Father Abraham

Father Abraham: Lincoln and His Sons
by Harold Holzer
232 pages
Boyds Mills Press

Publisher's description:

Abraham Lincoln was devoted to his country - and to his family. President Lincoln called America a "House Divided" but he struggled to keep his own house united. It would prove to be an impossible task. Sickness, loss and family tensions overwhelmed Abraham, Mary, and their four sons. Opening up the Lincoln family album, noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer highlights the family's heartaches and happiness. Illustrated with archival photographs and backed by extensive primary source material, this compelling portrait illuminates the private lives of four generations of a prominent American family.

My comments:

Despite the length, this was a fairly quick, easy read. It was also enlightening, since I only remember learning about Tad Lincoln in school and not Robert, Eddy or Willie. I learned, for instance, that my belief that Tad was the president's favorite son was probably due to the fact that he lived longer than his beloved brother Willie, and thus had more opportunities to pose for photographs with his father.

What kind of a father was Abraham Lincoln? He was frequently absent because of work. When he was home he doted on his younger sons, but not on his oldest son Robert. If this lack of affection had deleterious effects, they are not evident in Holzer's account. Robert cared for his mother and Tad after his father's murder, and ended up being the only son to survive into adulthood and have children of his own.

Plenty of photographs of the Lincolns appear throughout the book, helping to make the large pages fly by. Captions include interesting information about the circumstances surrounding each picture that I greatly appreciated. I was especially impressed by the photo of Tad that the little scamp altered with a drawn-on mustache (p. 120). Picture credits on page 229 reveal that several come from Holzer's own collection. Many others were supplied by the Library of Congress, and the included ID numbers can be used to locate the photographs at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/.

Mary Lincoln, who I've most often heard described as Lincon's "crazy" wife, is also featured prominently throughout the book. Holzer's view is more nuanced: she liked to decorate and entertain, and the deaths of her sons and husband affected her very deeply. Well-chosen photographs show the contrast between her earlier, fashionable dresses (P. 111, very smiliar to this one) and the plain black dresses she wore exclusively after the assassination.

A generous bibliography, extensive index and source notes are appended. Holzer is a renowned Lincoln scholar, so while I trust that he knows what he's talking about, I was disappointed that his notes refer only to the work where a quote may be published without elaborating further on it's source.

NONFICTION BOOK BLAST : AN EXPLOSION OF FACTS AT ALA

I don't have any new book comments to post just now (my reading has been rather slow, lately) but in the meantime, anyone who's attending ALA this June should consider attending this event:

NONFICTION BOOK BLAST: AN EXPLOSION OF FACTS

Sunday, June 26 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am in room 243 above Hall D of the Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center in New Orleans. The details provided here all come from a press release via Kelly Milner Halls.

Ten award-winning nonfiction writers -- April Pulley Sayre, Kelly Milner Halls, Deborah Heiligman, Loree Griffins Burns, Carla Killough McClafferty, Christine Taylor-Butler, Shirley Duke, Darcy Pattison, Carla Mooney and Anastasia Suen -- will booktalk their latest factual explorations, complete with programming suggestions to help bring those pages to life.

Featured titles include:
Rah, Rah, Radishes by April Pulley Sayre
In Search of Sasquatch by Kelly Milner Halls
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heligman
The Hive Detectives by Loree Griffin Burns
The Many Faces of George Washington by Carla Killough McClafferty
Magnets by Christine Taylor-Butler
You Can’t Wear These Genes by Shirley Duke
Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison
Explorers of the New World by Carla Mooney
Read and Write Sports by Anastasia Suen

According to the press release, attendees will "...leave their two hour session with new books to add to your collections and instructive activity handouts specially to engage young readers." I'm most excited about hearing Deborah Heligman, and would love to see what kind of activities will be presented to go along with Charles and Emma, the 2010 winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction.

The Many Faces of George Washington, which combines an exploration of history, science and art, is a new one that looks really interesting. Targeted to a middle-school aged audience, it has been favorably reviewed by Kirkus and School Library Journal. In Search of Sasquatch, which comes out in October, looks intriguing as well.

PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES

Anastasia Suen is the award-winning author of 128 books for children and adults, a literacy blogger, and a children's literature consultant for several publishers. She has taught kindergarten to college, including Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas. Suen lives in Plano, Texas. Website: asuen.com.

April Pulley Sayre is an award-winning children’s book author of over 55 natural history books. Her read-aloud nonfiction books, known for their lyricism and scientific precision, have been translated into French, Dutch, Japanese, and Korean. Originally from Greenville, SC, she now lives in Indiana. Website: http://www.aprilsayre.com/

Christine Taylor-Butler is the award-winning author of more than sixty books for children. A graduate of MIT, she frequently conducts lectures and workshops to promote literacy for children. In 2009, she received the George B. Morgan ’20 award for her work on MIT’s Educational Council. Christine lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Website: http://www.christinetaylorbutler.com/

Carla Mooney is an award-winning author of more than 25 books for children and teens, in a variety of topics. She enjoys speaking to children and adults about books and the writing process. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Carla lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Website: http://www.carlamooney.com/

Carla Killough McClafferty is an award-winning author who says she writes “Biography Plus” books. She writes in such a way that brings her subjects to life, plus she adds valuable, unique information that goes beyond the usual biographical material. Carla lives in North Little Rock, AR. Website: http://www.carlamcclafferty.com/

Darcy Pattison, Arkansas author of picture books, novels and how-to-write books has been published in eight languages. She studied for her master’s degree at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. She returns to the wide, open skies of our heartland’s prairies in her first nonfiction picture book, Prairie Storms. She follows this with another nature book next year, Desert Baths. Originally from New Mexico, she lives in North Little Rock, AR. Visit http://www.darcypattison.com/.

Deborah Heiligman is the author of Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, a National Book Award finalist, Printz Honor, LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the first YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. She has written 27 other books, including the "National Geographic Celebrate Holidays Around the World" series. She is working on her first novel. A Pennsylvanian most of her life, she now lives in New York City. Please visit http://www.deborahheiligman.com/.

Kelly Milner Halls specializes in well researched, quirky nonfiction for young readers, including her best known books Albino Animals and Tales of the Cryptids, both YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. She travels all over the nation speaking at schools, libraries and conferences. She makes her home in Spokane, Washington with one dog, two daughters, too many cats and a 4-foot rock iguana named Gigantor. She also assists YA author, Chris Crutcher. Website: http://www.kellymilnerhalls.com/.

Loree Griffin Burns has a passion for science and discovery, which she channels into creating fascinating books of non-fiction for young people. Her work has garnered several honors, including ALA Notable designations, an SB&F Prize, an IRA Children’s Book Award and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. Loree lives with her husband and three children in Massachusetts. Website: http://www.loreeburns.com/.

Shirley Duke writes for children from the preschool age to young adult. She also writes teacher guides for educators. A former science teacher, she uses her background in biology and education in her books to explain complex science in a way kids can understand. She blogs about books and easy science lessons at SimplyScience, and is a guest blogger for NOVA’s web program, “The Secret Life of Scientists.” She lives with her husband in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico and in Garland, Texas. Visit her at http://www.shirleysmithduke.com/ and http://www.simplyscience.wordpress.com/

Amelia Lost

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
by Candace Fleming
published by Schwartz & Wade
118 pages

Publisher's description:

From the acclaimed author of The Great and Only Barnum—as well as The Lincolns, Our Eleanor, and Ben Franklin's Almanac—comes the thrilling story of America's most celebrated flyer, Amelia Earhart. In alternating chapters, Fleming deftly moves readers back and forth between Amelia's life (from childhood up until her last flight) and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane. With incredible photos, maps, and handwritten notes from Amelia herself—plus informative sidebars tackling everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked to eat while flying (tomato soup)—this unique nonfiction title is tailor-made for middle graders.


My comments:

The description above gets a couple of things wrong. Earhart drank tomato juice when flying, and while it may be intended for a middle grade audience, I think many older readers could pick up Amelia Lost without worrying that it is too young.

