On Tyranny - Graphic Edition by Timothy Snyder

 

Title: On Tyranny; Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century (Graphic Edition)

Author: Timothy Snyder

Illustrator: Nora Krug

Publisher: Ten Speed Press

Publication Date: 2021

Length: 127 Pages

About the Author
Timothy Snyder is the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 
Nora Krug is the author of the graphic memoir Belonging and an associate professor at Parsons School of Design in New York. 

Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century on Resisting Authoritarianism

1. Do not obey in advance.
2. Defend institutions.
3. Beware the one-party state.
4. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
5. Remember professional ethics.
6. Be wary of paramilitaries.
7. Be reflective if you must be armed.
8. Stand out.
9. Be kind to our language.
10. Believe in truth.
11. Investigate.
12. Make eye contact and small talk.
13. Practice corporeal politics.
14. Establish a private life.
15. Contribute to good causes.
16. Learn from peers in other countries.
17. Listen for dangerous words.
18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
19. Be a patriot.
20. Be as courageous as you can.

My Thoughts
I found this book on a shelf at our local Goodwill store. When I browsed through the pages, I was immediately attracted to the illustrations. I read the entire book in a couple of hours and was impressed with the powerful messages.

This is my favorite quote;

"The hero of a David Lodge novel says that you don't know, when you make love for the last time, that you are making love for the last time. Voting is like that."

The author uses many examples from the spread of Nazism and Communism to show how people can be persuaded to go along with the crowd and ignore obvious danger signs. Many cautionary tales encourage people to be proactive and aware of their surroundings.  

People need to investigate and not give others the benefit of the doubt. The author encourages people to read books and strive to discern facts as opposed to disinformation and fake news.

"What to read? Any good novel enlivens our ability to think about ambiguous situations and judge the intentions of others."

The context of this book is compelling and sends a powerful message to all citizens of the free world. The collage-style illustrations are outstanding and add great value to the text. 

Highly recommended!

My Rating - 5 Stars Out Of 5

The Stoic Mindset - Book Review

Title: The Stoic Mindset; Living the Ten Principles of Stoicism

Author: Mark Tuitert

Publisher: St. Martin Essentials

Publication Date: April 8, 2024

About the Author
 Mark Tuitert won the gold medal in speed skating in the 1500-meter event at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. After retiring from competitive speed skating, Mark has continued to make a positive impact as a bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, host of the podcast Drive, motivational speaker, and representative for some of the largest organizations in the world.

An Initiation Into Stoic Mindset and Action
Mark Tuitert presents the following ten principles for developing a Stoic mindset;

• Use setbacks as signposts
• Judge less, understand more
• Win by not focusing on winning
• What's good for the team is good for you
• Accept your fate (and love it)
• Death makes life epic
• Happiness is a side effect
• A map is good, a compass better
• Character is your most important project
• Actions speak louder than words

My Thoughts
Mr. Tuitert started reading about Stoic philosophy in the weeks before he won a gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Since then, he has continued to study and apply Stoic philosophy to his life.

The author does a good job sharing Stoic principles and explaining how he has used these principles to improve his life. He shares many experiences about his athletic endeavors and his struggles to get to the Olympics. 

There are some very helpful practice exercises at the end of each chapter. There are also colorful illustrations that illustrate and clarify the Stoic concepts.

Stoicism has been undergoing a resurgence in the 21st century. Over the last decade, the philosophy of Stoicism has managed to permeate mainstream culture in a way that most philosophies never do. This book does an excellent job of presenting material that provides core information and encourages the reader to delve deeper into the subject. 

This book is an excellent introduction to Stoicism and offers a great deal of help in applying the principles to your life. Highly recommended!

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

Thank you to Net Galley for an excellent reading opportunity.

