Vision board making

I really loved this one. 

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Vision board making

Sent from my Galaxy

Vision board making

Sent from my Galaxy

Vision board making

Sent from my Galaxy

My very special birthday gift from Eunice

I'll most definitely wear this to Elizabeth's Christmas party. So beautiful!

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Midterm Pertinent Juvenile Nonfiction

     This upcoming election is probably the most contentious, ugly, obscenely high financed, truth lite, dangerously high stakes one in the 75 years I've been alive. I wouldn't be surprised if you too feel trepidation. What will we wake up to the morning after? Recently in the juvenile wing of the Orono Public Library's juvenile wing I found three nonfiction books that were a breath of fresh air.

     

     Although Emily Easton and Ziyue Chen's Enough! 20 Protesters Who Changed America  was published in 2018, it is even more relevant and needed today. 

     The concept is deceptively simple. It combines portraits of individuals who protested through history with sentences describing what they did. (Longer bios are in the back.) Readers learn that Rachel (Carson) wrote a book; Muhammad (Ali) refused to fight; Jazz (Jennings) wore a dress; Colin (Kaepernick) took a knee...

     Inspired by the courageous response to the Parkland shootings, Easton wrote Enough! as a reminder of America's history of protest. "I especially wanted to show the many ways protesters have stood, marched, or knelt for change in simple enough language for young readers to understand and feel inspired...My hope is that their actions will inspire young people to find their own way to make America better."

     We can't put it all on younger people though, given today's urgency. When peaceful acts of protest are increasingly criminalized, when unarmed protesters are facing military grade weapons, when the President is working to selectively disenfranchise large numbers of citizens, when books are banned and curricula whitewashed, when the President bypasses Congress to start an illegal war...

     ...It's gonna take all of us working together!

     We tend to think of the discovery of the principles of climate change as 20th and 21st century. I was surprised when I learned that the first principle had been discovered in the 1950s when I read Rebecca Donnelly's Change Is in the Air: The Hidden Discoveries of Eunice Newton Foote, the First Climate Scientist. 

     Eunice was born in 1819, a time when expectations for girls and women were tragically limited. Her education at the just founded Troy Female Seminary gave her an excellent knowledge of science and math. Sadly no university would allow her to continue her formal education. 

     As a wife and mother Eunice didn't shrink into a traditional limited role. She kept up with scientific discoveries by reading magazines and newspapers...

    ...which inspired her to carry out experiments of her own. 

     Girls fascinated by science's unsolved mysteries will love Change Is in the Air. It will inspire some to make important future discoveries. 

     I think that we can all agree that these days fake news is a very real problem. There is so much misinformation out there. How do we know what to believe and act on.

     If it's a challenge for adults it most definitely is for kids and preteens. Gregor Craigie's Sticking To The Facts: 10 Ways to Fight Misinformation gives them strategies this important distinction. Each is thoroughlhy explained with real life examples. Terms that younger readers might not be familiar with are defined. 

     Bithi Sutradhar's colorful illustrations really help bring the content to life. Sticking To The Facts is a most excellent investment for school, public, and home libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, I had a most excellent day yesterday. I visited my friend Eunice in her office. We had fun catching up. I explained some of the intricacies of American elections. (She's from Ghana). She gave me a lovely birthday 🎂 present 🎁: a necklace and earrings in a light up box.

Eunice asked me if I wanted to see Elizabeth Allan, the head of UMaine's higher education program. That was a most wonderful unexpected opportunity. I got a chance to talk to her about the things I'm doing fine on like volunteering, social life, writing, and keeping up this blog and things I need to do better on like finding an agent for my manuscript and job hunting-‐both of which terrify me. Elizabeth is always so supportive and encouraging. She sponsored me for $250 in the Orono Public Library readathon. I'm really looking forward to her Christmas party. 

Then I had a wonderful hangout with my Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund crew. Aurelia shared her chicken and fries with me. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eunice, Elizabeth, and the Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund crew.

Jules Hathaway 

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My Monsters Ain't Like Yours (Horror anthology)

     The other birthday book Amber gave me, R. J. Joseph's My Monsters Ain't Like Yours, is an anthology of Black feminist intersectional horror stories, most definitely for an adult audience. 

     I've been thinking about monsters lately as we approach the midterm election. The people who design campaign ads, rather than appealing to our minds with actual relevant information, are taking advantage of our fears,  both the universal ones and the more diverse ones. I think almost all of us consider serial killers and vampires to be monsters. But while I consider a president starting an illegal war and trashing environmental protections a monster one of my neighbors considers undocumented aliens to be the monsters. It bothers me that for the most part we're being manipulated by portrayals of candidates as monsters with doctored photos that resemble trailers for horror flicks rather than respected by being given relevant information on key issues. How many trees were cut down to make those damn flyers that keep flooding our mailboxes?

     Anyway I find the monsters in Joseph's anthology less threatening only because we won't be electing them to the United States Senate. The stories are awesome chillers the perfect length for autumnal campfire sharing. What impresses me the most is her ability to create twenty-five totally diverse narrators, settings, and plot lines and make each spring to vivid life in a minimum of pages.

     Georgia, protagonist of Those Who Teach Pay Knowledge Foward, is the teacher in a one room schoolhouse somewhere in the Midwest. A lot of obstacles stand in the way of youngsters attending: poverty, chores or jobs, parents not seeing the value of education... She is striving to prepare her students to thrive in a world not always decent to people of color. 

      She's especially concerned about Calvin, an especially promising student who aspires to become a doctor. He lives with his grandparents. He's started missing a lot of days. She's afraid that he'll miss too many and not be able to catch up. 

     When she goes to visit his guardians what she discovers isn't covered in any Child's Protective Sseervices handbook. 

     Naomi, protagonist of Where The Horizon Kisses The Sky is afraid that her husband no longer loves her. When she confides in a mysterious stranger she learns the importance of being careful what you wish...

     ...or at least how you phrase your wish.

     In The Heart's Desire Layla seems to be the perfect trad wife, spending all her time tending to the home and kids and entertaining her husband's clients and partners. Some would envy her opulent life style. But it comes with a high price--the loss of everything she desires. 

     "By the time she saw the post for film festival presentations in Europe, she would've taken any avenue that would get her out of the house for a couple of weeks, away from her ugly husband and terrible kids. Just the thought of a ten-hour flight to Germany was a respite from her picture-perfect trappings that only amounted to pretty bondage."

     When her presentation is accepted he tries to prevent her from leaving. When he follows her to Germany to drop the kids off with her he learns why revenge is a dish best served cold.

      Those are only a few of the very original spine tingling blood chilling horror narratives. Hey, we're creeping up on Halloween. My Monsters Ain't Like Yours would be a perfect way to usher in the spooky season. It's a terrific read for real horror affecianados. 

On a purrrsonal note, Monday night I had a real treat. I have a hard time keeping up long distance friendships through email. Which is problematic in a place where people are always graduating and leaving. When I became friends with Catherine early in her two year masters program there was something so special and real about our friendship I WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE UP ON IT. I cemented my vow with a tattoo of a cat picture she'd used to publicize an event: a cat drinking boba. Nothing says permanent commitment like body art. We've been communicating through phone calls and texts. Lots of pictures. Monday I called and we had so much to talk about! When Eugene came back from working overtime I was startled to see that it was almost 8:00. We'd been talking nearly two hours. Sure didn't feel like it. It's working. I don't have to relinquish this very precious friendship. 

A great big shout out goes out to Catherine. Thank you for being my friend. 

Jules Hathaway 

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