After a brief preface on the difficulty of separating fact from fiction (in which she dispells legends like Earhart's claim to have been unimpressed by an airplane at a 1908 fair), Fleming delves into Amelia's 1937 disappearance. Dual narratives cut back and forth between the 17-day search for Earhart's plane and her life story. Fleming has made a great effort to unravel the truth of Earhart's life and disappearance from the myths.

More pages are devoted to Earhart's professional life, but Fleming also depicts her youth, including the troubled home life caused by her father's drinking. Her adult personal life also gets adequate coverage, perhaps thanks to the fact that her manager, George Putnam, eventually became her husband.

Fleming doesn't portray Earhart as the only or even best female pilot of the time. She learned to fly from Neta Snook, and Louise Thaden beat her in the 1929 Women's Air Derby -- a race from California to Ohio. Earhart benefited from better publicity thanks to Putnam, and (as noted by Fleming) her disappearance guaranteed her legendary status. Fleming admires Earhart for what she was and is: an inspiration to women who dream of accomplishing more than is expected of them, and who wish to live life on their own terms.

Earhart's 1937 autobiography was fittingly titled The Fun Of It -- she seemed to delight in setting records and constantly pushing the boundaries of what she (or any pilot) was capable of. Before her last flight, told Putnam that if she must go, "I'd like best to go in my plane." The desperate messages later received from radio enthusiasts as far away as Florida indicate that in the end, she may have changed her mind.

There are many great photographs and newspaper clippings, courtesy of Purdue University and the George Palmer Putnam collection. I would describe the three maps that are included as "servicable" rather than "incredible." The most amazing illustration may be from Betty Klenck's notebook. Next to a page of doodles is a transcription of what may be Earhart's final calls for help (page 81). The design features a 1930s font and very cool 30s-inspired lettering from cover to cover. I also really like the many text boxes and sidebars that cover everything from a failed romance in Earhart's youth to her friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt.

For the most part, I didn't find any unnecssary definitions (one of my pet peeves) embedded in the text. A notable exception appears in "The Way It Works," a text box on page 3 that defines GPS and transmitted (it means "sent"). I was worried that this text box was an indicator of facile writing to come, but was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a fluke.

A bibliography, source notes, picture credits and index are appended. Of these sections, the bibliography is the most useful. It includes archival collections; books by Earhart, Putnam and Earhart's sister, Muriel; documentaries; and recent scholarly works. There's also a separate section for websites.

Unraveling Freedom

Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Home Front During World War I
by Ann Bausum
96 pages
National Geographic

Publisher's Description:

In 1915, the United States experienced the 9/11 of its time. A German torpedo sank the Lusitania killing nearly 2,000 innocent passengers. The ensuing hysteria helped draw the United States into World War I—the bitter, brutal conflict that became known as the Great War and the War to End All Wars. But as U.S. troops fought to make the world safe for democracy abroad, our own government eroded freedoms at home, especially for German-Americans. Free speech was no longer an operating principle of American democracy. Award-winning author Ann Bausum asks, just where do Americans draw the line of justice in times of war? Drawing thought-provoking parallels with President Wilson’s government and other wartime administrations, from FDR to George W. Bush, Bausum’s analysis has plenty of history lessons for the world today. Her exhaustive research turns up astonishing first-person stories and rare images, and the full-color design is fresh and stunning. The result is a gripping book that is well-positioned for the run-up to the World War I centennial.


My comments:

What most impressed me about this book is the topic it covers and the parallels it draws between the political environments of World War I and post-9/11 America. The 2-page foreword by Ted Rall (in comic form) lays out the stakes - will we learn from our past mistakes? - in a clear and provocative manner that Bausum carries on in her introduction.

Chapter 1 focuses on a riveting account of the sinking of the Lusitania. Although I thought this chapter was occasionally hampered by awkward phrasing, it is also the most captivating section of the book. Remaining chapters cover the lead up to war, war propaganda, the harsh laws imposed by Wilson's administration, vigilante justice, and the end of the war and it's aftermath.

