Posts Tagged ‘history’

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

It’s Monday! What are you reading? Is a meme sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey.  Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Menor Texts gave the meme a kidlit twist.  It’s a great way to reflect on what you’ve read and reviewed the last week and plan what you want to read next.  Join up with us and discover what good books other people  are reading.

It was a quiet reading week, but I enjoyed meeting lots of interesting people that I interviewed this week. Now I have lots of writing to do!

I finished…

forgive me leonard peacockForgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick – Once I neared the end, I couldn’t stop listening. This is one of the most powerful books I have read in some time. Leonard will stay with me as well the questions this book raised. We never know how much the people we come in contact with every day might be hurting or how much our words and actions can impact them. I know I will be treating the people around me with more kindness and paying more attention.

chinese cinderellaChinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah – My heart ached for the rejection and cruelty that Adeline experenced within her family. As I read I marveled at her strength and courage and resilience. How did she do it? So many children would have withered under the acts of cruelty she lived with daily. She found strength in her Aunt Baba and grandfather as well as in her success at school.

I’m currently reading…

Poliser_SummerLettingGo_jkt_website_207_1The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner – We didn’t read much last week with all the work assigned before break and the last games of the soccer season. Now that my daughter is on fall break, I’m hoping we can get back to reading every night.

les-miserablesLes Miserables by Victor Hugo – It’s still slow progress, but I’m still reading some every week. The rebels are regrouping in the barricade, preparing for the next wave of attack from the army.

again calls the owlAgain Calls the Owl by Margaret Craven – I just barely got started with this one, but I can tell I will enjoy it. Craven’s prose brings to life such a different time in the world.

Secrets of Writing High-Performance Business-to-Business Copy(AWAI) – Another couple of chapters read this week and another class down. I am learning that I enjoy this type of business copywriting more than I thought I would.

Coming up…

We have lots of catching up to do over fall break–all those projects that kept getting pushed back until we have more time. There’s shopping for winter clothes and a college visit. I hope to make progress on the books I’m reading.

What have you read this week?

In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke

in my handsI have always been drawn to read literature from the Holocaust, both fiction and nonfiction, but especially memoirs of people who lived through it. I sometimes wonder at my fascination. Why do I enjoy reading about such a dark period of history? I think reading these stories forces me to ask the question, “What would I do?” Would I have been able to cling to the best of my humanity–hope and kindness and love–as did many survivors of the ghettos and concentration camps? Would I have had the courage to help my neighbors by hiding them or sharing food? I like to think that I would, but I honestly don’t know since I have never been confronted with such choices.

Irene Gut Opdyke (with Jennifer Armstrong) shares her journey of becoming a resistance fighter and smuggler of Jews in her memoir In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer (Laurel Leaf Books 1999). She didn’t start out to become a hero, but she is a hero. I don’t know how I could have survived the horrors that she experienced as Germany and Russia invaded her homeland of Poland. It didn’t matter which side of the border she was on, the conquering armies made life miserable for all of Poland, but she still found the compassion and courage to protect those who were being hunted down.

As I read, I kept coming back to Irene’s words: “You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defier of the SS and the Nazis, all at once. One’s first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence” (143). Irene did not stop with hiding food under the fence. She listened as she served Nazi and SS officers their dinner and passed along news of raids to her friends in the ghetto. She transported Jews in a horse and buggy to hiding places in the deep forest. She hid a dozen Jewish men and women in the basement of a German officer’s house. Not bad work for someone who was “only a girl.” While the Germans may have underestimated her, the Russians considered her a dangerous Partisan resistance fighter–and she was.

I may not be faced with life or death decisions this week, but every day I am given the choice to act with kindness and love–or not. It is in making those small decisions that I can develop the habits and character that would lead to the courage to do the right thing in more desperate circumstances. I hope that I will one day show the courage that Irene did.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What are you reading? Is a meme sponsored by Sheila at Book Journey.  Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Menor Texts gave the meme a kidlit twist.  It’s a great way to reflect on what you’ve read and reviewed the last week and plan what you want to read next.  Join up with us and discover what good books other people are reading.