Heartbreaking Account of Dutch Jews During Holocaust

 

TITLE: Discovering Twins; No Secret is Safe Forever

AUTHOR: Stella Ter Hart

PUBLISHER: Stella Ter Hart

PUBLICATION DATE: July 27, 2021

LENGTH: 280 Pages

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author is an award-winning choral and instrumental composer, casual author, and educator.
Stella Ter Hart was born in the small prairie town of Estevan, Saskatchewan, to Dutch immigrant parents. She now lives in rural Ontario with her husband, tending her heritage apple orchard.

Uncovering Family Secrets
"Twins run in the family, you know."

When the author was expecting her first child in 1982, her mother casually made a remark about twins running in the family. Stella had no knowledge of this fact and her mother had always been very secretive about her early life growing up in the Netherlands.

Once that first door into the author's past was opened to her, she needed to know the truth. She spent almost five years of deep genealogy diving and internet research. 

Stella discovered over 1,200 Dutch relatives that died in the Holocaust. The Jewish line in her mother's family had been residents in Amsterdam for over 400 years and they were wholly assimilated into Dutch society.

She discovered that her family had fifteen sets of twins out of approximately 550 births between 1832 and 1942. 

My Thoughts

We all know the story of Anne Frank and her family in Amsterdam. This book provides details about how other Dutch Jews were arrested, transported to concentration camps, and murdered by the Nazis.

Stella Ter Hart did an amazing job with her research and discovering stories that were passed down in her family. She was recently reunited with a distant cousin who was sent into hiding as a child and survived the war. This book includes photos of lost family members that are poignant and heartbreaking. 

The information in this book is shocking and sad. I really can't express my disgust in words. I hope the legacies of these innocent people will not be forgotten.

I did a little research of my own and discovered the following information:

• Between 75 and 80 percent of the Netherlands' Jews were killed during the war, the highest rate in Western Europe.
• Although about 150,00 Jews were living in the Netherlands in 1940, including about 25,000 German Jews who had come as refugees, only about 15,000 were counted during the postwar census of 1947.

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please FOLLOW and share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below.

Book Review: The Dress by Kate Kerrigan

Title: The Dress

Author: Kate Kerrigan

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Date of Publication: August 1, 2015

Length: 390 Pages

Kindle Copy - "The Party Dress"


This book review was written by guest blogger Cindy Phelps Thomas.

About The Author
Kate Kerrigan is the author of City of Hope, Ellis Island, and Land of Dreams.

Turning Back the Years
Lily Fitzpatrick is a well-known fashion blogger whose specialty is vintage. She spends her time rummaging through piles of vintage clothing looking for the perfect piece with its unknown history.

After her grandfather suddenly passes away, Lily wonders about his mysterious background and family. She has heard little of his heritage, and the need to know becomes an obsession. She learns that the woman wearing a beautiful dress in an old clipping she found may indeed be a relative of hers. Lily longs to know this woman’s story and the story behind “the dress”. The idea plays on Lily’s mind to recreate the dress in the clipping. 

These three women: Lily Fitzpatrick, Joy Fitzpatrick, and Honor Conlon, are all so different, yet bound together for eternity by the dress. 

• Lily Fitzpatrick is in the present-day attempting to recreate the dress, in a highly publicized dual of fashion designers.
• Joy Fitzpatrick is having this one-of-a-kind dress made to rekindle the romance with her husband.
• Honor Conlon is trying to make a name for herself in the world of fashion as an immigrant in New York 1950’s. 

Each woman’s life is changed forever.

My Thoughts
"The Dress" was a wonderfully written book that allowed the reader to travel through time to learn about the history of the mysterious dress. The characters were so well developed that I felt a connection to them all. The descriptions of the vintage dresses were so wonderfully written, I could almost see them for myself. I have even taken an interest in vintage dresses myself since reading it. I highly recommend this book!

Rating: 5 Stars Of 5

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Children's Book Review: Ole! Cinco De Mayo! by Margaret McManis

 

 

Olé! Cinco de Mayo!

