go
shopping with him. I picked out a package of glitter gel pens and a
bag of Lindor truffles for me and a toy mouse for Joey. Eugene paid
for them and then got us subs for supper.
The new toy brought out the little scientist in Joey cat. When he
batted it and it lit up and made a noise he looked delighted. Then he
narrowed his eyes and tried again. And again. And again. From
different angles. Then he looked up at me very proud as if to say, "I
made that happen."
A great big shout out goes out to all who turned out in solidarity to
protest the violence at (and the whole concept of) the white supremacy
march.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile fiction
"It was the first day of summer vacation.
Mom called it the Summer of Girls.
My nine-month-old sister, Ava, called it, 'wah, wah, WAAAAAH!'
And I called it the Summer without Dad.
But the truth was, no matter what you called it, this summer was
going to stink."
Gabby, narrator of Rachel Alpine's You Throw Like A Girl, is en
route to her grandmother's house, an eight hour drive away, with her
mother snd baby sister. Her father has just departed on an overseas
deployment. She's promised to be strong so her mom won't be upset.
She's had to leave her friends and softball team.
Gabby and her father share a passion for baseball. She's
promised him she will join the softball team in her new town and pitch
their way to a championship. There's only one problem. Due to lack
of interest, there's no softball team that summer. Unless she wants
to sit it out she must assume a boy persona to play baseball.
Gabby has mistakenly signed up for the local beauty pageant,
much to the delight of her pageant winner mother who would love for
her to follow in her high heel steps. Coaching Gabby seems to take
her mind off her missing husband, so Gabby feels dropping out is a non
option.
But how can Gabby balance both identities in a really small
town? What will happen if her ruse is discovered?
On a personal note, yesterday after church Eugene invited me to go
shopping with him. I picked out a package of glitter gel pens and a
bag of Lindor truffles for me and a toy mouse for Joey. Eugene paid
for them and then got us subs for supper.
The new toy brought out the little scientist in Joey cat. When he
batted it and it lit up and made a noise he looked delighted. Then he
narrowed his eyes and tried again. And again. And again. From
different angles. Then he looked up at me very proud as if to say, "I
made that happen."
A great big shout out goes out to all who turned out in solidarity to
protest the violence at (and the whole concept of) the white supremacy
march.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Fiery Vision
Fiery Vision
Juvenile biography
"[John] was one of the most controversial figures of his time,
and his name continues to provoke both anger and admiration, though he
was executed shortly after the raid.
Historians routinely use such words as 'fanatic' and 'murderer'
to describe him, but use no such words to describe the slave owners
and slavery supporters he fought. What is it about John Brown that
continues to arouse such passion, when the cause for which he gave his
life--the destruction of slavery--was achieved just a few years after
his death?"
Today, by looking at Fiery Vision: The Life and Death of John
Brown by Clinton Cox, we're going to complete a trilogy of historical
figures we didn't learn enough of in school. Like Eleanor Roosevelt
and Rosa Parks, John Brown was a much more complex and nuanced human
being than you'd learn from brief high school history mentions.
Cox doesn't deny that Brown and his followers, after a great
deal of planning, captured the Harpers Ferry armory. What he does is
put this action into historical context. Much like today, a lot of
violence was going on and government was on the side of the oppressors.
In 1859 slaves were considered property. White owners could do
whatever they wished, much as you can do what you want to with your
car or truck (as long as it doesn't involve vehicular man[sic]
slaughter). Beating to death or cutting off limbs were within the
owners' rights. Slaves had value ratings like your vehicle's blue
book value.
"The reporter said babies 'are esteemed worth to the master a
hundred dollars the day they are born, and to increase in value at the
rate of a hundred dollars a year till they are sixteen- or seventeen-
years-old, at which age they bring the best prices."
You put a monetary value on items you may sell. And sell the
planters did. Slave families were routinely torn apart, often with no
opportunity for bereaved families to even say goodbye. Imagine coming
home from work to learn that your children were sold and shipped to an
unknown location. You would probably never see them again.
Brown was a deeply religious man who was troubled by the way
fellow humans created in the image of God were treated. Additionally
the powers and principalities represented by the government were
coming down on the side of the oppressors. The fugitive slave act
mandated that residents of free states capture and return runaways.
And in the Dred Scott case:
"Chief Justice Roger Taney, a slave owner (as were four other
members of the Supreme Court) [reviewer's note: can you say conflict
of interest?], ruled that no black man, woman, or child could ever be
a citizen of the United States or have any rights 'which the white man
was bound to respect.' Taney also ruled that Congress had no power to
prohibit slavery anywhere in the country, thus outlawing the Missouri
compromise."
You know what they say about desperate times calling for
desperate measures. Read the book and you will realize that fanatic
and murderer apply a lot more aptly to society at that time than to
the man who tried to do what he could to change things.
On a personal note, today was the Veazie Town Wide Yard Sales. The
weather was not propitious, featuring clouds galore and light mist
with heavier rains imminent. This is probably why there weren't many
sales. But I found a few and was able to buy 9 DVDs, some jewelery, a
fancy pizza cutter, and a couple of adorable snowman wicker containers
perfect for my embroidery floss. I paid $1 for one that had a $34.99
tag on it.
I am trying to persuade myself that I'll get all I need to done by
fall semester. But it seems to be coming up so fast!
A great big shout out goes out to the hardy folks who didn't let the
weather get in the way of their having yard sales and my husband who
gave me money to spend at them.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Juvenile biography
"[John] was one of the most controversial figures of his time,
and his name continues to provoke both anger and admiration, though he
was executed shortly after the raid.
Historians routinely use such words as 'fanatic' and 'murderer'
to describe him, but use no such words to describe the slave owners
and slavery supporters he fought. What is it about John Brown that
continues to arouse such passion, when the cause for which he gave his
life--the destruction of slavery--was achieved just a few years after
his death?"
Today, by looking at Fiery Vision: The Life and Death of John
Brown by Clinton Cox, we're going to complete a trilogy of historical
figures we didn't learn enough of in school. Like Eleanor Roosevelt
and Rosa Parks, John Brown was a much more complex and nuanced human
being than you'd learn from brief high school history mentions.
