National Non-Fiction Day ~ YEAH!!

I have always loved non-fiction. I like Holocaust narratives, history, memoirs, cookbooks, and just about any how to do it book. When I was a child, my mother said I even read the phone books. So I thought I would do two things today. I am going to write two reviews on non-fiction books I have recently completed and then tell you a little about a non-fiction book I just loaded on the Kindle and am looking forward to reading.

My dear, dear boss JVK brought me an autographed copy of this book. She stood in line at ALA and I am very glad that she did. The idea is how librarians and cybrarians can help in the organization of what has quickly becomed gluts of information.

One of my favorite quotes is early in the book - the author is speaking of the information explosion that came with the Internet: Information and new forms of information were washing over me in oceans and it was fun to splash in the wake. (p. 17) Now that I have read the Internet back and forth ten thousand times, I am nearly done with the splashing.

Here is the best advice found in the book: Just because librarians like to search for author, title, subject the way they used to in the old card catalog doesn't mean the general public does that anymore. The card catalog is dead, people. Move on. (p.41)

TITLE: This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save us All
AUTHOR: Marilyn Johnson
COPYRIGHT: 2010
PAGES: 272
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I laughed and laughed ~ I have lived so many of these moments. Never more proud to be a librarian.

For students of Jewish or European history, it is a well known fact that the Hungarian Jews were the last to be sent through the Hitler killing machine that decimated the Jewish population of Europe. In 1944, late in the war that Hitler was slowly losing, Swedish Raoul Wallenberg, educated in America and a world traveler, found himself with the knowledge that the Jews in Budapest were being rounded up and sent to their deaths. He felt that he must try to save as many people as possible and began to do just that.

Using fake protective passports, Wallenberg saved between 30,000 and 100,000 Hungarian Jews. He set up safe houses and managed to move the hunted Jews to safety. In doing so, he put himself in danger. As the Soviets came closer and closer to the Hungarian capital, they became convinced that Wallenberg was a German spy. After the war, Wallenberg was captured by the Soviets and has not been seen since the end of the war.

TITLE: Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death
AUTHOR: Sharon Linnea
COPYRIGHT: 1993
PAGES: 145
TYPE: non-fiction, Holocaust narrative
RECOMMEND: This book made me sad - although why it should have more than others, I don't know. I think it upset me because a man who saved the lives of others could not be saved.

This is the personal account of Carolyn Jessop's escape from a fundamentalist Mormon polygamous marriage. I have heard her speak about her ordeal, from the time she was married in her early teens to her life after escape. I expect this book to be very interesting. To make it even better, I am going to read it on a Kindle.

TITLE: Escape
AUTHOR: Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer
COPYRIGHT: October 2007
PAGES: 432
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I can't really say yet, since I am only starting the book, but I know I will like the topic. And I have seen very good reviews.

All in all, non-fiction remains my favorite genre. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction and I love it that way!!

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

I don't know what to rave about first, the Kindle 2 (which I have checked out from the library where I work) or Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (the very first book that I read on the Kindle). I am now a huge fan of both and wish that I had known the advantages of both much earlier!

Daniel Pink sets the business world, and our personal interactions, on end. Building on work of various psychologists and economists before him, Pink suggests that internal or intrinsic motivators, provided in the way of autonomy, independence, and freedom for creativity, will garner far more results than extrinsic rewards such as money, awards, etc. This approach has been implemented in many forward looking businesses, such as Google and Tom's Shoes.

Another business where these ideas have made a real difference is the Seattle Pike Place Fish Market. Here is their version:

•EMPOWERMENT - The astounding creativity, productivity and profitability that erupts when leaders are willing to be wholly committed to empowering their employees.
•VISION TO REALITY - Any group of people... anybody... can create a powerful vision and have it happen.
•MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD - making a profound and lasting difference in the quality of life in the world is the true purpose of being in business.

