Category Archives: Non-Fiction

My Name is Truth: the life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

10 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction, Picture Books

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my name is truth

Finding non-fiction for young readers is sometimes challenging.  Finding good biographies about women is also a challenge. This book meets those challenges in an exceptional way. Sojourner Truth’s belief in God shines through clearly without being “preachy.” Her strength of character is obvious, but she is also shown as having fears and sometimes doubts about herself.  She is a very real woman.

Ann Turner tells the story of Sojourner Truth to younger readers using Truth’s own words.  James Ransome has done a fantastic job with the illustrations. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree. She was one of at least 10 children born to her parents.  Her mother instilled in her a love for God and a good knowledge of right and wrong.

Her last owner was very cruel and worked Isabella like a draft horse because she was tall and strong. New York was set to abolish slavery in 1827 and her owner had told her that she would go free a year before that happened, but she was injured and her owner refused to let her go, so she escaped with her baby Sophia.

She had to leave her three other children with her former owner because she could not take all four of them on her flight to freedom.  When she found out that Mr. Dumont, her former owner has sold her son, Peter, she went to court and won his release. (This was the first case of its kind in the U.S.).

She took the name Sojourner Truth many years later and became a strong voice in the abolitionist movement and with William Lloyd Garrison to free all slaves.  I think the book will appeal to children of all ages; however, is specifically designed for grades 1-3. I would highly recommend its purchase for any elementary library.

Eyes Wide Open by Paul Fleischman

18 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Non-Fiction, science, Young Adult

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Rarely do I find nonfiction books that troubles me.  This is such a book.  It certainly has made me think and should make any reader think.  However, I am concerned because it is written for younger readers, and they might not have enough facts at their disposal to recognize the bias that this work presents.

Environmental protection is a high priority for most responsible people.  How we accomplish this, is sometimes the topic of huge debates.  This book, on the surface, proposes to examine all view points and to open the eyes of the reader to the situations and the proposed solutions. In reality it takes a very definite view of environmental issues and negates or, in some cases, fails to explain the opposing views.

The author takes the position that anyone who disagrees with his conclusions is wrong. He certainly has the right to his opinions and the right to publish them, but to voice those opinions to middle school and/or high school readers as the “real” facts and to make them think that, unless they “see” things his way, they are wrong, moves the book into a type of indoctrination.

I had a person who has a degree in Natural Resources read and review this book.  He had some of the same concerns that I had.  He went on to state that while the author quotes many sources, he is in actuality quoting the opinions of others.  He is not analyzing data from environmental studies.  So, the information being presented is a second hand opinion.

Fleischman is an acclaimed writer of fiction for children and young adults. He has also authored some nonfiction books, but they are not about extremely controversial subjects, as this one is.  I would like to have seen a more balanced approach to the subject with some questions being offered for the reader to consider on each subject.

There is an excellent chapter on How to Weigh Information which I actually used in considering the credentials of this author.  He tells the reader to check out the references and the author – which I did. The sources he used, and those he recommends, are extensive.

I suppose I am more than a little put off by his attitude that the consumers are stupid and only more government regulations will save us from our stupidity.  However, I recommend it for the high school library, with the caveat that opposing viewpoints exist and should be recognized. This book is also available in ebook format and in audio.

If you have read this book, I do welcome your comments

Downside of Drugs by Rosa Waters (series)

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by in Children's Books, Health, Non-Fiction, science

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Finding a way to engage children and teens in the understanding the dangers of drugs is always a challenge to parents and to teachers.  This series offers eye-catching information on a very necessary subject in an easy-to-read format.

Rosa Waters is the author of this series; but she worked with Dr. Joshua Borus, a pediatrician at the Harvard Medical School on the series.  The series is designed to attract younger readers and to help them understand quickly exactly what each drug can do to their bodies.

An answer to one pertinent question is found in each two-page spread. The author has included excellent color photographs, artwork, and charts to go along with the text.  Words that may need defining are underlined, and those definitions are found in the glossary at the end, as is a bibliography of other sources of information, both print and electronic, that the reader may find interesting or useful.

The introduction, which takes up two and one fourth pages of the 48 pages, is identical in each of the books in the series.  If the substance being discussed is able to be overdosed and become deadly, the author has included a paragraph about what to do if someone has overdosed on that particular drug.  This paragraph, which takes another page, is verbatim in all books.

Titles include: ADHD Medication Abuse, Alcohol & Tobacco;  Caffeine, Energy Drinks, Coffee, Soda and Pills;  Dangerous Depressants & Sedatives; Doping:Human Growth Hormone, Steroids, & Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs;  Hard Drugs: Cocaine, LSD, PCP & Heroin;  Marijuana Legal & Developmental Consequences;  Methamphetamine & Other Amphetamines; New Drugs, Bath Salts, Spice, Salvia & Designer Drugs;   Over the Counter Medications; and Prescription Painkillers: Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, & Other Addictive Analgesics.