Cox doesn't deny that Brown and his followers, after a great
deal of planning, captured the Harpers Ferry armory. What he does is
put this action into historical context. Much like today, a lot of
violence was going on and government was on the side of the oppressors.
In 1859 slaves were considered property. White owners could do
whatever they wished, much as you can do what you want to with your
car or truck (as long as it doesn't involve vehicular man[sic]
slaughter). Beating to death or cutting off limbs were within the
owners' rights. Slaves had value ratings like your vehicle's blue
book value.
"The reporter said babies 'are esteemed worth to the master a
hundred dollars the day they are born, and to increase in value at the
rate of a hundred dollars a year till they are sixteen- or seventeen-
years-old, at which age they bring the best prices."
You put a monetary value on items you may sell. And sell the
planters did. Slave families were routinely torn apart, often with no
opportunity for bereaved families to even say goodbye. Imagine coming
home from work to learn that your children were sold and shipped to an
unknown location. You would probably never see them again.
Brown was a deeply religious man who was troubled by the way
fellow humans created in the image of God were treated. Additionally
the powers and principalities represented by the government were
coming down on the side of the oppressors. The fugitive slave act
mandated that residents of free states capture and return runaways.
And in the Dred Scott case:
"Chief Justice Roger Taney, a slave owner (as were four other
members of the Supreme Court) [reviewer's note: can you say conflict
of interest?], ruled that no black man, woman, or child could ever be
a citizen of the United States or have any rights 'which the white man
was bound to respect.' Taney also ruled that Congress had no power to
prohibit slavery anywhere in the country, thus outlawing the Missouri
compromise."
You know what they say about desperate times calling for
desperate measures. Read the book and you will realize that fanatic
and murderer apply a lot more aptly to society at that time than to
the man who tried to do what he could to change things.
On a personal note, today was the Veazie Town Wide Yard Sales. The
weather was not propitious, featuring clouds galore and light mist
with heavier rains imminent. This is probably why there weren't many
sales. But I found a few and was able to buy 9 DVDs, some jewelery, a
fancy pizza cutter, and a couple of adorable snowman wicker containers
perfect for my embroidery floss. I paid $1 for one that had a $34.99
tag on it.
I am trying to persuade myself that I'll get all I need to done by
fall semester. But it seems to be coming up so fast!
A great big shout out goes out to the hardy folks who didn't let the
weather get in the way of their having yard sales and my husband who
gave me money to spend at them.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, August 11, 2017
I just realized I forgot a shout out on the last review I posted. A great shout out goes out to my wonderful, loyal, and very intelligent cat Joey for his help in my breaking and entering adventure.
I just realized I forgot a shout out on the last review I posted. A
great shout out goes out to my wonderful, loyal, and very intelligent
cat Joey for his help in my breaking and entering adventure.
Sent from my iPod
great shout out goes out to my wonderful, loyal, and very intelligent
cat Joey for his help in my breaking and entering adventure.
Sent from my iPod
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
YA biography
"Rosa Parks already knew, of course, that a court case would
turn her into even more of an outcast in white Montgomery. Although
unconcerned about her own physical safety, she also knew that any
public position she took would cause dire trouble for her husband: the
police would harass him, perhaps even frame him on some trumped-up
charge. Her mother's health, meanwhile, was frail: could she endure a
long-drawn-out trial? Rosa Parks fretted over those dilemmas, but in
her heart she never doubted what she had to do..."
In 1997 author and historian Douglas Brinkley took a group of
high school teachers and students on a civil rights tour. In the
course of that journey, he discovered that, despite her fame as the
mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks had had no biography
written about her apart from "...a few illustrated children's books
spinning her life as a morality tale." This was indeed a serious gap
in the herstory records. Lucky for us he decided to put in the time
to write the missing book, combining interviews with Parks and
important people in her life with intensive archival research. Rosa
Parks, the product of his labor, is well worth reading.
I was four when Rosa Parks was arrested. During my childhood
civil rights were front line news, not history or even a done deal.
When my kids were in school Parks was an icon. Very few people didn't
know about her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
But few knew much more. And I strongly agree with Brinkly that much
of the information put out there had decidedly simplified moralistic
overtones.
Brinkly gives us much more. There's the very real danger
southern blacks were in for the most innocuous acts (Recall how Emmitt
Till was brutally murdered for a whistle or comment directed to a
white woman and the murderers were acquitted by an all white jury?),
never mind challenging Jim Crowe laws.
There's Parks as a complex human reacting to unpredictable
unfolding events. As much as she respected Martin Luther King Jr.,
for example, she did not share his his belief in nonviolence as the
only way.
"...Rosa Parks's own philosophy came closer to the views of
playwright Lorraine Hansberry: 'Negroes must concern themselves with
every single means of struggle: legal, illegal, passive, active,
violent, and non-violent. They must harass, debate, petition...sit
in, sing hymns...and shoot from their windows when racists come
cruising through their communities.'"
There's the before and after in regard to that famous moment in
time. We meet Parks at her birth in Tuskegee, Alabama. As the last
chapter concludes a septegenarian Parks is embracing Nelson Mandela.
"Then the two brave old souls, their lives so distant yet their
dreams so close, fell into each other's arms, rocking back and forth
in a long, joyful embrace. And in that poignant, redemptive moment,
the enduring dignity of the undaunted afforded mankind rare proof of
its own progress."
On a personal note, this week's community garden was especially
special and memorable. As any of you who have planted veggies know,
sometimes they give a new meaning to the mandate: be fruitful and
multiply. We had distributed bags to all our people and were still
drowning (not literally) in cukes. Right beside us was the concert.
I volunteered to give the rest out to the audience. They were very
happy with their surprise.
Yesterday I had to break into my house. I'd switched backpacks and
forgotten my keys. A storm was on the way, with the potential of
raining in through the screens. Joey cat, from inside, started pawing
insistently at the studio screen. I touched it there and...ooh,
loose! In a New York minute I had it pried open and far from
gracefully scrambled through. The house stayed dry and I won't be
hearing "Did you remember your keys?" for the next few years.
Ever have an experience like that?