Of course, one part that really engaged me was about how to deal with children. Every parent should read this book. Did you hear me? Every. Parent. Should. Read. This. Book! It could change your child's life. Do you pay for grades, or use a bribe to get chores done? These if you do this, then I will do that rewards can have exactly the opposite effect from what you intended. The section on education really struck a nerve with me.

---too many schools are moving in the wrong direction. They're redoubling their emphasis on routines, right answers, and standardization. (location 3487 on Kindle).

I had four children. Three of them went through the Catholic school system in my town. The fourth (a middle child) went private and public...until he dropped out of school at age 16. He is a smart boy - still is, but he fell through all of the cracks of the public school system. Now all of my children are grown and I work in a Curriculum Materials Library, so I work daily with potential new teachers. It is rather sad. We expect the preservice teachers to be creative, to engage young learners, to teach to individuals. But the reality is that it all boils down to how each child, and therefore, each school does on the standardized FCAT test given yearly in the Spring. The scores already determine schools' standings in the county. Officials tried to tie it to teacher compensation (WHAT?), but that failed when put to a vote. So, we are teaching our children how to take that test, give the same correct answers. We are not teaching them how to THINK! And according to Pink, we are sapping out their internal motivation...something we are all born with and systematically lose as we get older, unless we are left to develop our own internal reward system. Sorry about the little diatribe, but it annoys me to no end. How is education "monitored" in your state or country?

Check out the author's webpage and what people are saying about Drive.

Oh goodness, I absolutely love the Kindle. I am a huge fan of the written word - rather words written on paper...well, more specifically words typed on paper and bound in the form of books. But I did dearly love the Kindle experience. It is so light, the type is clear, it was easy to navigate. And oh so many more wonders! If you are like I was, a doubter, do try one. See if your local or academic library has them for checkout...please do not come to my library to get one because then I will have to give this one up and I do so want to read The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Hunger Games!!

TITLE: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
AUTHOR: Daniel Pink
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: who knows, it was on KINDLE!
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I really liked this book. It put some new ideas into my brain and reminded me about one of my favorite management philosophies at the Seattle Fish Market.

Life in Biblical Israel

For those of you who read my blog, it will be no surprise to you that I have an interest in Israel and Jewish history. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are both in history, and I also have a MLS in Library Science. So history and reading are central to who I am and the types of things I like to read - in addition to fiction, of course. I maintain a separate blog for Holocaust Resources for K-12 young people.

I am always looking for ways to self-educate on these topics. One great place is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's MIT OpenCourseWare with free access to over 2000 different college level courses. I am slowly working though the readings for the course: Jews from Biblical to Modern Times.

This book is a fascinating look at the domestic, economic, political, cultural, and religious life of the Israelites dating back to the eight century B.C.E. The archaeological records are matched to biblical verses creating a very interesting journey through Biblical history. In particular, I loved the domestic and cultural sections. Life centered around the home, which in many cases was a three-leveled pillared house. The ground level served as a manger for the animals owned by the family. The animals were taken out to pasture daily and the ground floor was cleaned. The head of the household and immediate family slept on the second level. The third level, or roof level, was used for outdoor family activities. Often a number of houses were found together in a family compound.

TITLE: Life in Biblical Israel
AUTHOR: Philip King and Lawrence Stager
COPYRIGHT: 2001
PAGES: 412
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: For an academic text written by historians, this book was very readable and interesting. I am very glad that I was led to it.
SERIES: Library of Ancient Israel

Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory

In a clear and concise manner, Brad Hooper shares his expertise in reviewing books, both pre and post publication, in his 2010 American Library Association publication, Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory. In fact, after reading and studying (yes, I did take notes) his book, I should not have a bit of trouble writing this review.