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I got some writing done, I canned more tomatoes and pasta sauce.  I battled yellow jackets and baby snakes.  I even read some.  Here are the books that joined me through this week.

I finished…

cup of our lifeThe Cup of Our Life by Joyce Rupp – I’ve been using this book for my morning devotions the past six weeks.  I’ve used it before, but since I’m at a different place in my life, the reflections are still fresh and relevant.  Once again, I am moved by the symbolism of a cup for many things in my life.

staff of serapisStaff of Serapis by Rick Riordan – I found this one while poking around on Amazon looking for something else.  I still have to wait until October for The Blood of Olympus, but this long short story–or is it a short novella–might hold me over until then.  This time Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane come together to defeat a monster that combines Greek and Egyptian elements.  The question remains, is Riordan just teasing us with these shorts, or is he planning another series joining the Greek demigods and the Egyptian magicians?

I’m currently reading…

les-miserablesLes Miserables by VIctor Hugo – I know this is one reason my reading (in terms of number of books) has slowed down.  I have spent quite a bit of time this week with Gavroche (a Paris street urchin) as he rescued his unknown younger brothers and escaping from prison with Thenadier.  He may be a rascal and the “master of the house,”  but he does have street smarts.  I am now 67% of the way through.  I’m still working to finish it by the end of the year.

code name verityCode Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – I am almost done–just 25 minutes or so left.  I loved Morven Christie’s narration of Queenie/Julie.  She wrung every drop of emotion out of the character without being overwrought.  Then when Lucy Gaskell started narrating Maddy’s/Kitty Hawk’s part, I was blown away.  Her voice brought Maddy to life in my mind.  I will be sad to finish with this story again.

2014 childrens writers market2014 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market edited by Chuck Sambuchino – I have learned so much from reading the articles and interviews–making the most of conferences, creating compelling characters, taking the plunge into self-publishing, and more.  I am almost through the informational part for writing craft and business and to the list of publishers, agents, editors, magazines.

buggedBugged!  How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee – I am having too much fun reading this one.  I have to bite my tongue to keep from sharing gross facts about bugs and the diseases they spread at inopportune times.  Even though much of the information is groww, I find myself laughing, too.

Postponed…

How to Write Successful Fundraising Appeals by Mal Warwick – This one is due back at the library today, and I think I’m going to hand it back in unread.  My heart is with writing stories–both fiction and nonfiction–not in copywriting.  If that opportunity presents itself, I know where I can get the book if I want to learn it later.

Coming up…

I am nearly finished with several books.  I’m not sure what I what I will grab off the shelf next.  I will choose another audio book from the ones I downloaded from Sync YA earlier this summer.  I’m looking for something lighter after the intensity of Code Name Verity.  I’ve also been picking up Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed, so it may be next up, too.

“The President Has Been Shot!” by James L. Swanson

imageI was not yet born when John F. Kennedy was President, but I grew up hearing my parents and grandparents and their friends talk about the impact his assassination had on them.  Each one could remember the details of when and where they were when they first learned of it.  Every national tragedy of my childhood was compared to that impact, from the assassination attempt on Reagan to the Challenger explosion, was compared to–and found to fall short of–the Kennedy assassination.

James L. Swanson gives an account not only of that November day in Texas, but he also provides the context.  Part I of the book introduces John F. Kennedy.  After a brief survey of his early life, Swanson focuses on the important events in his short Presidency and portrays a little of the Kennedy mystique that enthralled the country.  Part II details the events leading up to and following the assassination, tracing the actions of the Kennedys and of Lee Harvey Oswald.

I did not find this book as compelling as Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, but I think that had more to do with Oswald himself than with the writing. Swanson gives no credibility to any of the conspiracy theories that swirl around the assassination.  (He does list a few books that explore conspiracy theories in the bibliography with the disclaimer that their inclusion “does not mean that I endorse any of them or support any of their theories.”)  So little is known about Oswald’s motivation or even the details of how he planned that it is hard to find him a compelling character.  We simply don’t know what was going on inside his head.