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA biography
"Rosa Parks already knew, of course, that a court case would
turn her into even more of an outcast in white Montgomery. Although
unconcerned about her own physical safety, she also knew that any
public position she took would cause dire trouble for her husband: the
police would harass him, perhaps even frame him on some trumped-up
charge. Her mother's health, meanwhile, was frail: could she endure a
long-drawn-out trial? Rosa Parks fretted over those dilemmas, but in
her heart she never doubted what she had to do..."
In 1997 author and historian Douglas Brinkley took a group of
high school teachers and students on a civil rights tour. In the
course of that journey, he discovered that, despite her fame as the
mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks had had no biography
written about her apart from "...a few illustrated children's books
spinning her life as a morality tale." This was indeed a serious gap
in the herstory records. Lucky for us he decided to put in the time
to write the missing book, combining interviews with Parks and
important people in her life with intensive archival research. Rosa
Parks, the product of his labor, is well worth reading.
I was four when Rosa Parks was arrested. During my childhood
civil rights were front line news, not history or even a done deal.
When my kids were in school Parks was an icon. Very few people didn't
know about her refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.
But few knew much more. And I strongly agree with Brinkly that much
of the information put out there had decidedly simplified moralistic
overtones.
Brinkly gives us much more. There's the very real danger
southern blacks were in for the most innocuous acts (Recall how Emmitt
Till was brutally murdered for a whistle or comment directed to a
white woman and the murderers were acquitted by an all white jury?),
never mind challenging Jim Crowe laws.
There's Parks as a complex human reacting to unpredictable
unfolding events. As much as she respected Martin Luther King Jr.,
for example, she did not share his his belief in nonviolence as the
only way.
"...Rosa Parks's own philosophy came closer to the views of
playwright Lorraine Hansberry: 'Negroes must concern themselves with
every single means of struggle: legal, illegal, passive, active,
violent, and non-violent. They must harass, debate, petition...sit
in, sing hymns...and shoot from their windows when racists come
cruising through their communities.'"
There's the before and after in regard to that famous moment in
time. We meet Parks at her birth in Tuskegee, Alabama. As the last
chapter concludes a septegenarian Parks is embracing Nelson Mandela.
"Then the two brave old souls, their lives so distant yet their
dreams so close, fell into each other's arms, rocking back and forth
in a long, joyful embrace. And in that poignant, redemptive moment,
the enduring dignity of the undaunted afforded mankind rare proof of
its own progress."
On a personal note, this week's community garden was especially
special and memorable. As any of you who have planted veggies know,
sometimes they give a new meaning to the mandate: be fruitful and
multiply. We had distributed bags to all our people and were still
drowning (not literally) in cukes. Right beside us was the concert.
I volunteered to give the rest out to the audience. They were very
happy with their surprise.
Yesterday I had to break into my house. I'd switched backpacks and
forgotten my keys. A storm was on the way, with the potential of
raining in through the screens. Joey cat, from inside, started pawing
insistently at the studio screen. I touched it there and...ooh,
loose! In a New York minute I had it pried open and far from
gracefully scrambled through. The house stayed dry and I won't be
hearing "Did you remember your keys?" for the next few years.
Ever have an experience like that?
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
The Firebrand and the First Lady
The Firebrand and the First Lady
Adult biography
"Unwilling to sanction DAR [Daughters of the American
Revolution] policy by keeping quiet, on February 26, the First Lady
wrote to President General Mrs. Henry M. Robert Jr., 'I am in complete
disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to
a great artist [Marian Anderson]. You have set an example which seems
to me unfortunate, and I feel obliged to send in to you my
resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and
it seems to me that your organization has failed.'...
Pauli Murray took note of ER's comments and actions. Still
roiled by the UNC decision and her inability to challenge it in court,
she aimed to see just how far the first lady was willing to go on the
question of social justice."
Most of my readers and I were not around for either Roosevelt
presidency. Probably what the majority of us know about Eleanor
Roosevelt is based on what little was said back in high school history
which is pathetically little. Any pictures textbooks contained showed
her as prim and sedate. Certainly they did not portray the woman who
resigned from Daughters of the American Revolution when they rejected
the talent of a world famous black contralto and, much to the the
consternation of the political and social elite, served the queen and
king of England hot dogs on a picnic. (The king liked them so much he
asked for seconds).
Probably most of us know even less (if anything) about Pauli
Murray. I was intrigued by a mention of her in a book I was reading
in May. Days later my library writing class teacher gave me an
article about her and said she thought we had s lot in common. (This
was, by the way, quite a compliment for this firebrand.). I decided
to learn more about her. Then in a true instance of library
serendipity I came eyeball to cover with Patricia Bell-Scott's The
Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli
Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice.
Murray was born in the segregated South in 1910. She lost both
parents quite early on: her mother when she was three and her father,
killed by a racist white, when she was thirteen. By high school she
had developed a thirst for learning and a passion for social justice.
Rather than attend an all black college, she moved to New York where
she worked her way through Hunter College. In her graduating class of
247 there were only four blacks. A year later, in 1934, ill and
fatigued, she was a resident of Camp Tera, a government refuge for
unemployed women in upstate New York.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established by Roosevelt's
husband to help the unemployed, was a stag operation. The people who
ran it had all kinds of excuses for excluding women: they could turn
to family for help; they were too catty for communal living; they
might be recruited to communism or homosexuality. Luckily Eleanor
persisted in getting a camp established for women who had, "been
neglected in comparison with others, and throughout this depression
have had the hardest time of all."
One day Roosevelt drove up to Camp Tera for one of her regular
visits. Murray and Roosevelt did not speak. In fact Murray was
accused of "disrespecting" Roosevelt. Four years later Murray,
angered by the racial inequality in America wrote to Roosevelt and her
husband. Roosevelt personally replied. This opening volley in their
correspondance would lead to an intimate, deeply personal long term
relationship.
The Firebrand and The First Lady gives an in depth understanding
of this friendship in 360 well researched pages. It also provides a
fascinating look at two complex, passionate women and the world in
which the lived, breathed, and had their being. Avid herstory
enthusiasts will find this book to an illuminating addition to
knowledge and understanding of the not so long ago past.