Hooper begins his instruction by carefully explaining to the reader the difference between reviewing and criticism. Unless we are professional scholars, chances are we will not be writing criticism, rather, we will be providing "an assessment of something new on the market" which is "broader, more encompassing and less specific." (pp. 8-9) Hooper follows this with the two questions any book review should answer: what is the book about? and how good is the book? And of course, the answer to the second question is entirely subjective and should be dealt with in a generous, but honest, manner. (p. 23, 59)

Hooper reminds us of the five elements of fiction and hopes that non-fiction will be clearly about something (if we cannot figure it out, we should perhaps not write the review). To help the reader understand the techniques for writing reviews, Hooper provides multiple examples which are illuminating. Perhaps my favorite tip (and something I have wondered about) is that you should review narrative non-fiction in the past tense because it did happen. Fiction, on the other hand, never really happened and should be reviewed in the present tense. (p. 64)

Anyone who reads and reviews books should study Hooper's book. As the current Adult Books Editor for Booklist, Hooper is certainly well-versed in reviewing and his suggestions for good book reviewing is invaluable.

TITLE: Writing Reviews for Readers' Advisory
AUTHOR: Brad Hooper
COPYRIGHT: 2010
PAGES: 96
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I recommend this book to everyone who writes reviews to promote books, whether these reviews are personal or for the library community.

The Survivors Club

Thank you to Library Thing and Hachette Book Group for the opportunity to read and review this fantastically informative book. I feel much better about my potential for survival. My husband and I both took the associated online Survivors quiz - I am a Thinker, he is a Believer. Surely between the two of us, we can survive!

Sherwood has put together a phenomenally interesting and fact-filled book about who survives. And the why certain people survive. Through interviews with survivors world wide in every imaginable situation, this book presents a wide ranging profile of how we too can survive. As I completed the section on flight, I wanted to give the book immediately to my son who will be flying to Chicago next Thursday. Instead I told him about the Plus 3, Minus 8 rule which refers to the first three minutes of a flight and the last eight minutes before landing - these are the most likely times planes crash - and that in the event of a crash, you have about 90 seconds to get out of the plane, so sit within five rows of an exit and make note of where it is.

The book is not meant to frighten people or make for OCD watchfulness in every situation. Rather it is meant to make us all more aware of our surroundings and to know how to begin to act, not react, if danger should arise. I am better for having read this book.

TITLE: The Survivors Club: The Secret and Science that Could Save Your Life
AUTHOR: Ben Sherwood
COPYRIGHT: February, 2010
PAGES: 373
TYPE: non-fiction
RECOMMEND: I certainly want everyone I love to read this book. Once you read it, you will too.

36. Shalom Bayis with a Twist of Humor

Thank you to Gefen Publishing House and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read and review Shalom Bayis with a Twist of Humor: 7 Tips to a Healthy Marriage by Joe Bobker.

While I am not Jewish, I really enjoyed the Jewish references in this merry little guide to marriage. The author divides his freely given advice and jokes into seven different "C" categories: Comedy; Communication, Conversation; Common Sense; Compromise, Causation; Caring, Compassion, Courtesy; Commonality, Compatability, Commitment; and Camaraderie, Companionship!

The most important gem provided to the reader by Mr. Bobker can be found in the Foreword - it is that the secrets to a happy marriage are quite obvious to all of us and, unfortunately, just as obviously forgotten soon after wedding vows are spoken. All in all, a very funny read and thought provoking read.

TITLE: Shalom Bayis with a Twist of Humor: 7 Tips for a Healthy Marriage
AUTHOR: Joe Bobker
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 213
TYPE: self-help
RECOMMEND: very funny but useful approaches to maintaining a happy marriage

31 & 32: Two Holocaust narratives

The author who compiled these diaries states that this is the first book of this type from this time period. She introduces the diaries with a rather difficult statement:

Perhaps it is so painful to think about the impact of the war on children - particularly their mass executions - that we have not wanted to read about it, even when that has meant refusing to hear from the children themselves. Maybe it was as much as we could bear to designate Anne Frank the representative child of the Holocaust and to think, then, only of her when we thought about children in World War II. But, in some ways, Anne Frank was not representative of children in the war and the Holocaust. Because she was in hiding, she did not experience life in the streets, the ghettos, the concentration camps, as it was lived by millions of children throughout Europe. (p.xiv)

The diaries, written by children from age 10 to age 18, are arranged chronologically by the age of the child youngest to oldest. The countries represented are Poland, Holland, German, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Lithuania, Russia, Belgium, Englan, Hungary, Israel, and Denmark. The children wrote these diaries from many different locations and situations. Many wrote from the time they moved from their loving homes to a ghetto or a hiding spot. One young boy hid in a cupboard for five year, while another lived and died much like Anne Frank. Many of the children died at the hands of the Nazis in concentration camps, with only these written words somehow surviving to tell their stories. Others survived and published their stories so the world would know.