In addition to giving an overview of the historical events and context, “The President Has Been Shot!” is packed with photographs, diagrams, and copies of original documents.  The appendix shares a list of important places connected with the assassination and lists a bibliography for further reading.

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

imageIf you think history is dull and dusty and has absolutely no bearing on the events of today, you’re wrong.  Neal Bascomb will show you just how exciting and thrilling history can be–and how its lessons are still relevant today–in The Nazi Hunters.

A large cast of characters come together to track down, capture and and bring the notorious Nazi Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel.  At the end of World War II, Eichmann went into hiding and eventually fled to Argentina.  Over a decade later, rumors of his new life began to trickle into the ears of Israeli government officials and Nazi hunters, but the trail went cold more than once.

In 1959, Fritz Bauer, a German district attorney, went to Israel to plead with them to pursue Eichmann.  He had no hope of Germany acting against any more former Nazis.  Instead, more and more former Nazis were coming back to power along with a resurgence of neoNazism.  Before committing to break–or at least bend–international law, Israel wanted definite confirmation of Eichmann’s identity.

Once the Mossad confirmed that it was indeed Eichmann living in Argentina, the Israelis assembled a team of super spies to capture, hold, and remove Eichman.  The team had experts in forgery, disguise, mechanics, construction, and more.  Every detail was planned, rehearsed, and backed up with more plans.  If any detail went wrong, all of them could end up in an Argentine prison for years or worse.  Once they were on the ground in Argentina, they were on their own because of the diplomatic problems their whole enterprise would cause.

Do I give anything away if I tell you that Eichmann’s trial in Israel opened the floodgates for survivors of the Nazi camps to tell their stories?  The trial not only brought one of the most notorious Nazi criminals to justice, but it allowed the world to remember.

We’ve Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson

imageI didn’t live through the Civil Rights Movement, but I have been reading quite a lot about it in the last few years.  Even so I was surprised by what I learned from Cynthia Levinson’s We’ve Got a Job:  The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March (Scholastic 2012).

I had read and studied Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” but I didn’t realize that the entire movement was at such a pivotal crossroads in 1963.

I knew that the violent images of police turning fire hoses and dogs on to the protesters jolted a nation, but I did not realize that the majority of protesters were teenagers were children.

Levinson tells the stories of four children who came to the Civil Rights Movement and the Birmingham Children’s March in different ways.  Audrey Hendricks was one of the youngest marchers at nine years old, but she had grown up in a family involved with organizing and taking a stand for equality.  Washington Booker III grew up without the privileges of Audrey’s family, and frequently found trouble.  James W. Stewart, the son of a doctor, was a strong student, but still chafed under the restrictions caused by segregation.  Arnetta Streeter worked with the Peace Ponies, a social and savings club at school, to bring justice through peaceful protests.

Throughout the stories of these children and teens, we learn the history of segregation in Birmingham and the history of the struggle to gain equality and destroy the system of segregation.  Once again, I am stunned by the hatred felt by those who supported segregation and impressed with the courage of those who worked to e

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

imageI have been fascinated with Amelia Earhart for as long as I can remember.  I have wanted to read Candace Fleming’s new biography of the pilot ever since I first heard of it.  I was thrilled when I learned that Amelia Lost:  The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart was included on the Young Hoosier Award list for the coming year.  Now that I’ve read it, I will be pushing it on everyone.

I like how the chapters alternate between the search for the Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan and the events of her life.  The suspense builds even though we know the story ends in tragedy.  In addition to the search by the Coast Guard cutter the Itasca and later the US Navy, several civilians picked up possible transmissions from the downed pilot over their shortwave radios.  None of it was enough to find them.

Fleming presents the captivating image that Amelia and her publisher/publicist and husband George Putman showed the world, but she also digs behind the image to reveal the woman behind it.  Yes, Amelia was brave and funny, but she was also stubborn and cavalier.  She didn’t always make the best choices, and some of those choices may have led to her disappearance.

Here I am with Amelia and her plane at the Smithsonian.

Here I am with Amelia and her plane at the Smithsonian.

If you want to learn even more about Earhart, Fleming provides a list of helpful resources in the back of the book.  In addition to archives and books written by Earhart herself, there are books and collections from her husband and family.  Much information is available online, too, and she gives those web addresses.