On a personal note, this firebrand had a very productive day
yesterday. My big achievement was the writing of an op ed piece on
why a certain group claiming to push for "sensible" immigration is
really the latest incarnation of scapegoating organizations preying on
people's fears. Murray would have been on board with it. Then I did
most of my report on what I've worked on and achieved so far. Another
document Murray would have approved.
To keep this firebrand fit and fighting I have to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. Yesterday I embarked on a two week baseline assessment by
listing all I eat, drink, sleep, and do for exercise and stress
prevention with no intervention. I can't very well change until I
know what I need to change.
A great shout goes out to all my fellow firebrands! May we be out,
about, and rocking the boat!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult biography
"Unwilling to sanction DAR [Daughters of the American
Revolution] policy by keeping quiet, on February 26, the First Lady
wrote to President General Mrs. Henry M. Robert Jr., 'I am in complete
disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to
a great artist [Marian Anderson]. You have set an example which seems
to me unfortunate, and I feel obliged to send in to you my
resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and
it seems to me that your organization has failed.'...
Pauli Murray took note of ER's comments and actions. Still
roiled by the UNC decision and her inability to challenge it in court,
she aimed to see just how far the first lady was willing to go on the
question of social justice."
Most of my readers and I were not around for either Roosevelt
presidency. Probably what the majority of us know about Eleanor
Roosevelt is based on what little was said back in high school history
which is pathetically little. Any pictures textbooks contained showed
her as prim and sedate. Certainly they did not portray the woman who
resigned from Daughters of the American Revolution when they rejected
the talent of a world famous black contralto and, much to the the
consternation of the political and social elite, served the queen and
king of England hot dogs on a picnic. (The king liked them so much he
asked for seconds).
Probably most of us know even less (if anything) about Pauli
Murray. I was intrigued by a mention of her in a book I was reading
in May. Days later my library writing class teacher gave me an
article about her and said she thought we had s lot in common. (This
was, by the way, quite a compliment for this firebrand.). I decided
to learn more about her. Then in a true instance of library
serendipity I came eyeball to cover with Patricia Bell-Scott's The
Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli
Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice.
Murray was born in the segregated South in 1910. She lost both
parents quite early on: her mother when she was three and her father,
killed by a racist white, when she was thirteen. By high school she
had developed a thirst for learning and a passion for social justice.
Rather than attend an all black college, she moved to New York where
she worked her way through Hunter College. In her graduating class of
247 there were only four blacks. A year later, in 1934, ill and
fatigued, she was a resident of Camp Tera, a government refuge for
unemployed women in upstate New York.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), established by Roosevelt's
husband to help the unemployed, was a stag operation. The people who
ran it had all kinds of excuses for excluding women: they could turn
to family for help; they were too catty for communal living; they
might be recruited to communism or homosexuality. Luckily Eleanor
persisted in getting a camp established for women who had, "been
neglected in comparison with others, and throughout this depression
have had the hardest time of all."
One day Roosevelt drove up to Camp Tera for one of her regular
visits. Murray and Roosevelt did not speak. In fact Murray was
accused of "disrespecting" Roosevelt. Four years later Murray,
angered by the racial inequality in America wrote to Roosevelt and her
husband. Roosevelt personally replied. This opening volley in their
correspondance would lead to an intimate, deeply personal long term
relationship.
The Firebrand and The First Lady gives an in depth understanding
of this friendship in 360 well researched pages. It also provides a
fascinating look at two complex, passionate women and the world in
which the lived, breathed, and had their being. Avid herstory
enthusiasts will find this book to an illuminating addition to
knowledge and understanding of the not so long ago past.
On a personal note, this firebrand had a very productive day
yesterday. My big achievement was the writing of an op ed piece on
why a certain group claiming to push for "sensible" immigration is
really the latest incarnation of scapegoating organizations preying on
people's fears. Murray would have been on board with it. Then I did
most of my report on what I've worked on and achieved so far. Another
document Murray would have approved.
To keep this firebrand fit and fighting I have to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. Yesterday I embarked on a two week baseline assessment by
listing all I eat, drink, sleep, and do for exercise and stress
prevention with no intervention. I can't very well change until I
know what I need to change.
A great shout goes out to all my fellow firebrands! May we be out,
about, and rocking the boat!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Longevity Book
Longevity Book
Adult nonfiction
"What you will find in these pages is information and an
ideology that will help you find a new way of thinking about aging. I
don't want you to live in fear of aging, or beat yourself up about the
fact that your body is doing something totally natural. I want to
reframe the way that we, as women, talk about aging. I want to offer
a perspective that is healthier and more scientifically accurate than
the fear-and shame-based conversation that permeates our culture."
So what does a book on longevity have to do with a book on
redefining pretty for girls? EVERYTHING! Both are written for those
of us closer to the female end of the gender spectrum. Both encourage
the challenging and extinguishing of damaging and stereotypes. For
girls it is the equation of pretty and desirable with health
endangering thinness, almost impossible to achieve model looks, and
the acquisition of constantly changing (but always expensive) "in"
garments and accoutrements. For those who receive AARP brochures in
the mail there is a dual message. We can achieve secular salvation
(that focuses more on outward appearances than inward well being) by
the magic of surgery, dyes and cosmetics, toxin injections, and all
kinds of costly elixers; if we fail or refuse to do so we should fade
into obscurity, leaving the stage to those still hot enough to attract
the lustful male gaze.
These stereotypes are damaging and dangerous and all around us.
I think my readers are familiar with those directed towards girls and
younger women. I challenge you to examine the media directed to older
folks, especially the ads. I did and was quite dismayed. A lot
encourage women to invest in magic bullet hands of time turn backers.
Others seem designed for the grim reaper's waiting room. On what
planet do a group of card players get absolutely gleeful over the
chance to get life insurance and not have their deaths be a burden on
others?
In my most recent review I encouraged parents of girls and women
of all ages to invest in Strong Is The New Pretty. In this one I am
making a case for all CIS and trans women and gender nonconforming
folks from college student through nonegenarian and beyond to acquire
Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bark's Longevity Book.
