Review of "Aurora of the Northern Lights," by Holly Hardin

 Review of

Aurora of the Northern Lights, by Holly Hardin ISBN ‎ 9781432724399

Three out of five stars

A path too unpleasant for children

 When the male resident of a warm climate (William) and the female resident of a cold climate (Mistletoe) meet and fall in love, something must yield. However, after a short time in the cold climate of the north, William grows ill and must return to the warmer lands of his birth. Mistletoe agrees to go with him and together they build a happy home, although Mistletoe sheds some tears during the departure. When their daughter Aurora is born their happy home becomes a joyous one, although it only lasts for seven years. An illness strikes down William and Mistletoe and Aurora is left wandering the streets looking for a new home.

 The search yields her nothing as all the residents of the town reject her as an outsider, so she must leave.  Aurora wanders out into Woodland Fey, where the sprites also reject her. Fortunately, the queen of the sprites gives her a thick cloak and an oak staff before telling her she must trek back north so that she can reunite with her people. Aurora sets out on a long journey and shortly before she would have been frozen, she encounters a castle amidst the snow and ice. It is the castle of Santa Claus and Aurora is reunited with her grandmother and she has a home once more.

 Reading this book will be a scary experience for young children as one of their greatest fears is what will happen to them if their parents die. Making this one even more frightening is the rejection of Aurora by all the people in the town and then having it repeated by the sprites in the forest. Children will read of this rejection and be concerned that such a situation would also be their fate if their parents die. Fortunately, there is an eventual happy ending, but the path there is one that I would have been very hesitant to take my daughter down when she was young.

Review of "Sports Illustrated Book of Baseball," by editors of Sports Illustrated

 Review of

Sports Illustrated Book of Baseball, by editors of Sports Illustrated

Four out of five stars

Basic introduction to fundamental play

 This book is written for the young male with an interest in how to effectively play baseball. Five stars that play at various positions give their expertise in how to do it well. Those players and their subjects are:

*) Harmon Killebrew on hitting

*) Al Downing on pitching

*) Brooks Robinson on fielding in the infield

*) Tim McCarver on the basics of catching

*) Tom Tresh on playing the outfield and running the bases.

 The tips are all sound and to the point. Which is necessary in a book of this small size. While in no way definitive, this is a good book to get the baseball hopeful down the right track.

Review of "Spider-Girl Presents A Next Second Coming," by Tom DeFalco

 Review of

Spider-Girl Presents A Next Second Coming, by Tom DeFalco ISBN 9781435223530

Four out of five stars

A new group of Avengers

 The group of comic superheroes called “The Avengers” were always an odd grouping of personalities and unlike some other groups, the membership was always in a state of flux. Not only did the members come and go, they also often alternately walked on both sides of the good/evil street. Two examples are the Hulk and Submariner, powerful beings that fought with and against the groups of do-gooders.

 This book is not only about a new group of Avengers, but many are the second generation of super beings. They have come together to form a team and they are having some bonding difficulties. Egos and the desire to shine are a common problem and many of them struggle with the demons of their lives. The new Avengers battle some of the old villains such as Loki, a Kree robot and the Hulk, strong villains that are worthy opponents to their great powers.

 One major difference in the depiction of the new Avengers from that of earlier comic heroes is the way the female heroes are drawn. In nearly all cases they have enormous muscles and prominent breasts. American Dream is a female Captain America look-alike with long blonde hair that has muscles and a chest so large that it probably gets in the way when she fights. 

 However, new blood is always a good thing, even in the superhero business and while there is a good deal of continuity with their predecessors, there is enough originality to make the characters interesting and entertaining.

 

 

Review of "Great Upsets of the NFL," by Richard Kaplan

 Review of

Great Upsets of the NFL, by Richard Kaplan ISBN 0394824660

Four out of five stars

Typical YA rendition of sporting events

 There have been many significant games in the NFL/AFL in the years before this book was published in 1972. The author has selected 10 games to label with the term “upset” and gives a brief description of each. As Kaplan states, the definition of upset is a very subjective one. Nevertheless, the term can reasonably be allied to all ten of these games. Surprisingly, Super Bowl III is not one of them.

 The prose is very typical of books about sporting events written for the YA audience. A great deal of low-level hype in combination with the facts of the game and the major plays that determined the outcome.