The book is very readable, but I was bothered a few times by unclear writing. For instance, when discussing the persecution of German-Americans, Bausum uses the ambiguous phrase "German-Americans including many citizens." I had to go to a sidebar (on page 60) to find explicit mention of the deportation of German aliens. I can only guess that Bausum's phrasing was used out of sensitivity to current illegal residents who have grown up in the US. If so, why not make the connection explicit in the main text? Pointing out that specific non-citizen populations have been targeted for persecution in the past as well as today makes sense given the book's themes.

One other issue I have with the text is the description of Wilson's stroke and subsequent impairment. Bausum uses the euphemism "mentally challenged" (page 65) to describe Wilson's post-stroke state, which is inaccurate. In actuality, Wilson was partially paralyzed on his left side, meaning that he suffered a stroke in the right hemisphere of his brain. According to the National Stroke Association, other effects could have included problems with spatial and perceptual abilities and short term memory loss. I don't understand why Bausum didn't present a proper medical explanation of Wilson's brain injury.

Overall I like the design a lot. The cover, dominated by a battered, windblown flag is great. I like the inclusion of political cartons and propaganda posters. The digital silhouetting and color tinting (mentioned on page 4) treatment used on several of the archival photographs is effective at making the people stand out, but also makes the backgrounds nearly indecipherable. I think that removing the subjects from their context makes the photographs less effective in some cases (like on pages 53 and 71).

The back end materials include two great timelines. The first is a 5-page guide to wartime presidents that compares Wilson's wartime actions to those by other administrations throughout American history. Why didn't I know that James Maison was so committed to freedom of the press? A second timeline tracks major events in the life of Wilson, the history of the Lusitania, and World War I. It nicely summarizes the main points of the book in three pages.

Notes and acknowledgments, a bibliography, a resource guide that includes books and websites, quote citations, and an index are also appended.

Tom Thumb

Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature
by George Sullivan
Published by Clarion Books
204 pages

Publisher's description:

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he was a large baby, perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed only fifteen pounds--the exact same size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that the notorious showman P.T. Barnum dubbed him Tom Thumb and put him on display, touring him around the world as a curiosity. A natural performer, Charley became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him. In this spirited biography--the first on its subject--George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of Tom Thumb, and raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation--both in the 19th century and today.

My comments:

Not having been previously familiar with Charles Stratton's (aka Tom Thumb) story, I was soon enthralled and read it on my computer in just a couple of sittings. I like that, overall, Sullivan doesn't talk down to his young audience, writing instead with sophistication. There are a couple of rare (and pretty minor) exceptions, like on page 49 where he mentions that Apollo was a major Greek god, instead of just saying that he was the Greek ideal of manly beauty.

Reading on the full-size monitor gave me a sense of the full-size book; the size and spacing of the text and the placement of the images. Reading this way made it obvious that the book is intended for a young audience. I later re-read it on a 7 inch nook screen, where text size and spacing became meaningless and I focused more on the content. Reading this way, I became aware that people of all ages could read the ebook without ever thinking about the "intended" audience.

I did relish all the photographs. Particularly fascinating are pictures of some of the other performers (circa p. 58) who lived and worked at Barnum's museum with Stratton, and the pictures of him in various costumes (circa p. 75). I found it intriguing that while Charles (or Charley to family and friends) and his cohorts may have been exploited, they were also sometimes given opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Charley, for instance, learns to read and travels the world. He also meets other dwarfs like himself, and eventually marries.

I like the design of the book overall. I thought the image of Stratton on the cover was a cartoon at first, but later realized that it's a reproduction of a photograph that has been colorized. If I have one wish it is just that the cover would look less cartoony. In addition to all the wonderful black and white photographs, the interior pages are decorated with 19th century patterns and flourishes in shades of gray.

Source notes and a bibliography are appended. The notes are organized by chapter, and include page references to quotes and articles included in the bibligoraphy. The bibligraphy includes works by Stratton's wife, Lavinia, and by friends Sylvester Bleeker and Barnum as well as books and articles about the period in general. There will be an index, however, it wasn't included in the advanced reading copy.

Disclosure: This blog post is based on the reading of an advanced reading copy received through NetGalley.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery
by Steve Sheinkin
352 pages
published by Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press

Publisher's description:

Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America’s first, most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest war heroes. This accessible biography introduces young readers to the real Arnold: reckless, heroic, and driven. Packed with first-person accounts, astonishing battle scenes, and surprising twists, this is a gripping and true adventure tale.