Longevity Book addresses the many aspects of aging from cellular
to sociological. There are historical trends, some accompanied by
quite eye catching time lines. (Gotta love this 2015 entry in a brief
history of antiaging treatments: " A woman I'm the UK said that she
will quit smiling for forty years in an attempt to avoid getting
wrinkles. Other women laughed about this.") Topics like menopause,
still too often swept under the rug are addressed. There are no magic
bullets or one size fits all panaceas. Diaz and Bark acknowledge the
uniqueness of each individual's genetics and experiences in relation
to overall health and well being.
One of my favorite quotes in Longevity Book puts wrinkles and
grey hair in beautiful perspective. Think, for example, of how common
fatal childbirth fever fever was when doctors would go between
diseased corpses and women in labor without washing their hands. We
are reminded that longevity is a very recent blessing.
"The fact that we can grow old enough to look old, in droves, is
far from a failure. It happens to be the end product of arguably the
biggest success story in human history."
Different chapters center around different aspects of aging such
as stress management, brain building, and dealing with menopause. I
would advise reading the whole book rather than picking and choosing.
Each aspect makes much more sense within the wholistic perspective.
Likewise I would encourage even the more science phobic not to skip
over the more technical paragraphs. Reading in this way is like
building a house on a foundation of sand. Trust me on this.
In my mind the most valuable part of this book is its emphasis
on adapting life style change wherever on the life continuum you are.
My daughters can quite profitably take them up for a long term
investment; I am not so far along that I can't make a significant
difference.
"In fact, the best things we can do for ourselves as we grow
older also happen to be some of our favorite things to do. Eating
good food, developing our muscles, getting a good night's sleep,
loving other people, laughing, relaxing, finding joy in the world.
These are the actions and activities that make us interesting people,
curious people, strong people...
To us it sounds like a revelation. The best way to age well
isn't to worry about aging. It is to live well."
Hell, yeah!
You readers may have to put up with my reviews for quite
awhile. I read elsewhere that giving birth without help conceiving in
one's mid forties is the strongest marker for longevity. (Thanks,
Adam!) Longevity Book gives me another reason for hope.
"One study found that people who have a positive outlook about
aging live approximately 7.5 years longer than their glass-is-half-
empty peers."
Think how many books I can discover and share with you in 7.5
years!
On a personal note, I was so busy writing poetry in church I did not
catch Rev. Taylor's sermon. I barely managed to sit, stand, and sing
at all the right spots. :-) In my defense they are good poems. In
the afternoon I went for a ride with Eugene. I got 3 DVDs and a book
at a second hand store.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
"What you will find in these pages is information and an
ideology that will help you find a new way of thinking about aging. I
don't want you to live in fear of aging, or beat yourself up about the
fact that your body is doing something totally natural. I want to
reframe the way that we, as women, talk about aging. I want to offer
a perspective that is healthier and more scientifically accurate than
the fear-and shame-based conversation that permeates our culture."
So what does a book on longevity have to do with a book on
redefining pretty for girls? EVERYTHING! Both are written for those
of us closer to the female end of the gender spectrum. Both encourage
the challenging and extinguishing of damaging and stereotypes. For
girls it is the equation of pretty and desirable with health
endangering thinness, almost impossible to achieve model looks, and
the acquisition of constantly changing (but always expensive) "in"
garments and accoutrements. For those who receive AARP brochures in
the mail there is a dual message. We can achieve secular salvation
(that focuses more on outward appearances than inward well being) by
the magic of surgery, dyes and cosmetics, toxin injections, and all
kinds of costly elixers; if we fail or refuse to do so we should fade
into obscurity, leaving the stage to those still hot enough to attract
the lustful male gaze.
These stereotypes are damaging and dangerous and all around us.
I think my readers are familiar with those directed towards girls and
younger women. I challenge you to examine the media directed to older
folks, especially the ads. I did and was quite dismayed. A lot
encourage women to invest in magic bullet hands of time turn backers.
Others seem designed for the grim reaper's waiting room. On what
planet do a group of card players get absolutely gleeful over the
chance to get life insurance and not have their deaths be a burden on
others?
In my most recent review I encouraged parents of girls and women
of all ages to invest in Strong Is The New Pretty. In this one I am
making a case for all CIS and trans women and gender nonconforming
folks from college student through nonegenarian and beyond to acquire
Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bark's Longevity Book.
Longevity Book addresses the many aspects of aging from cellular
to sociological. There are historical trends, some accompanied by
quite eye catching time lines. (Gotta love this 2015 entry in a brief
history of antiaging treatments: " A woman I'm the UK said that she
will quit smiling for forty years in an attempt to avoid getting
wrinkles. Other women laughed about this.") Topics like menopause,
still too often swept under the rug are addressed. There are no magic
bullets or one size fits all panaceas. Diaz and Bark acknowledge the
uniqueness of each individual's genetics and experiences in relation
to overall health and well being.
One of my favorite quotes in Longevity Book puts wrinkles and
grey hair in beautiful perspective. Think, for example, of how common
fatal childbirth fever fever was when doctors would go between
diseased corpses and women in labor without washing their hands. We
are reminded that longevity is a very recent blessing.
"The fact that we can grow old enough to look old, in droves, is
far from a failure. It happens to be the end product of arguably the
biggest success story in human history."
Different chapters center around different aspects of aging such
as stress management, brain building, and dealing with menopause. I
would advise reading the whole book rather than picking and choosing.
Each aspect makes much more sense within the wholistic perspective.
Likewise I would encourage even the more science phobic not to skip
over the more technical paragraphs. Reading in this way is like
building a house on a foundation of sand. Trust me on this.
In my mind the most valuable part of this book is its emphasis
on adapting life style change wherever on the life continuum you are.
My daughters can quite profitably take them up for a long term
investment; I am not so far along that I can't make a significant
difference.
"In fact, the best things we can do for ourselves as we grow
older also happen to be some of our favorite things to do. Eating
good food, developing our muscles, getting a good night's sleep,
loving other people, laughing, relaxing, finding joy in the world.
These are the actions and activities that make us interesting people,
curious people, strong people...
To us it sounds like a revelation. The best way to age well
isn't to worry about aging. It is to live well."
Hell, yeah!