Selected by the School Library Journal Best Adult Book for Young Adults 1995, this book is a phenomenal resource for those interested in Holocaust history. Because it covers such a wide range of experiences, I think it could be used in middle and high school as a teaching aid with individual children, or small groups, reading the passage and providing their own expression of the child's experience. Some may argue that middle school age children are too young to read these diaries. The author addresses that beautifully:

To turn our eyes away and refuse to see, or to let children see, what prejudice and hatred lead to is truly to warp our collective psyche...The children teach us, by sharing their own direct experience of oppression, that nothing is more valuable than human freedom. This lesson alone is reason enough to read, and to encourage children to read, these diaries. (p. xx)

TITLE: Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries
AUTHOR: Laurel Holliday
COPYRIGHT: 1995
PAGES: 401
TYPE: compilation of Holocaust diaries
RECOMMEND: Excellent book


The second book that I read containing Holocaust narratives Anthology of Holocaust Literature edited by Jacob Glatstein, Israel Knox, and Samuel Margoshes is probably for the young adult or adult student of the Holocaust. Many of these writing have never been translated to English or published in the English language. Therefore, for many of us, this would be the first time to read these personal experiences. The book is arranged by topic: Occupations, Actions, Selections; Life in the Ghettos; Children; Concentration and Death Camps; Resistance; and The Non-Jews. It is possible to read the experiences of multiple people who found themselves in each situation. While some author's names may be familiar, such as Elie Wiesel, Anne Frank, and Primo Levi, other authors' names are representative of the people who did not live and shared the same past during the War.

In the Introduction, the editors provide the reader with many definitions of anthology and the various reasons why they have collected these specific Holocaust writings. For me, the most important reason is as follows:
There are many faces to courage, and the will to hope, to maintain the simple dignity of daily existence on a human and humane level, to forge the chain of cultural and spiritual continuity from generation to generation, to cherish children by handing on to them the legacy of their people - to do all of this in the midst of peril and deprivation and omnipresent enmity, is a species of fortitude that borders on the sublime. (p. xx)

To be so strong in faith and hope - to continue in the face of darkness. This is what I tried to glean from each person's personal journey as they were translated in this book. Many of the readings begin and end out of the blue, no real beginnings and no sure end. Often I found that I had to read the entry more than once to grasp the setting and events. Again the editors remind us to consider the following as we read:

One can imagine what it must have cost them to tell their story, to recall the facts and details, the total and terrible drama. Yet it is a story that they could not reporess and relegate to the archives of their own private memory - not for history's sake, nor for their own. (p. xxiii)

This book reminded me of a unique and humbling experiene I had as a graduate student. A friend of mine knew a woman who was hospitalized with congestive heart failure. She was able to come home but was very afraid that she would soon die. She had been at Auschwitz and had never told anyone her story. She did not want to die without telling someone and my friend mentioned that I had an interest in studying Holocaust narratives. I went to her home and she told me her story. The impact hearing her, reliving her fear through her words, and knowing the strength it took for her to say them to me - it is something I will never forget. She did not have to share her story with me, a virtual stranger, but she did and I will be forever grateful.

The following words were found inscribed on the walls of a cellar in Germany where Jews hid from the Nazis:

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when feeling it not.

I believe in God even when He is silent. (p. 340)

Next time I sing that song at my Catholic Church, it will hold far more meaning for me. I thank the editors of this volume for bringing it, and the other readings, to my attention.

