Review: Serendipity Books by Stephen Cosgrove

 Synopsis: The Serendipity books are a collection for young children with a moral perspective. Various animals, some real, some imaginative, These creatures had adventures in which they learns important lessons about friendship, fear, moderation, helping, knowing yourself, and ecology. Coupled with cheery colorful illustrations, these stories are particularly made for children ages 3-5.
For this review, I read seven of the series: Trapper, Snaffles, Little Mouse on the Prairie, Hucklebug, Morgan and Mee, Kartusch, and Serendipty.

Review: My mom read me these books as a child and as such, I have a particular endearment for them. When I found these seven in a book shop, and realized I hadn't read any of them, I snagged them, eager to read more of these favorite stories.
Unfortunately, these seven tended towards the sappy and simple, instead of the imaginative and adventurous of the ones my Mom read. Perhaps she picked the best ones. Perhaps it is my own glossy memory of childhood. But the ones like Muffin Muncher, Wheedle on the Needle, Maui-Maui, and The Savepotmus are better. Still, owning these is important to me and I am glad I have them.

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 
Trapper: 0-8431-0587-9
Snaffles: 0-87191-793-9
Little Mouse on the Prairie: 0-87191-690-8
Hucklebug: 0-87191-657-6
Morgan and Me: 0-8719-660-6
Kartusch: 0-8431-0568-2
Serendipty: 0-87191-662-2

Years Published: 1974-1981
Date Finished: 12-27-2016
Pages: 15 per book

Review: Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies by Cokie Roberts

Synopsis: Fans of number one New York Times bestselling author and celebrated journalist Cokie Roberts will love this stunning nonfiction picture book based on her acclaimed work for adults, Founding Mothers, which highlights the female patriots of the American Revolution. Beautifully illustrated by Caldecott Honor–winning artist Diane Goode, Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies reveals the incredible accomplishments of the women who orchestrated the American Revolution behind the scenes. Roberts traces the stories of heroic, patriotic women such as Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, Sarah Livingston Jay, and others. Details are gleaned from their letters, private journals, lists, and ledgers. The bravery of these women’s courageous acts contributed to the founding of America and spurred the founding fathers to make this a country that “remembered the ladies.” This compelling book supports the Common Core State Standards with a rich time line, biographies, an author’s note, and additional web resources in the back matter (from the online description)

Review: This is a collection of short (one-two paragraph) biographies of important women from the Revolutionary War.  Robert’s include the obvious (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams) but I was pleased that she also included Mercy Otis Warren, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, and other less well-known women. The volume contains lively illustrations by Diane Goode and excellent resources for further learning.
I would be careful of considering this historically accurate. Roberts tells the most popular version of the life and stories of these women. These stories often overlook some of the more unpleasant truths about our founding mothers. This book is a good starting point but should not be the sole or absolute source for information on these extraordinary women. Worth owning for any child, but particularly excellent for young girls. 

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-0-06-078002-9

Year Published: 2014

Date Finished: 12-26-2016

Pages: 37

Review: Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl by Tonya Bolden

Synopsis: Based on an actual memoir written by Maritcha Rimond Lyons, who was born and raised in New York City, this poignant story tells what it was like to be a black child born free during the days of slavery. Everyday experiences are interspersed with high-point moments, such as visiting the U.S.'s first world's fair. Also included are the Draft Riots of 1863, when Maritcha and her siblings fled to Brooklyn while her parents stayed behind to protect their home. The book concludes with her fight to attend a whites-only high school in Providence, Rhode Island, and her triumphant victory, making her the first black person in its graduating class. The book includes photographs of Maritcha, her family, and friends, as well as archival and contemporary maps, photographs, and illustrations. (from the online description)

Review: Bolden's biography of Maritcha Lyons introduces the reader to young girl of profound courage, resilience, and intellect. Born in Manhattan in 1848, Lyons grew up amid New York City’s thriving black community. Connected to many prominent citizens, she witnesses the Underground Railroad (her parents were conductors), the struggle to end slavery, and the abuse of the black citizens of America. Her family fled New York during the New York Draft Riots of 1863 and settled in Providence, where she was part of the legislation to desegregate the local girls High School. 