You readers may have to put up with my reviews for quite
awhile. I read elsewhere that giving birth without help conceiving in
one's mid forties is the strongest marker for longevity. (Thanks,
Adam!) Longevity Book gives me another reason for hope.
"One study found that people who have a positive outlook about
aging live approximately 7.5 years longer than their glass-is-half-
empty peers."
Think how many books I can discover and share with you in 7.5
years!
On a personal note, I was so busy writing poetry in church I did not
catch Rev. Taylor's sermon. I barely managed to sit, stand, and sing
at all the right spots. :-) In my defense they are good poems. In
the afternoon I went for a ride with Eugene. I got 3 DVDs and a book
at a second hand store.
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Friday, August 4, 2017
Fwd: Strong Is The New Pretty
Sent from my iPod
Begin forwarded message:
From: Julia Hathaway <beaniebabylover@gmail.com>
Date: August 4, 2017 9:51:38 AM EDT
To: "beaniebabylover.fireworks@blogger.com" <beaniebabylover.fireworks@blogger.com>
Subject: Strong Is The New Pretty
Strong Is The New Pretty
YA nonfiction
"Do them a favor and remind these girls of their strength. Remind each other of your strength. Often. Write it down if you need to: the ways in which you are smart, the ways in which you are qualified, the ways in which you are strong. Put them on your wall, say them out loud--internalize them. Believe them. Don't let your daughter, your niece, your sister, your cousin waste any precious time wishing she looked like anyone else--she looks and acts and sings and walks and talks and works and plays like herself."
If there is one book that I feel should be in the home of every family who has a growing girl, it would be Kate T. Parker's Strong Is The New Pretty. Every day our girls are bombarded with messages about aspirations from those who do not have their best interests at heart. Being pretty has to do with being almost impossibly thin and achieving a degree of perfection even models (never mind soccor playing preteens or teens balancing school, extracurriculars, and jobs) need photo enhancement to achieve. One has to have all the pricey and constantly changing garments and accoutrements. (Shopito ergo sum; I shop; therefore I am?) Messiness is a total taboo. Strong Is The New Pretty is a powerful antidote to this bombardment.
When she was seven (in 1983) Parker decided that her long hair was too much of a time suck. Playing soccer was much more important in her life. Fortunately her supportive parents didn't stand in the way of her getting it cut as short as her brothers'. They empowered her to be her true self, even when that clashed with the dictates of the larger society.
As a parent, Parker encourages her daughters to be their authentic selves. A professional photographer, she took lots of pictures of her girls and their friends.
"...The more I shot, the more I began to notice that the strongest images, the ones that resonated the most with me, were the ones in which the girls were being 100 percent themselves. When they were messy and funny and stubborn and joyful and in your face, I kept shooting. I didn't ask them to smile or go put on a pretty dress. I wanted to capture these girls as they were, and how they were is amazing. I wanted to continue capturing them in just that way--not just for my sake, bit for theirs too."
Lucky for us, her project expanded. She travelled all over the country, capturing the words and images of a wide diversity of girls. Nearly 200 are beautifully portrayed in the book. Among the youngsters you will be introduced to are:
*Emme (7) looking down through a leafy canopy
"We weren't supposed to climb this high, but the view is better up here.";
*wheelchair athlete Jordan (15)
"Strong is putting all your heart, mind, and effort into what you believe in. Your beauty will shine from this.";
*Cello player Nora (11)
"Through music I have the ability to make others smile and even cry when I perform in a way that moves someone.";
*Grace (12)
"Cancer stole part of my leg, but not my joy. I choose happiness. Being happy is my superpower.";
*Ella (9) represented by a hand waving a star topped wand
"I am magic.";
And so many more. Really drinking in the images and words is like falling in love again and again and again...
Parker hopes that her book will inspire girls and women to be and take pride in their authentic selves rather that settling for society's expectations.
"...I worry about what my girls and their friends are exposed to and how their opinions of their bodies and selves are being shaped by the Internet and TV and magazines. I want these images to combat those negative voices that tell us we're not good enough or thin enough or whatever enough. Because we are FAR MORE THAN ENOUGH! (reviewer's emphasis) I wanted these girls to hear their own voices through these images, and to inspire them to use them and continue to use them. Loudly."
Amen to that!
If you have a daughter buy this book and put it where she can turn to it for inspiration often. If you are female (CIS or trans) or gender nonconforming/fluid buy this book and put it where you can turn to it often for inspiration. Those messages don't go away; and for the over fifty set (of which I am a member) they take on a particularly lethal quality.
In fact one of the projects I have put on my list is to do a similar book featuring grown women further along in the age continuum. I know some amazing ones. I've already started a list. I love writing. I love photography. It's time to discover my inner photojournalist. I plan to begin with the story of how I became a drag king at the age of 63.
On a personal note, my Thursday was incredible! I started walking to Orono only to get a ride from a friend who is about to vaca in India. I arrived in time to help weed in the children's garden before the library opened. I shelf read and scored more books which you will love my reviews of. I went to a frozen yogurt place in Bangor with one of my very best friends. Don't you love to discover a new yummy eatery? I gave her the purple flower "weeds" which she finds beautiful. I had an Ending Violence Together meeting. I saw a picture that I believe will be made into a mural. I'm in it wearing my blue butterfly wings. Across the street from my home was a little girl in a stroller. I gave her a rescued picture book with electronic sound effects. The smile that lit up her face was priceless. I had salad with local veggies for supper and read with Joey cat. I love my life.
Oh, yeah, I finally discovered a way to read more books. About time, right? I can read and walk at the same time. YAY!
A great big shout out goes out all who shared the amazing day with me!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Strong Is The New Pretty
Strong Is The New Pretty
YA nonfiction
"Do them a favor and remind these girls of their strength.
Remind each other of your strength. Often. Write it down if you need
to: the ways in which you are smart, the ways in which you are
qualified, the ways in which you are strong. Put them on your wall,
say them out loud--internalize them. Believe them. Don't let your
daughter, your niece, your sister, your cousin waste any precious time
wishing she looked like anyone else--she looks and acts and sings and
walks and talks and works and plays like herself."
