The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest

The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest by Natalie Amanda Leece, illustrated by Studio IBOIX and Walt Sturrock

Book is a spin off from a movie based on a book based on a fairy tale. Just about nothing here is related to the original tale. Instead, it is mostly a conflict between a jazz musician alligator and a dog. It is quite bad.

Breaking Through (The Circuit Book 2)

Breaking Through (The Circuit Book 2) by Francisco Jiménez

The second book in Francisco Jiménez's autobiographical series focuses primarily on his high school experience. It begins with his family's deportation. His father did have a green card and his little siblings were born in the USA. However, his mother, his older brother and Francisco were all in the US illegally. Their immigration experience would advocate for a policy that differs from both the Republican and Democrat one today. When three family members were caught, the whole family decided to leave. They willingly deported themselves to Mexico. However, once in Mexico, there was a path for them to apply for legal immigration status. They were able to get it within a short time frame and return to the United States. This seems the ideal balance. Don't give extra rights to those that are here illegally as the Democrats are want to do. And don't permanently banish workers as Republicans prefer. Instead, encourage all to remain as legal contributors to society.

Once back, the family tried to hide their deportation experience. However, this  time away did cause the older brother to lose his job. (Luckily, the replacement didn't work out and he was hired back.) They did eventually recover from the time off from school.

The author had a number of friends and mentors that encouraged him through his high school career. The value of hard work instilled by his family was also important. He and his brother were working hard to support themselves while the rest of the family was away. He had friends that encouraged him to perform in a school variety show and later run for school office. He helped lead a Spanish club and led a Christmas food drive. Teachers and counselors helped him to excel in academic areas and go down a path where he could be a teacher. He also had those that helped support him to find a job. It was not all rosey. There were families that did not want him to be seen with their daughter after they learned he was Mexican. He did need a few special pushes. His loyalty to work and family led him to consider working to support them rather than going to college. School officials helped push him to apply. He missed some scholarship opportunities, but was able to get into Santa Clara and between loans and scholarships afford the initial tuition.

The appropriate support is very important for success. Some people may feel unwilling to receive handouts. Finding a way to help in that way can be beneficial. (As an example, rather than just give him a typewriter, a man charged him $5 for typewriter and ribbon.) There are many people that are hard workers that can achieve more in different fields. They just need support. 

I wonder how things are different today. There is much more of a safety net available for immigrant families. Do they take advantage of it? Or is the loyalty to family and hard work still of prominent importance? Do child labor restrictions hurt? It feels that people would be evicted from some of these habitations today. Cigarette smoking is also not as prominent. How is life different for modern immigrant farmworkers? How is it the same?

Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice

Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Laura Bryant

Take "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed", and swap out the monkeys with penguins on ice and you have a great book, right? Uh, no. The rhyme is gone. The story here is just an exercise in having little penguins do cute snow things.

The Quigleys

The Quigleys by Simon Mason illustrated by Helen Stephens

A family does some stuff. There is a wedding. I had thought this was an old book until a kid wanted a playstation. It has a British feel to it.

Animal Crackers: Animal Friends

Animal Crackers: Animal Friends by Jane Dyer

This book includes a variety of animal-related poems. Some are common nursery rhymes. There are some by well-known poets like William Carlos Williams, and others translated from other languages. Most are pretty good. The selection is short and easily readable.

Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read Level 2)

Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia (I Can Read Level 2) by Herman Parish (Author), Lynn Sweat (Illustrator)

Amelia Bedelia has an appointment at the doctor's office. The doctor is at the hospital, and the staff ask Amelia Bedelia to help out. (Why of all people would they ask her.) She answers the phones and treats everything literally creating all sorts of issues. By the time the doctor comes back, everyone has come to the office. Amelia Bedelia ends up "treating them" with goodies at the end and all ends up well. The derivative Amelia Bedelia get old.

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road

Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart

Neil Peart's only daughter died in a single-car crash while driving to college. This stressed his relationship with his common-law wife. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. Neil tried to recover from this by getting on his motorcycle and riding. Sometimes he would go fast. Other times it was slow. He would explore remote northern areas in Canada and Alaska, and continued down in the United States and Mexico. The book is primarily epistolary, with journal entries and letters. He is trying to come to terms with his life, while also exploring different areas. He travels "under cover" so he cannot be identified as a famous musician. (And he is not feeling up to making music at the time.) In the narrative, he quotes various lyrics that he wrote for Rush songs that tie together. He is not keen on religion, but seems open to spirituality and various ways of exploring. Eventually he explores other relationships and finally makes it back to his drums.

Making Plum Jam

Making Plum Jam by John Warren Stewig (Author), Kevin O'Malley (Author)

A kid goes to spend time with his weird aunts. They go to get plums from a neighbor's tree to make plum jam. The old neighbor would let them get plums, but the new one doesn't make jam. They drive the rickety car out there and gather pums. The farmer comes to chase them away, so they speed off. After they make the jam, the kid sneaks back there to give the farmer some jam. Later the farmer returns the favor and gives them some fresh plums. It shows the benefit of communicating and being nice. The book also has a humorous part earlier on where the boy refuses to eat bacon because he remembers taken care of the pig the year before.

Mouse Makes Words

Mouse Makes Words: A Phonics Reader (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1) by Kathryn Heling (Author), Deborah Hembrook (Author), Patrick Joseph (Illustrator)

A mouse takes off the first letter of a word to make a new word. It is an entertaining approach to phonics and word creation.