TITLE: Anthology of Holocaust Literature
AUTHOR: Jacob Glatstein, Israel Knox & Samuel Margoshes eds.
COPYRIGHT: 1977
PAGES: 395
TYPE: compilation of original source materials from the Holocaust
RECOMMEND: Excellent book

26. Saving What Remains

Saving What Remains: A Holocaust Survivor's Journey Home to Reclaim her Ancestry by Livia Britton-Jackson is a remarkable voyage through the bureaucratic entanglements and emotional upheavals experienced by the author as she returned to post-war Communist Czechoslovakia to locate and retrieve the bodies of her Jewish grandparents who had died more than fifty years earlier. Her husband Len, who did not speak the languages of the country, stood by her side and helped as she navigated through all of the necessary bribes and steps to successfully taking their bodies to Israel. Her determination is remarkable and through her efforts a monument to the past shared lives has been created for all of her family. While this book only touches on the author's Holocaust experiences, the emotions of Britton-Jackson certainly remind us of the past and remind us to mind our futures.

TITLE: Saving What Remains: A Holocaust Survivor's Journey Home to Reclaim her Ancestry

AUTHOR: Livia Britton-Jackson

COPYRIGHT: 2009

PAGES: 196

TYPE: non-fiction, biographical

RECOMMEND: Read as a wonderful tribute to your own family

23. A Woman in Amber

I think perhaps that I have owned this book for quite some time and if I have read it before, I don’t remember it – I find this highly unlikely. At any rate, I am honored to have read it now. A Woman in Amber by Agate Nesaule is a startling memoir of the author’s childhood experiences during the Russian and German occupation of her homeland of Latvia. While the horrors of the war were bad enough in her own country, her Lutheran father and mother, along with other family members, were forced to flee from the competing armies. Their journey was remarkable in complexity and perhaps luck.

As I read her accounts of war, I wondered what the appropriate age level would be for this memoir. The scenes described are brutal and difficult to think about or discuss. The author solved my problem in two ways. First, as a new immigrant to the United States, she learned English by reading tremendous works of literature. Her teachers questioned whether she was old enough to read such works. Her life experiences and understanding of the beauty and sorrow of the world made her absolutely capable of reading Anna Karenina at 10 years old. Second, I would like to share some of her final words in the book:

But the world is full of pain. Anne Frank, Heidi, and Hilda are dead, but Kurds still freeze on the hillsides, Bosnian women have to live on after rape, Rwandan children stand waiting, too emaciated to beg….But then the sun touches the blossoms again. We have to believe that dreams are meaningful, we have to believe that even the briefest human connections can heal. Otherwise life is unbearable. (p. 280)

So I think any child interested in learning about human pain and human healing should be able to absorb the richness of the story that Nesaule was finally able to tell. She endured the war, shameful indignities at the hands of Americans, a disastrous marriage, and finally through therapy and trust, Nesaule has given us her story; a unique memoir of the horrors of World War II. The other part of her equation of survival and hope is education. Early in her life, she learned from poet Karlis Skalbe that, The riches of the heart do not rust. (p. 121) To the Latvians, this meant that even if you lost every material thing, family, and country – no one can take away that which has been learned. In spite of near constant fear and depression, Nesaule completed her Ph.D. in Women’s Literature and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The book won the 1996 American Book Award.

While you will need to read the book to understand my final comment, I am very happy that she reconciled with her mother, if only in a dream. Sometimes dreams represent more clearly our reality.

TITLE: A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile
AUTHOR: Agate Nesaule
COPYRIGHT: 1995
PAGES: 280
TYPE: memoir, World War II
RECOMMEND: Stunningly beautiful book with so much we need to hear and learn.