If there is one book that I feel should be in the home of every
family who has a growing girl, it would be Kate T. Parker's Strong Is
The New Pretty. Every day our girls are bombarded with messages about
aspirations from those who do not have their best interests at heart.
Being pretty has to do with being almost impossibly thin and achieving
a degree of perfection even models (never mind soccor playing preteens
or teens balancing school, extracurriculars, and jobs) need photo
enhancement to achieve. One has to have all the pricey and constantly
changing garments and accoutrements. (Shopito ergo sum; I shop;
therefore I am?) Messiness is a total taboo. Strong Is The New
Pretty is a powerful antidote to this bombardment.
When she was seven (in 1983) Parker decided that her long hair
was too much of a time suck. Playing soccer was much more important
in her life. Fortunately her supportive parents didn't stand in the
way of her getting it cut as short as her brothers'. They empowered
her to be her true self, even when that clashed with the dictates of
the larger society.
As a parent, Parker encourages her daughters to be their
authentic selves. A professional photographer, she took lots of
pictures of her girls and their friends.
"...The more I shot, the more I began to notice that the
strongest images, the ones that resonated the most with me, were the
ones in which the girls were being 100 percent themselves. When they
were messy and funny and stubborn and joyful and in your face, I kept
shooting. I didn't ask them to smile or go put on a pretty dress. I
wanted to capture these girls as they were, and how they were is
amazing. I wanted to continue capturing them in just that way--not
just for my sake, bit for theirs too."
Lucky for us, her project expanded. She travelled all over the
country, capturing the words and images of a wide diversity of girls.
Nearly 200 are beautifully portrayed in the book. Among the
youngsters you will be introduced to are:
*Emme (7) looking down through a leafy canopy
"We weren't supposed to climb this high, but the view is better up
here.";
*wheelchair athlete Jordan (15)
"Strong is putting all your heart, mind, and effort into what you
believe in. Your beauty will shine from this.";
*Cello player Nora (11)
"Through music I have the ability to make others smile and even cry
when I perform in a way that moves someone.";
*Grace (12)
"Cancer stole part of my leg, but not my joy. I choose happiness.
Being happy is my superpower.";
*Ella (9) represented by a hand waving a star topped wand
"I am magic.";
And so many more. Really drinking in the images and words is like
falling in love again and again and again...
Parker hopes that her book will inspire girls and women to be
and take pride in their authentic selves rather that settling for
society's expectations.
"...I worry about what my girls and their friends are exposed to
and how their opinions of their bodies and selves are being shaped by
the Internet and TV and magazines. I want these images to combat
those negative voices that tell us we're not good enough or thin
enough or whatever enough. Because we are FAR MORE THAN ENOUGH!
(reviewer's emphasis) I wanted these girls to hear their own voices
through these images, and to inspire them to use them and continue to
use them. Loudly."
Amen to that!
If you have a daughter buy this book and put it where she can
turn to it for inspiration often. If you are female (CIS or trans) or
gender nonconforming/fluid buy this book and put it where you can turn
to it often for inspiration. Those messages don't go away; and for
the over fifty set (of which I am a member) they take on a
particularly lethal quality.
In fact one of the projects I have put on my list is to do a
similar book featuring grown women further along in the age
continuum. I know some amazing ones. I've already started a list. I
love writing. I love photography. It's time to discover my inner
photojournalist. I plan to begin with the story of how I became a
drag king at the age of 63.
On a personal note, my Thursday was incredible! I started walking to
Orono only to get a ride from a friend who is about to vaca in India.
I arrived in time to help weed in the children's garden before the
library opened. I shelf read and scored more books which you will
love my reviews of. I went to a frozen yogurt place in Bangor with
one of my very best friends. Don't you love to discover a new yummy
eatery? I gave her the purple flower "weeds" which she finds
beautiful. I had an Ending Violence Together meeting. I saw a
picture that I believe will be made into a mural. I'm in it wearing
my blue butterfly wings. Across the street from my home was a little
girl in a stroller. I gave her a rescued picture book with electronic
sound effects. The smile that lit up her face was priceless. I had
salad with local veggies for supper and read with Joey cat. I love my
life.
Oh, yeah, I finally discovered a way to read more books. About time,
right? I can read and walk at the same time. YAY!
A great big shout out goes out all who shared the amazing day with me!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
YA nonfiction
"Do them a favor and remind these girls of their strength.
Remind each other of your strength. Often. Write it down if you need
to: the ways in which you are smart, the ways in which you are
qualified, the ways in which you are strong. Put them on your wall,
say them out loud--internalize them. Believe them. Don't let your
daughter, your niece, your sister, your cousin waste any precious time
wishing she looked like anyone else--she looks and acts and sings and
walks and talks and works and plays like herself."
If there is one book that I feel should be in the home of every
family who has a growing girl, it would be Kate T. Parker's Strong Is
The New Pretty. Every day our girls are bombarded with messages about
aspirations from those who do not have their best interests at heart.
Being pretty has to do with being almost impossibly thin and achieving
a degree of perfection even models (never mind soccor playing preteens
or teens balancing school, extracurriculars, and jobs) need photo
enhancement to achieve. One has to have all the pricey and constantly
changing garments and accoutrements. (Shopito ergo sum; I shop;
therefore I am?) Messiness is a total taboo. Strong Is The New
Pretty is a powerful antidote to this bombardment.
When she was seven (in 1983) Parker decided that her long hair
was too much of a time suck. Playing soccer was much more important
in her life. Fortunately her supportive parents didn't stand in the
way of her getting it cut as short as her brothers'. They empowered
her to be her true self, even when that clashed with the dictates of
the larger society.
As a parent, Parker encourages her daughters to be their
authentic selves. A professional photographer, she took lots of
pictures of her girls and their friends.
"...The more I shot, the more I began to notice that the
strongest images, the ones that resonated the most with me, were the
ones in which the girls were being 100 percent themselves. When they
were messy and funny and stubborn and joyful and in your face, I kept
shooting. I didn't ask them to smile or go put on a pretty dress. I
wanted to capture these girls as they were, and how they were is
amazing. I wanted to continue capturing them in just that way--not
just for my sake, bit for theirs too."