Bolden does an excellent job of weaving her narrative text with the documents and pictures of Lyon’s life. With clear, accessible prose, she opens up not only the life of this girl but the life of blacks in New York during the mid-1800s. I highly recommend this book for any mid-grade non-fiction reading, and in particular, young girls will find Maritcha’s life inspiring and uplifting. 

Bookmarks: 7 of 10

Awards: James Madison Book Award Winner / Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book /  YALSA Best Book for Young Adults / ALSC Notable Children’s Book / NAPPA Gold Award Winner / CCBC Best Book of the Year / New York Public Library “Book for the Teen Age”

ISBN: 0-8109-5045-6
Year Published: 2005
Date Finished: 12-26-2016
Pages: 47

Review: Medicine: The Art of Healing by Sherwin B. Nuland

Synopsis: Art is as timeless as it is wordless. In this it differs from medical science, which is uniquely of and for its time, and which has always required a literal articulation to be fully understood. Perhaps these very differences explain why two such seemingly disparate fields should naturally complement each other. As Medicine: The Art of Healing beautifully demonstrates, art and medicine belong together. The forty eight splendid colorplates in this book illustrate how the progress of medicine has been recorded in art, with works from illuminated manuscripts and tapestries of the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries, anatomical drawings from the Renaissance, satirical drawings of the great eighteenth- and nineteenth-century caricaturists, and much, much more. Masterpieces by great artists, such a Raphael, Poussin, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Hogarth, Goya, Daumier, and Munch, are amply represented.  But also, vitally important medical art by ancient and unknown hands has been deservedly featured. The result is a volume as visually varied as it is fascinating. Each of the superb color reproductions is accompanied by an enlightening commentary by the medical historian Sherwin B. Nuland. The historical, scientific, and social significance of the medical breakthroughs and procedures, along with the personalities of both physicians and artists, are vividly described in the test, which always serves to relate the healing art to the visual arts, and vice versa. (from the inside cover of the book)

Review: Being that I have an interest in art, history, and medicine, I was delighted to find this book in thrift store for mere pennies. Nuland is widely known for his writing on the social and historical aspects of medicine, and here he applies that expertise to the depiction of medicine in art throughout history.  Carefully chosen art is accompanied by short text that explain the artist, the time, the medical procedure, and the doctors.

I found the text disappointingly short, wanting more science and medicine, and even, about how the picture was received. But Nuland errs on the side of brevity and we are given only snippets of tantalizing explanations of the picture. Several are familiar (i.e. Vesalius’ Muscle-Man) but others are ones I have never encountered before and found interesting.

For anyone interested in medicine, art, and the place they meet, this is a must read. Not worth the suggested price of $35, to be sure, but for a few dollars, this entertaining volume would make a fine addition to any artist’s or physician’s bookshelf.

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN 0-88363-29-6
Year Published: 1992
Date Finished: 12-26-2016
Pages: 115

Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Volume One by Kyle Higgins et al.

Synopsis: The forecast in Angel Grove today calls for sunshine and a chance of... monsters from space? Longtime fans of the smash-hit show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and newcomers to this ensemble driven series, will discover a deeply compelling world packed with highflying adventure and tremendous heart. Welcome to Angel Grove. Home to the Power Rangers and weekly monster attacks. Tommy Oliver was the new kid in town when evil doer, Rita Repulsa, swooped in and made him the Green Ranger. Now, free from her mind control, Tommy struggles to find balance between the plights of high school, making new friends, and the dangers that come with being a hero. Writer Kyle Higgins (C.O.W.L., Nightwing) and artist Hendry Prasetya (Voodoo vs. Green Lantern) explore the untold story in the life of the Green Ranger as he struggles to overcome his demons and learns to trust again. This collection also features short stories from Steve Orlando (Midnighter), Corin Howell (Bat-Mite), Mairghread Scott (Transformers:Windblade) and Daniel Bayliss (Kennel Block Blues) (from the online description)

Review:  I’m a bit late to the Power Ranger Fandom, being that I didn’t watch my first episode until after I married a man who spent large chunks of his childhood watching/re-enacting Power Rangers. The premise had so much potential but the show wastes it on cheesy fights, shallow characters, and ridiculous dialogue.