Even so, Amelia Earhart inspired–and continues to inspire–generations of women to dare to dream big dreams.  If you want to hear for yourself how warm and funny and inspiring she could be, check out her own book, For the Fun of It.  Since no one has taken the hint and given it to me for Christmas, I’m just going to have to buy it for myself.

Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell

imageI remembered learning about the Berlin Airlift in history classes, but I had never heard of the Candy Bomber.  Michael O. Tunnell captures the excitement and hope created by the simple act of dropping parachutes attached to packets of candy for the children of Berlin.  Even more than that, Tunnell reveals and shares the person behind it all:  Lt. Gail Halvorsen, otherwise known as the Candy Bomber or Uncle Wiggly Wings.

Candy Bomber:  The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocoate Pilot” gives enough historical context for the Berlin Airlift to make sense, but not so much that the story bogs down.  Instead, the heart of the story is on the relationships between Lt. Halvorsen and the children of Berlin.

It all started when Lt. Halvorsen met a group of children on the other side of a barbed wire fence surrounding the airfield.  When he saw their gratitude for the two sticks of gum he gave them (they even took turns smelling the wrapper), he promised to drop a packet of candy for them when he flew over Berlin again.  They would recognize him because he would wiggle the wings of his plane.

From this simple act of generosity, an entire movement grew that soon involved more than just the Air Force.  Groups and individuals from across the United States and other countries joined together to provide candy–and hope–for the children of Berlin.

Why can’t all history be written like this?

Titanic Sinks! by Barry Denenberg

imageBarry Denenberg combines fact and fiction to write a compelling account of the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage. Titanic Sinks! (Scholastic 20111) blends a magazine format with the fictional journal of S. F. Vanni, Chief Correspondent for Modern Times. Even though the correspondent is fictional, the contents of the articles and journal are based on research.

Even though we all know the boat sinks and thousands die in one of the worst disasters at sea, the format recreates the excitement leading up to the maiden voyage of the world’s largest and most luxurious ship. Pictures of the Titanic, its crew and passengers add to the realism and immediacy. Sidebars listing facts about the ship and an “interview” with Captain Rostron of the Carpathia provide even more information in a lively format.  Did you know that this ship was only 92 feet wide?

The most heartbreaking words are those from the survivors. I cannot imagine sitting in those tiny lifeboats watching the great ship sink and listening to the cries of the dying.

Anyone fascinated with all things Titanic will enjoy this addition that goes from initial planning to the discovery of the wreckage under the North Atlantic.

Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer

imageI have always been fascinated by the dark period in our history known as the Salem Witch Trials.  What caused the townspeople to turn on each other and hurl accusations of witchcraft that led to the death of more than twenty people and the imprisonment of hundreds of others?

Rosalyn Schanzer sets the stage, gathers the cast of characters, and describes the gruesome events that occurred in Salem Village in 1692.  Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem (National Geographic 2011) sorts out fact from fancy in a riveting account of that year.  Primary sources give voice to both the accused and their accusers as well as to witnesses of the trials and hangings.  The black-white-and-red scratchboard illustrations add to the horrific mood.

Even though 1692 seems long ago, the events still seem relevant today.  The charges might not be witchcraft, but our fears can still distort our view of reality and lead to accusations that can ruin lives.  If you, too, are fascinated by this story, you might enjoy reading more.  Here are some of my favorite historical fiction books dealing with the Salem Witch Trials:

  • The Crucible by Arthur Miller – This is the one I first remember the power of the Salem Witch Trials.  The stark horror on the stage intertwined with our class discussions of the Red Scare and McCarthyism.
  • A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi – This is my favorite.  Susannah English must find the courage to speak the truth and grapple with her own beliefs.
  • Tituba of Salem Village by Ann Petry – Learn the story of one of the central characters from the trials who often doesn’t have a voice.
  • Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan – This story brings the Salem Witch Trials into a contemporary setting with a supernatural twist.
  • Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – I know this is not really set in Salem, but the story explores many of the same fears.

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