Lucky for us, her project expanded. She travelled all over the
country, capturing the words and images of a wide diversity of girls.
Nearly 200 are beautifully portrayed in the book. Among the
youngsters you will be introduced to are:
*Emme (7) looking down through a leafy canopy
"We weren't supposed to climb this high, but the view is better up
here.";
*wheelchair athlete Jordan (15)
"Strong is putting all your heart, mind, and effort into what you
believe in. Your beauty will shine from this.";
*Cello player Nora (11)
"Through music I have the ability to make others smile and even cry
when I perform in a way that moves someone.";
*Grace (12)
"Cancer stole part of my leg, but not my joy. I choose happiness.
Being happy is my superpower.";
*Ella (9) represented by a hand waving a star topped wand
"I am magic.";
And so many more. Really drinking in the images and words is like
falling in love again and again and again...
Parker hopes that her book will inspire girls and women to be
and take pride in their authentic selves rather that settling for
society's expectations.
"...I worry about what my girls and their friends are exposed to
and how their opinions of their bodies and selves are being shaped by
the Internet and TV and magazines. I want these images to combat
those negative voices that tell us we're not good enough or thin
enough or whatever enough. Because we are FAR MORE THAN ENOUGH!
(reviewer's emphasis) I wanted these girls to hear their own voices
through these images, and to inspire them to use them and continue to
use them. Loudly."
Amen to that!
If you have a daughter buy this book and put it where she can
turn to it for inspiration often. If you are female (CIS or trans) or
gender nonconforming/fluid buy this book and put it where you can turn
to it often for inspiration. Those messages don't go away; and for
the over fifty set (of which I am a member) they take on a
particularly lethal quality.
In fact one of the projects I have put on my list is to do a
similar book featuring grown women further along in the age
continuum. I know some amazing ones. I've already started a list. I
love writing. I love photography. It's time to discover my inner
photojournalist. I plan to begin with the story of how I became a
drag king at the age of 63.
On a personal note, my Thursday was incredible! I started walking to
Orono only to get a ride from a friend who is about to vaca in India.
I arrived in time to help weed in the children's garden before the
library opened. I shelf read and scored more books which you will
love my reviews of. I went to a frozen yogurt place in Bangor with
one of my very best friends. Don't you love to discover a new yummy
eatery? I gave her the purple flower "weeds" which she finds
beautiful. I had an Ending Violence Together meeting. I saw a
picture that I believe will be made into a mural. I'm in it wearing
my blue butterfly wings. Across the street from my home was a little
girl in a stroller. I gave her a rescued picture book with electronic
sound effects. The smile that lit up her face was priceless. I had
salad with local veggies for supper and read with Joey cat. I love my
life.
Oh, yeah, I finally discovered a way to read more books. About time,
right? I can read and walk at the same time. YAY!
A great big shout out goes out all who shared the amazing day with me!
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Hearts In Suspension
Hearts In Suspension
Adult nonfiction
Most of us, coming up on landmark alma mater anniversaries such
as reunions:
A) wonder who we'll see (if we choose to attend) and how much they're
changed
B) hope we're not the left behinds of the class
C) maybe buy a new outfit, dye out the grey, try to shed a few pounds or
D) all of the above.
I guess when you're a majorly famous author and a school's
outstanding alum more is expected of you. Shortly before Stephen King
hit the 50th anniversary of his freshman entrance the University of
Maine made him an offer he didn't refuse (much to his many fans' great
good fortune).
The book they propositioned King to contribute to, Hearts In
Suspension, is centered around his 1999 novella "Hearts In Atlantis."
It's a story set in UMaine which focuses on a student's freshman year
and the hearts frenzy that dangerously diverts him and his dormmates
from their studies. But that's just the beginning.
King has written a piece about his own college experience as
have a bunch of his friends from back in the day. They piece together
like a crazy quilt and give you quite an interesting picture of
sixties collegiate life as viewed through the perspective of time and
experience. There are also some of King's garbage trucks courtesy of
the Maine Campus archives.
The piece de resistance, the cherry on the ice cream sundae, is
the section of intriguing vintage photographs.
Stephen King fans--don't let this be the one that got away.
Track it down and buckle up for a real roller coaster ride. You'll be
glad you did!
On a personal note, we had a wonderful community garden evening. We
were able to stuff the bags very full with good veggies and enjoy the
concert. Our recipients were thrilled. I have also been gleaning
from the Orono
Public Library's great bumper crop of new books. You, of course, will
reap the results of my reading.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Community Garden and Orono
Public Library families.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
Adult nonfiction
Most of us, coming up on landmark alma mater anniversaries such
as reunions:
A) wonder who we'll see (if we choose to attend) and how much they're
changed
B) hope we're not the left behinds of the class
C) maybe buy a new outfit, dye out the grey, try to shed a few pounds or
D) all of the above.
I guess when you're a majorly famous author and a school's
outstanding alum more is expected of you. Shortly before Stephen King
hit the 50th anniversary of his freshman entrance the University of
Maine made him an offer he didn't refuse (much to his many fans' great
good fortune).
The book they propositioned King to contribute to, Hearts In
Suspension, is centered around his 1999 novella "Hearts In Atlantis."
It's a story set in UMaine which focuses on a student's freshman year
and the hearts frenzy that dangerously diverts him and his dormmates
from their studies. But that's just the beginning.
King has written a piece about his own college experience as
have a bunch of his friends from back in the day. They piece together
like a crazy quilt and give you quite an interesting picture of
sixties collegiate life as viewed through the perspective of time and
experience. There are also some of King's garbage trucks courtesy of
the Maine Campus archives.
The piece de resistance, the cherry on the ice cream sundae, is
the section of intriguing vintage photographs.
Stephen King fans--don't let this be the one that got away.
Track it down and buckle up for a real roller coaster ride. You'll be
glad you did!
On a personal note, we had a wonderful community garden evening. We
were able to stuff the bags very full with good veggies and enjoy the
concert. Our recipients were thrilled. I have also been gleaning
from the Orono
Public Library's great bumper crop of new books. You, of course, will
reap the results of my reading.
A great big shout out goes out to my Orono Community Garden and Orono
Public Library families.
jules hathaway
Sent from my iPod
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