My comments:

Benedict Arnold is the most famous traitor in American history, but once he was one of Washington's most trusted generals. This fascinating book details his rise and fall, including the political slights and money woes that may have motivated him.

This well-researched, well-written account of Benedict Arnold's life reads like an adventure novel. A flash-forward at the very beginning vividly describes an execution, but who's execution is it? I like the element of suspense that this trickery adds to the narrative. Sheinkin then turns back to Arnold's birth and lets the story flow chronologically through his life. It seems inconceivable that the dedicated (albeit hotheaded) patriot who led assaults on Fort Ticonderoga and Montreal would later turn on his country, but as slights and debts pile up

The design of the book (especially the cover art and dimensions) makes it look like a novel, which helps it stand out from the coffee table style books that are popular in YA nonfiction right now. Other than one portrait of Arnold at the end, the only illustrations are maps. The maps by Lazslo Kubinyi are very well done, and I referred to them often as I read. The short chapters include date ranges along with the titles, making it easier to place all the events chronologically.

Sheinkin admits to an Arnold obsession, and his passion shows not just in the writing, but in the extensive source notes and quote notes that are appended. I might have a hard time swallowing the quotes that Sheinkin attributes to the players in Arnold's drama, if he didn't have these sources (including several firsthand accounts) to back him up. I appreciate that the sources are arranged by category and the quote notes by chapter. There's also an index, which is handy for looking up specific people, places, battles and ships.

I knew very little about Benedict Arnold (other than he was a traitor) going into this book, and by the end Sheinkin had succeeded in making me interested in visiting the Revolutionary battlefields where he left his mark.

Sugar Changed the World

Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Space, Slavery, Freedom and Science
by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos
published by Clarion Books
176 pages

Publisher's description:

When this award-winning husband-and-wife team discovered that they each had sugar in their family history, they were inspired to trace the globe-spanning story of the sweet substance and to seek out the voices of those who led bitter sugar lives. The trail ran like a bright band from religious ceremonies in India to Europe's Middle Ages, then on to Columbus, who brought the first cane cuttings to the Americas. Sugar was the substance that drove the bloody slave trade and caused the loss of countless lives but it also planted the seeds of revolution that led to freedom in the American colonies, Haiti, and France. With songs, oral histories, maps, and over 80 archival illustrations, here is the story of how one product allows us to see the grand currents of world history in new ways.

My comments:

I was expecting a micro-history of sugar when I first began reading, which isn't exactly what I got. The title is accurate when it says "sugar changed the world," and that is really is the subject of the book - how sugar changed the world. Aronson and Budhos recount in the introduction how their ancestral connections to sugar (Aronson' has a connection to the European beet sugar industry, and Budhos' great-grandparents made a living on a sugar plantation in Guyana) spurred them to research and write the book.

The bulk of the book is divided into four parts. The first part does a nice job of describing how sugar spread through Asia and then Europe. Part two describes the hell of living and working on a sugar plantation. There are many excellent illustrations and photographs in this section that provide a portrait of plantation life, as well as a few maps that show the flow of slaves from Africa to the New World.

Part three describes how people (including slaves in the Caribbean, Colonists in New England, and citizens in England and France) began to fight for freedom. This section was a little confusing to me at times. For instance, when it jumped from discussing a rebellion in Saint Domingue (now Haiti) to the English invasion of Jamaica I was a bit lost at first. In part four, the authors return to their family connections and how change came to the sugar industry (and the world) through social reform and scientific discoveries like the development of beet sugar.

The back end materials include a time line, web guide to color images (many of the black and white images the book are available in color online), source notes, bibliography, list of websites about sugar and an index. There's also an essay, "How We Research and Wrote This Book' that is addressed to teachers and librarians rather than young readers. Assuming the book is intended for the young readers that the authors refer to in this essay, I wondered whether this is the best arena for it.

The acknowledgments recognize several indispensable works that the pair used in their research. These are a boon for ambitious readers who are curious to dive deeper into the history and impact of sugar.

Your comments?