5. The Mighty Queens of Freeville

A big Thank You to Hyperion Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review Amy Dickinson’s The Mighty Queens of Freeville. What a fantastic and relatable narrative which will leave her readers wondering which side of her family tree links up with their own. Never mind that she grew up in a very small town in upstate New York. Each summer I lived with my extended family in Western Tennessee and I am quite sure we must be related somehow because there were many Mighty Queens living in my small town in the Deep South. In fact, the cover could be a picture of my own family reunion when I was about ten. I vividly remember it because my aunt and grandmother had decided that, in spite of my lack of tatas, I needed a training bra. I was not quite sure what I was training for, but my three male cousins certainly knew that they were training for the bra strap snapping championship of the world. After being chased and tortured to the point of tears for an hour or so, I took off the offending bra and hid it in the cabinet under the sink in my aunt's bathroom. I assume they found it eventually, but had the grace not to mention it to me.

While Mighty Queens is not an in depth account of Amy Dickinson’s life, readers get a strong sense of how Amy and her daughter Emily grew up together through bad times and good. A single mother, Amy was devoted to her daughter even as she tried to make sense of her own life. In chapters dealing with her divorce, dating, and coming home, Amy made me laugh out loud repeatedly. Coming from a family of strong women, I could relate. Describing her own family, Amy writes, These are the women of my world – the Mighty Queens of Freeville – who have led small lives of great consequence in the tiny place that we call home. (p. 9)

Although it may seem disconcerting to some readers, I loved the back and forth, the future and the past narrative that flows throughout the book. Amy relates what is happening to what has happened and even to the possibilities of what may happen. In many ways, this is how we all think. As someone who always loves a good short story about the human condition, this style was very pleasing to me. In fact, for me, this stylistic choice added to the character and impact of the book.

As an early and frequent contributor to various NPR productions and the new Dear Abby (Ask Amy) for the Chicago Tribune and 200 syndicated papers, Amy Dickinson has become very successful. As we read this book, we realize that perhaps success has not changed her too much, she is still the daughter of a woman from Freeville, she is still the mother of a daughter from Freeville, and her heart remains with these women with whom she has shared this wonderful, albeit sometimes painful, life.

If my review has not done this book justice and you cannot decide whether you should run out and purchase it, please take a look at the author’s website. I know I am a Mighty Queen; you might be as well.

TITLE: The Mighty Queens of Freeville
AUTHOR: Amy Dickinson
COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 224
TYPE: non-fiction, memoir
RECOMMEND: Because these people were like my relatives, I loved it.

LibrarysCat

44. The Longest Trip Home

First, thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for the opportunity to read the Advance Reader’s Edition of John Grogan’s autobiography The Longest Trip Home. And while I wish I had read the book earlier, when it arrived and before the release, as John’s parents would have said, things happen for a reason.

John shares his memories of growing up in a devoutly Catholic family with three siblings and Mass every weekend. While I was raised Episcopal, I converted to Catholicism twenty years ago and tried to raise my own four children in the Church. Some are still there and some are not – with many of the same issues Grogan describes in his book coming into play as our family deals with the everyday struggles of living and loving one another. Through Grogan’s experiences, I have hope that my own children will forgive me my dogmatic adherence to some Catholic tenets that only a convert can extol as absolute truth. But faith is faith and can only help us through this life; can hopefully make us kinder and more rather than less accepting. At this point, I wonder if Mr. Grogan and I are not the same type of Catholics.

I don’t think I will give anything away to discuss another moment of wonder this book brought to my life. Grogan’s trip home took decades, but the final chapters dealing with the illness of his parents touched me. My own mother went through a very similar experience, and we thought – as did the doctor’s – that she was not going to live. We know that the time is coming soon when she will not continue here with us and I will be strengthened by the author’s words and insights. I would not have fully understood these chapters had I read this book any earlier.

Finally, I am so excited about the upcoming movie based on Grogan’s bestselling book Marley and Me. After reading The Longest Trip Home, I know that the script for the movie has certainly been pulled from the best of writing. And much to my surprise, my favorite actor (secretly known to my family as my boyfriend) plays Mr. Grogan. And while I cannot wait to read the book, I think I will wait and see the movie first - it opens nationally on Christmas Day. Delightfully I will know each family member in the movie because I feel like they are friends of the family from reading this newest book.