The graphic novel almost redeems that. Although we see tried-n-true (or worn-out) superhero tropes as the bases for the story, there is more depth here than I expected. Tommy, with his PTSD, the conflict of leadership, Billy with his self-doubt, these all had dimensions not seen in the show. And the fights – so much better. There is a sense of actual danger and violence. The Zords actually seem useful.  There was a bit of darkness to the story, and that had always been what is missing from the show. There is so much potential for a gritty, violent, story line and I hope the graphic novel creates that.

I enjoyed this story far more than I anticipated and I’m eager to read the second installment.

Bookmarks: 8 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-60886-893-3
Year Published:  2016
Date Finished: 12-23-2016
Pages: N/A

Review: Doing Our Part: American Women on the Home Front During World War II by Susan Sinnott

Synopsis: During World War II, the rigid lines between men's and women's work were challenged. While men were away at war, women were asked to help their country by taking jobs that were once considered male occupations. (from the online description)

Review: This is a sharp, intelligent book that discusses how American women meet the challenges of being at home during World War II. With fifteen million American men overseas and the vast industrial giant of America charging headlong into the production of planes, ships, jeeps, ammunition, and other requires war supplies. Women, who had only before been relegated to teaching and shop-clerk, suddenly found themselves welding, riveting, accounting, using metal pattern machines and manufacturing ammunition.

Sinnott highlights the obstacles women faced. Women who had never before managed money, held their own bank accounts, written their own checks, where suddenly managing the finances for their households. Working 8-10 hour shifts, they also were expected to maintain pristine homes and supply home cooked meals, forged from coupon rationing and limited supplies They need to care for children, knit socks for soldiers, buy bonds, work in factories – and look pretty while doing it. It was exhausting work, but it also introduced women to a wider world, a world of freedom and independence and gave them self-confidence. Nothing would ever be the same.

Sinnott’s prose is interspersed with pictures of women working, advertisements, celebrities, and other historical pictures. The pictures help bring the prose to life. Sinnott’s writing is clear and accessible, but has a bitter tinge to it. She clearly feels that the women were treated poorly, that the impossible was expected of them, and they received only disrespect and mockery when it was over.

This is an excellent book on this subject but I would advise to include discussion on the subject with young readers. It is important to temper Sinnott’s bitterness with understanding and to explain why and how these things were, how they have changed, and how they have not. 

Bookmarks: 7 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-531-20198-8

Year Published: 1995

Date Finished: 12-26-2016

Pages: 63

Review: The Mythology of the Superhero by Andrew R. Bahlmann

Synopsis: Superheroes have been an integral part of popular society for decades and have given rise to a collective mythology familiar in popular culture worldwide. Though scholars and fans have recognized and commented on this mythology, its structure has gone largely unexplored. This book provides a model and lexicon for identifying the superhero mythos. The author examines the myth in several narratives--including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Green Arrow and Beowulf--and discusses such diverse characters as Batman, Wolverine, Invincible and John Constantine. (from the back of the book)

Review: I wrote my undergrad thesis on myth and fairy tale in Disney movies, and as such, read extensively about mythology in popular culture. This is one of the better books. With accessible prose, clear organization, logical points, and careful scholarship, Bahlmann intelligently explains the modern mythology of the superhero.

He begins by explaining what makes a superhero mythological – using “tropes” found in classic mythology, updated for the new era.  Tropes like Androcentric, Codename, Sidekick, Justice over Law, and Orphan. He builds a framework for identify stories of the new mythology. In the subsequent chapters, he then applies this framework to several characters or groups of characters: Green Arrow, Buffy, Alphas, and Beowulf. He does not make an argument for or against (indeed he states that is not the purpose of the book) but simply shows how one might use the framework to identify, understand, and study superheroes as the new mythology.

He pulls his examples from a wide range of sources – comic books, of course, but also video games, television, and film. He clearly has extensive knowledge of superhero stories. In addition, he quotes scholars of mythology and popular cultures, including J. R. R. Tolkien, Joseph Campbell, and Arthur C. Clarke – as well as those currently studying this topic. This increased the value of his supplemental information, which includes a complete list of superhero tropes.

For anyone who enjoys superheroes or intellectual analysis of pop culture, I highly recommend this book. Fascinating and thought-provoking, it’s worth the time to read.

Note: I received this free as part of LibraryThing’s Early Review Program, in exchange for my fair and honest opinion

Bookmarks: 8 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-476-6624-80

Year Published: 2016

Date Finished: 12-23-2016

Pages: 203