Harriet Spies Again

Harriet Spies Again by Helen Ericson based on series by Louise Fitzhugh

This books is about what you expect when a new writer picks up a series from a long-deceased author. In it Harriet's parents are going to spend a few months in France. Harriet gets to spend time with the cook. andher previous Nanny. She spies to try to figure out what is going on with the nanny and her spouse. With her friend, she discovers a pregnancy and plots a reunion in a snowstorm. The kids feel like the characters did originally, but it seems they are just repeating what was there before.

Apple Pie Fourth of July

Apple Pie Fourth of July by Janet S. Wong (Author), Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Illustrator)

A Chinese girl feels upset that her family's store is open on the fourth of July selling Chinese food. Nobody seems to buy any. Then later in the day, they do sell a lot of Chinese food (as they make a new batch.) Then they close the store and watch fireworks while eating apple pie. It portrays the challenges of the melding of cultures in the world. with the mixture of cultures feeling both isolating, but also allowing new opportunities.

What's That Noise?

What's That Noise? by Phyllis Root (Author), Michelle Edwards (Author), Paul Meisel (Illustrator)

A boy is afraid of all the sounds outside. He crawls into bed with his brother who tells him a story that includes all the sounds. Then he is comforted and they both go to sleep.

Maisy Cleans Up

Maisy Cleans Up by Lucy Cousins

Maidy is cleaning. His friend comes over. He has to help clean in order to get treats. Pictures are nice. Story has a lot to be desired.

Curious George Takes a Train

Curious George Takes a Train by Martha Wilson

The book mentions the series creator and the fact that it has stickers, but never mentions the author or illustrator. That is a bad sign. The story is a bad clone of a Curious George book. George takes a train. He gets in trouble for messing up the status board, but gets forgiven when he stops a kid from chasing off to the tracks. There is lots of formula, with little originality.

Everything Is Illuminated

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

An American Jew goes back to Ukraine to find more information about his ancestors. He has a picture with a name on it and some maps. He recruits some Ukrainian guides and after much searching they finally find somebody that recognizes people in the picture. However, it is not exactly what they think it is. Interspersed with this story is the background of the ancestors and their village. They were not exactly perfect moral citizens, but had plenty of foibles.

What makes this story interesting is the narrative style. It is told from the point of view of the tour guide. He is an optimistic young guide who speaks English and would love to travel abroad. However, his family have done the same things in Ukraine for multiple generations, so he will stay put. He sees things from a hyper-local point of few, while trying to be more global. There is a huge amount of humor that pops out mostly unintentionally. He wants to present himself as the hypermasculine person that he thinks he should be, but is not. He has plenty of knowledge, but little understanding of social situations, especially with foreigners. Yet, in spite of this, he is an optimist and helps the American to complete their quest - even if the dog Sammy Davis Junior Junior keeps causing trouble.

Duck on a Bike

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

A duck sees a bike and decides to take it for a spin. The other animals say they are not interested in bikes. However, after a group of kids come by, the animals all jump on the bikes. They have fun taking them for a spin.

The book is great in its simplicity. The drawing where all the animals oggle the bikes is classic. 

Tornadoes

Tornadoes by Brian Cassie

Tornados are rare but violent. This book provides a simple introduction to tornados. It includes the details that the kids were asking - often in the next page after they asked them.

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

We often talk about "consumers". However, in the long run, very little is actually consumed. Most good we buy are used for a little bit and then disposed of in landfills. Attempts to improve this often look at the "cradle to grave" lifespan of goods, but many of these just delay the inevitable. Much recycle is "downcycling" to lower quality goods that are then landfilled. Critical components are often not extractable and thus are lost in the recycling. There are also many dangerous chemicals that are part of the process. Environmentally friendly options often have negative parts. The recycled paper may contain harmful components from the previous life and be hard to read. Items may also include components from other countries that are not subject to similar environmental standards.

This book advocates for an alternative to "reduce, reuse, recycle". Even if we reduce our footprint, we still have a significant negative footprint that will add up over time. Instead, we should look for ways where what we have can make an improvement. An example would be a plant where the manufacturing process makes the outflowing water better than what came in - all while carrying out its purpose. Rather than trying to be less bad, we can be "more good". Truly sustainable processes would lead to continual improvements. Rather than reduce the human footprint, we should work to make it positive. This is a different, albeit much harder approach.

What Is a Hate Crime?

What Is a Hate Crime? by Roman Espejo

This book has a series of essays on hate crimes, mostly structured in pairs of opposing views. A lot has changed in the two decades since this was written. The concept of hate crimes has become much more widely accepted. However, the underlying concerns still exist. It is almost as if we have got the worst of both of worlds. "Hate" has become an arbitrary option to apply to crimes that continues to be il-defined. After all, just about every major crime has involved some hate. The concept of "hate speech" has become even more convoluted and arbitrary. Can we regulate speech, yet still have free speech?

Crossing to Safety

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

I enjoyed the first part of the book, but gradually lost interest as it progressed. It is a semi-autobiographical tale of a writer. It starts with experience during the great depression. He is a struggling academic, trying to get any work he can. He takes a yearlong appointment in Madison. To make ends meet, he takes any writing gig he can find. He also befriends another member of the faculty and they and their wives become lifelong friends. We learn the background of the friend - he is a trust-fund boy who shunned his trust to live as a poor academic. He eventually marries the girl he loves. (The family first rejected him on monetary means, but with knowledge his wealth, that argument fell apart.) 

The lives just become more boring as they get older. There are struggles with childbirths, health and other issues. They also experience the war and the "boom" afterwards. The couples look out for and support each other.  Often the friendship is just nudging somebody in the right direction when they want to give up. (e.g. jobs were wide open to teach the boomers after world war 2.)  The ends with death of one of the women from cancer.