Author: Margaret McManis
Illustrator: David Harrington

Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company

Date: February 27, 2013











About The Author
Margaret McManis, a former children's librarian, serves as a guest lecturer at schools, museums, libraries, and bookstores. Ms. McMannis is a graduate of the Vermont MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults Program and a member of the Writers' League of Texas, Texas State Historical Association, and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Cinco De Mayo Fun!
Pablo takes his pet calf, Rodeo, to school for the Cinco De Mayo celebration. Rodeo makes a mess of Pablo's classroom, the gym, the library and every other part of the school building that he visits.

The teachers and principal are very angry because Rodeo is ruining Cinco De Mayo for the entire school. When he makes a mess of the celebration stage, it is the last straw for the frustrated principal. Finally, the music teacher finds a way to calm Rodeo and the little calf leads the festive Cinco De Mayo parade down the school hall.

Readers are encouraged to sing the words of this story to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O".  Here is the first verse of the song;

Pablo has a little calf,
Rodeo is his name-o.
R-O-D-E-O
R-O-D-E-O
R-O-D-E-O
Rodeo is his name-o.

There is a Glossary of Spanish words used in the text at the end of the book. There is also an "Easy Flan Recipe" and a short explanation of the Mexican Army's 1862 victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867).

My Thoughts
When I worked as an elementary school librarian, I was always looking for books like this to share with students during story time. This book has a wide variety of learning opportunities for students. The story is entertaining and humorous. Children and adults can join together in singing the joyful song...some of my happiest memories are singing with the children in the library.

There are many Spanish words in this story that should be introduced and the meanings discussed. There is a recipe at the end of the book for a dessert that little Rodeo found very tasty when he visited the school cafeteria. Finally, the historical events that led to to a yearly Cinco De Mayo Celebration can be shared with the children.

The full-page color illustrations in this book are just delightful. My favorite picture is the angry "book boss" in the school LMC...she was not happy about Rodeo making a mess of the library.

I highly recommend this book for all elementary school students. Children in bi-lingual and ESL programs will fall in love with Rodeo. This book is perfect for read-aloud and sharing with large or small groups the year round.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ The author gave me a print copy of this book to read and review. This book will be dedicated to a library so children will have an opportunity to enjoy it as much as I did.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Children's Book Review: I Will Come Back For You; A Family In Hiding During World War II

I Will Come Back For You: A Family in Hiding During World War II

Author: Marisabina Russo

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade

Date: September 27, 2011



About The Author
Marisabina Russo is the author and illustrator of numerous books for children. Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II, based on the experiences of her grandmother's family during the Holocaust, was named an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book.

A Jewish Family In Italy
A grandmother uses her charm bracelet to tell the story of her life in Italy during World War II.

The first charm is a donkey. The donkey represents the happy times that Jacob, Sabina and their children had in Rome before the war. They would often go to the park and ride on the backs of gentle donkeys.

The second charm is a piano. Jacob would play the piano and sing to his family each night when he got home from work. One day, Jacob learned that he and all Jewish men had to move to a small village up in the mountains. The music ended and the family missed Jacob very much.

The third charm is a bicycle. Jacob learned that the Germans were coming to the village and all the Jewish detainees would be moved to a concentration camp. Jacob ran away and hid in the mountains. A friendly farmer carried Sabina on the handlebars of his bicycle to a safer hiding place higher in the mountains. The children were left behind but hoped to be reunited with their parents as soon as it was safe.

The fourth charm is a pig. The children hid in baskets of live piglets and were carried high into the mountains on the back of a donkey. They were reunited with Sabina and lived with her on a farm until the war ended.

The next two charms are a barn and a spinning wheel. These charms represent the time that Sabina and the children lived on the farm. Sabina worked in the fields and even learned to spin yarn from sheep's wool. They looked like part of the farmer's family so no one suspected that they were Jews.

The Last charm is an ocean liner. Sabina learned that Jacob had joined the partigiani, a group of people who were fighting against the Germans. He was killed by Nazi solders who found his hideout. After the war, Sabina and her children sailed to America where they started a new life.

My Thoughts
When I was a child, I loved to read biographies and books about history. I read very little fiction, I always wanted a "true" book. I majored in social studies/history when I went to college. I love to learn about the history of my country and the world.