So, thank you Mr. Grogan – and once again your parents were right – things happen in their own time. I am very glad this was my time to read your wonderful family story. Your dad and mom are very proud.

TITLE: The Longest Trip Home
AUTHOR: John Grogan
COPYRIGHT: 2008
PAGES: 331
TYPE: non-fiction, autobiography
RECOMMEND: As a Catholic, a daughter, and a mother, I am so thankful to have read this book. And to be honest, I think you will appreciate the struggles of the Grogan family even if you are none of those things.

41. Hana's Suitcase

Hana’s Suitcase is the story of one woman’s successful attempts to bring the Holocaust alive for Japanese children. It is also the story of Czech Jew Hana Brady and her brother George, who survived the Holocaust without knowing his sister’s final fate. Fumiko Ishioka, Director of the Tokyo Holocaust Education and Resource Center, wanted to have just one item from the Holocaust that Japanese children could touch and relate to – so they would really understand the harsh reality of the Holocaust. Fumiko was given Hana’s suitcase. On behalf of the Japanese children who visited the museum, Fumiko worked tirelessly to find out more about Hana. The book tells this story. It is a wonderful testament to the good people of this world who make a difference in the lives of children everywhere. And in some ways, Fumiko’s quest reunited George with the memory of his sister.


The story was first told by Paul Lungen in an article in the Canadian Jewish News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio presented a documentary by the author, Karen Levine in January 2001. You can listen to it here. In addition, there are many remarkable links from this broadcast page. Another interesting development with this book is the production of a play: Holocaust story makes theatre debut, as it is reported in the Canadian Jewish News.

TITLE: Hana’s Suitcase
AUTHOR: Karen Levine
COPYRIGHT: 2003
PAGES: 111
TYPE: non-fiction
AWARDS: 2002 Award for Older Readers, Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Awards
RECOMMEND: A true story that has a big impact. I really loved this story.

LibrarysCat

12. Good Masters, Sweet Ladies

I cannot think of the words to say how much I loved this latest Newbery winner. Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village is a wonderful adventure in medieval history. Written by Laura Amy Schlitz to be performed by middle school students with each having a substantial role, the author introduces a variety of young people who might have lived in a village in England in 1255. Interspersed between the short vignettes provided for each villager, the author includes brief historical notes and longer explanations of specific topics which might be of interest to the reader. What a successful plunge into the publishing world by a fellow librarian.

I cannot leave you with my favorite quote because I just don’t think I have one. You need to read the book (I read it in only about 30 minutes) and see what you think. I should also add that I really liked the illustrations by Robert Byrd as well. Another quality which is very nice in a children’s book is a full bibliography. I loved it!!

TITLE: Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village

AUTHOR: Laura Amy Schlitz
COPYRIGHT: 2007
PAGES: 85
TYPE: Historical Fiction, children
RECOMMEND: Yes, absolutely. I hope this book is embraced by middle school history teachers across the world.

LibrarysCat

FlusiCat

7. The Break-up Diet

TITLE: The Break-up Diet

AUTHOR: Annette Fix

COPYRIGHT: to be published Feb 2008

PAGES: 279

TYPE: Non-Fiction

RECOMMEND: Yes, anyone who has ever been on the down side of a break-up would relate to and enjoy this book.

Annette Fix found herself on the bad side of a breakup. She was raised believing in the “kiss a frog, marry a prince” and “happily ever after” theories of relationships. A single mother trying to raise her son and pursue her dream of becoming a writer, Annette finds Mr. Right at her night job at a strip club. He is in the process of divorcing his wife and they move in together. Then it happens – he breaks up with her. This memoir is her journey of recovery. Written in diary form, Annette outlines her pain and slow steps toward a new life. The writing is very candid and sometimes even graphic. The reader empathizes with the author and rallies as Annette sorts out her emotions and day-to-day challenges.