I imagine that some of these titles have the same information in them, and they could actually be verbatim; however, I still feel that the works are valuable resources. I would recommend the purchase of these books for upper elementary and middle to high school students.  It might even be worthwhile for pediatricians to put them in their office waiting rooms.

Although this reviewer saw only the paperback version of the books, they are available in hardback and in e-book formats.  While the books are not cheap, they are not cheaply made.  The covers are high quality paper. The glue in the paperback format is very strong. The paper that is used is of very high quality and is coated to help improve the sharpness of the print and reduce the degradation of the paper itself. It is a little easier to purchase an expensive paperback if it will not crack apart at the first use or easily curl from moisture.

The Good Fight by Les & Leslie Parrott

23 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Non-Fiction, Uncategorized

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The subtitle for this book is “How Conflict Can Bring You Closer.”  The authors are Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott founders of the Center for Relationship Development at Seattle Pacific University. Every married couple should read this book!  I can’t say enough good things about it. I’ve been married for 53 years, and I still learned some things about me and my husband.

It is straightforward, clear, and very easy to understand.  The reader will not consider that he or she is being lectured, rather take the authors have taken great pains to make the writing very conversational. For instance, they say, “Marriage, over time, is made up of more hard days than most of us can count. After all, we fall in love with a dream and marry a fantasy.  We can’t help it…But eventually… the illusion begins to fade, and we start seeing less-than-appealing qualities in our mate we hadn’t seen before… Of course, our partner is doing the same with us. The power struggle starts, and the bickering begins.”

They have filled the text with anecdotes which clarify the topics being discussed. Once, Leslie had dressed to go out with some friends for a bite to eat. She came down the stairs and asked Les, “How do I look?”  To which he responded, “Fine with me.” She took what he said as a comment that he didn’t really like what she was wearing, so she went upstairs and changed clothes. In reality, he was distracted by an email and had really not paid good attention to what she asked. They did manage not to have a fight about it, but it might have escalated into one had they not discussed the issue calmly.

Quotes from famous authors and other personages round out the content. I especially liked the one from Daniel Webster: “Keep cool; anger is not an argument.” And, “The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together.” Robert C. Dodds.

The reader will discover the type of fighter that they are: Competitive, Collaborative, Cautious, and Conciliatory.  Make no mistake about it, we are all fighters of one type or another (sometimes with bits of one overlapping another).

Included with the purchase of the book is a free app that will help the reader understand his/herself.

There is an appendix at the end, entitled, “Controlling Anger Before it Controls You” that is worth the purchase price alone.  Each chapter is also well documented, and the reader will be able to see the sources they used in writing the book.

The authors have also produced materials for marriage enrichment classes that can be purchased.

A great anniversary gift!!!  It may well save a marriage.

Courage Has No Color; The True Story of the Triple Nickles

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Children's Books, Non-Fiction

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Scan0025  Tanya Lee Stone has done a fantastic job writing the history of America’s first black paratroopers.  Many of us have already learned about the Tuskegee Airmen, but I dare say that few even knew that the 555th airborne division existed during World War II.

Stone starts with a discussion of the racial discrimination that was prevalent in the military at the time.  She takes the reader through the steps toward getting the all black paratroopers ready to jump. Although they never served overseas during the war, they did provide necessary service to the country here at home in the battle with forest fires.

As it turns out, military service was actually needed in the area where the forest fires were occurring.  While none of the fires that the 555th actually worked with were clearly of enemy origin, what the American public did not know was that the Japanese had actually launched balloon bombs to the U.S. One of those bombs killed a woman and five teenagers in Blye, Oregon in 1945.

The government managed to keep the news that a Japanese bomb had made it to the U.S.  out of the news, but they sent the 555th to the Northwest in case others made it to shore and were exploded. This was one of the best kept secrets of the war.  The U.S. did not want Japan to know that they had succeed.  When no news of any bomb attacks made it to Japan, they assumed that the mission was a failure, and they gave up on it.  Imagine what would have happened had they known that they really had succeeded!

The story  of the 555th continues clear up until the actual integration of the military in 1953. It is fascinating, and very easy to read. The book is well researched, fully documented and excellently illustrated with photos, drawings and maps. It is written for middle school to high school students, but I think any history buff will thoroughly enjoy reading it.

I really don’t know how much more I can say about it. The only problem I had with it was that it felt unwieldy to me.  I wanted to read the story in its entirety, which I did.  But, in doing so I had to hold the book in both hands while reading.  It is too wide and heavy to be held in one hand, even if one switches hands in the process.

For those of you who are interested, this has an A.R.of 8  With 5 pts.