The subject of the Holocaust is difficult to explain to children. This fictionalized story based on the author's real-life experience deals with the subject in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

I really love the way the charm bracelet was used to represent each part of the story. The author gives more information about her family in the "Afterword" section of the book. Incredibly, about 85% of the Jews in Italy survived the war, more than in almost any other European country.

This is an excellent resource to teach children about war, evil, bravery and kindness in the face of danger. Highly recommended for children in early elementary grades and up. (The book jacket says ages 5 - 9 but I think it could  be used with older students.)

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I checked-out this book from the public library.

I would love for you to FOLLOW this blog. You may use either the Google Friend Connect or the Networked Blog widget to show your support and encouragement.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Kindle Books For Kids: C Is For China

C is for China
By Robyn Chance

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
(March 1, 2012)

About The Author
Robyn Chance lives in Olympia, Washington.  She is a teacher and an artist. Over the years she has developed a real passion for telling stories about the enchanting world in which we live. Her goal is to help children explore and become curious about the world around them.

Rhymes and Pictures
 "C Is For China" is a beautiful picture book that features some of China's history, mythology, language and character. The author wrote this book for her adopted daughter and for all children. She used rhyming text and beautiful watercolor paintings to illustrate the geography, history, people and culture of China.

This book consists of several lines of rhyming text and an illustration for each letter of the alphabet. Here is an example of the rhyming text;

G is for the Great Wall, which took years to create.
It was built for protection, and is anything but straight!
It careens through the mountains and dives through the valleys.
It was made from strong stone and it has many alleys.

The author encourages the young readers to look for Chinese characters that appear on each illustration. The Chinese character that appears on each page represents the main idea presented in that narrative.

My Thoughts
This ebook is a real visual feast. The watercolor illustrations are superb and the rhyming text is an excellent way to engage children in facts and fun.

I viewed this book on the small screen of a Kindle 3 with black-and-white illustrations. The illustrations were printed on the top 1/3 of the page and the text appeared under the  picture. The formatting was good and I could easily view the picture and text on each page. I also read the book on my Kindle for PC application on the big screen of my laptop computer. The large color illustrations were outstanding on the larger screen and I enjoyed seeing the details that were not visible in the smaller images on my Kindle.

It really is a small world and a book like this is a great way to make learning an enjoyable experience for kids. I loved this ebook and I think it is a valuable resource for children of all ages. Highly recommended.

My Rating:  5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I ordered this book when it was offered as a free download from Amazon.Com. Please check the price before ordering.

Please share your thought in the Comments Section below.



Strange But True America: A Book Review

Strange But True, America: Weird Tales from All 50 States is a fascinating book.  It took me a long time to read this book.  I am a real history buff and I am also a former school librarian.  I found myself reading a story and then spending the next half hour on the Internet doing research and trying to find out more information about the story that I just read.

John Hafnor set out to find the 50 strangest American stories - one for each state.  He figured there must be at least one enormously entertaining historical tale from each state.  Mr. Hafnor discovered many historical stories that are truly stranger than fiction. 

Since I live in Texas, I especially enjoyed the story, "True Tale Tops Sleepy Hollow Legend".  It tells how Vidal, a famous horse thief in the 1800s, was captured by the Texas Rangers and beheaded by Ranger "Big Foot" Wallace.  His body, with the head loosely attached, was tied to a wild stallion and was seen by many cowboys roaming the countryside. 

Dale Crawford, the illustrator, did a wonderful job making the stories in this book come to life. 

This book is appropriate for all ages.  I think students in upper elementary grades all the way through college will enjoy reading this book.  This book would be very beneficial to use as a supplement to history curriculums in school.  A teacher could read one story a day and encourage students to do some research on their own to find more information. 

The only criticism that I have of this book is that I noticed a few typos and spelling errors.  These were very minor and do not take away from the quality of the book.

If you are interested in this book, I suggest that you take a look at the Strange But True, America web site.  The site includes a very interesting video where the author tells about some of the stories in the book.