I read this book very quickly and found it to be entertaining although I suspect a younger crowd will better appreciate the circumstances and lifestyle portrayed. To tie in with the title, the author provided recipes of disaster throughout the book. I read the first few and found them amusing, but I must admit after three or four, I stopped looking at them. Still, I thought the writing was sound and wanted to finish the book with hopes of a happy ending. The Disney desire does not fade easily!

Other nice touches, and ones I have not seen in other Early Reviewer books, were a letter from the author and her signing the front of the book. She clearly wants to connect with her readers and I think she just might be successful at that aspiration.

Flusi Cat

5. Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife

This was an excellent book. Additionally, I cannot think of another more surprising one. I have read many books about different religious cultures and thought I was fairly educated about the experiences of plural wives. However, the lives descirbed by Irene Spencer were often shocking and sad. At the age of sixteen, Irene was married to a young man of the LeBarron "clan". She ultimately shared her husband with eight other women with a total of 58 children. For most of her married life, Irene lived in abject poverty. While she railed against her life in Mexico, Central America, and the western United States, she was a good mother and friend. Through her detailed story, the reader learns a great deal about the Mormon fundamentalist faith as it still exists today. It is amazing that Irene was able to live through her experiences to go on and marry a non-Mormon after the death of her husband. Today her life is her large family with many her husband, grand children and great grand children.

TITLE: Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife

AUTHOR: Irene Spencer

COPYRIGHT: 2007

PAGES: 383

TYPE: Non-Fiction

RECOMMEND: Yes, this was an amazing story of one woman's life in polygamy and exposed the sacrifices and challenges she, and other second wives, continue to endure.

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4. Secret Ceremonies

Laake's story of her young adulthood as a Mormon is very easy to read although the content is somewhat disturbing. Her religious aspirations to be pleasing to God found their earthly home in bad marriages which assured her way into heaven and damning her when they failed. In spite of oaths that would require bodily harm if she shared any information about the secret ceremonies, Laake allows her readers to join her in the Temple ceremonies which bound her to her first husband in this life and the afterlife.

In the introduction, the author says that many times she gave up on writing this book. Finally, I think it was cathartic for her to tell her story - the years of turmoil in the Mormon religion. I was surprised that polygamy was not the main issue here. However, it was very interesting to think that, even without the dreaded polygamy, Mormon females remain in a position of inferiority and submission.

TITLE: Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Intimate Diary of Marriage and Beyond
AUTHOR: Deborah Laake
COPYRIGHT: 1993
PAGES: 240
TYPE: Non-Fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, Although not as highly as the previous book on this subject

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3. A Mormon Mother: An Autobiography

Annie Clark Tanner relates her life growing up as the oldest daughter of the second wife of a very influential Mormon during the early years of the religion. She continues her own story of life as a second wife. The details of day-to-day life on the frontier and living this new religion make this book a must-read for those interested in polygamy or Mormon religion. The author includes her own personal letters and correspondences as well as newspaper articles of the day. This work serves as the perfect background for many of the escape narratives being published today.

TITLE: A Mormon Mother: An Autobiography
AUTHOR: Annie Clark Tanner
COPYRIGHT: 1969
PAGES: 294
TYPE: Non-Fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, detailed history of polygamy in Utah

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1. Tuesdays with Morrie

I could not have read this book at a better time. A few things struck me as vitally important concepts from this easily read outline of the "last class" the author, Mitch Albom, had with his beloved professor Morrie Schwartz. Morrie described the emptiness of our cultural demands - more money, more possessions, more prestige. He said that we should reject that culture and create a culture of our own that gives our life true meaning. Love and forgiveness are at the heart of the culture he describes and it brought me to tears. He provided numerous examples of the power of love - love without conditions, love without demands - pure and simple love for self and others. Something we can all aspire to in these hectic times.

TITLE: Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man and life's greatest lesson
AUTHOR: Mitch Albom
COPYRIGHT: 1997
PAGES: 192
TYPE: Non-fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, something everyone should read to learn how to live and die

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