 Unfortunately, the author commits a major historical blunder on page 67. The first two sentences are:

“During the year 1957 two things were put in the air. One was called Sputnik I, the historic space capsule in which Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth.”

Sputnik was a satellite 23 inches in diameter and Gagarin did not orbit the Earth until 1961. It is amazing that such an error would pass through the editing process.

 Nevertheless, if you are interested in reading about significant professional football games, this book will entertain you.

Review of "Woman of Valor: A Story of Resistance, Leadership & Courage," by Marty Brounstein

 Review of

Woman of Valor: A Story of Resistance, Leadership & Courage, by Marty Brounstein ISBN 9780757005039

Five out of five stars

A life of courage against great evil

 In the early thirties, there was an increase in the latent antisemitism in Europe that was concurrent with the rise of fascism. While it appeared in many European countries, it was most pronounced in Germany under the Nazis. Although there was a period where antisemitism was relaxed in Poland, there was a rebirth after the departure of Pilsudski.

 In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland and rapidly defeated the Polish forces, after which the war became a military occupation. The Germans brought their extreme antisemitism with them. It was not long before the occupation became a movement to exterminate the Jews. While most were rounded up and sent to the death camps, there were some that managed to escape and even conduct partisan military operations against the German forces and their Polish allies.

Eta Chait was a Jewish woman that spoke fluent Polish and had an appearance that made her able to pass as a Christian in Nazi-occupied Poland. This undoubtably saved her life as she was part of the resistance, saving the lives of several Jews. She joined a partisan band living in the forest and she was able to leave their base and go out into the areas patrolled by the Germans and collect food and other materials that the partisans needed.

 Her story is one of determination to do whatever she could to resist the German killing machine. In many ways it is an amazing one, for the Germans were very thorough and they had many allies in the local Polish police force as well as among the Polish citizenries. Even some fellow Jews collaborated with the Germans.

 Chait survived the war and ended up in New York City shortly after the war ended. It is a great story of courage and survival. Unfortunately, there were too few examples of this particular outcome.

Review of '“All Day Long” Stories,' by Eric Kincaid

 Review of

“All Day Long” Stories, by Eric Kincaid

Five out of five stars

Good stories new to me

 When she was young, I read to my daughter every night, the ritual was largely the same, several books each night, sometimes repeating the same books night after night. The upside was that my daughter enjoyed it immensely and the downside was that I had no choice but to memorize a large number of children’s stories. What was interesting to me is that I have never encountered any of the stories in this collection before. They are:

*) The Greedy King, by Irene James

*) My Garden by David Eden

*) The Brave Little Engine, by Robert Moss

*) The Dragon of Wantley, by David Eden

*) The Straw Hat, by Lucy Kincaid

*) Sprogget and his Pets, by Rosalind Sutton

*) Jumping Frogs, by Lucy Kincaid

*) The Magic Spectacles, by Robert Moss

*) Stairs, by Rosalind Sutton

*) Chiffa’s Moon Trip, by Dennis Burley

 These stories don’t have the obvious lessons that others do, yet they are certainly worthy of being read to children. Had I known of this book when my daughter was young, no doubt I would have memorized it as well.

Review of "A&E Biography Tape of Harry S. Truman"

 Review of

A&E Biography Tape of Harry S. Truman

Five out of five stars

As gutsy as they come

 Although he always remained a self-proclaimed “simple man from Missouri”, Harry Truman was anything but simple. He never flinched from making a decision with great consequences, he stood up for the rule of law against powerful figures and he was a great president. The decisions that Truman made in office to use the atomic bombs against Japan, to define and implement the Truman Doctrine, to commit the United States to armed conflict by the NATO treaty, to send aid to Europe under the Marshall Plan, to intervene in Korea and to fire General MacArthur all had consequences decades in duration. Furthermore, they all were good for the United States and good for the world.

 While this tape does not delve into the depths of Truman’s actions as president, the makers of the tape cannot be faulted for that. There were so many major decisions made by Truman and the consequences so far-reaching that it is simply impossible to achieve any depth in 50 minutes. This is an excellent overview of the life of a great man and president, to delve deeply into what he did would take many hours.  With some of the lowest approval ratings of all time when he left office, history has been kind to Harry Truman and for good reason.