Review of Amazing Abe

How Abraham Cahan's Newspaper

Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Holiday House

(pub. 2.20.2024)

40 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: Norman H. Finkelstein

   Illustrator: Vesper Stamper

Character: Abraham Cahan

Overview:

" Abraham Cahan was the founder and longtime editor of the Yiddish language newspaper, the Forverts (the Forward), which, in its heyday, was one of the largest newspapers in the United States. As the saying went: 'What's a home without the Forverts?'

From explaining voting rights to the importance of public health measures to everyday questions like how to play baseball, Cahan improved the lives of countless newly arrived Jewish immigrants who wanted to feel at home in a new, strange land. He also published celebrated writers such as Isaac Bashevis Singer and created the iconic advice column the Bintel Brief (Bundle of Letters) for homesick readers."

Tantalizing taste:

"With the newspaper's success Abe built a ten-story building with a blazing electric Forverts sign in Yiddish on top. That sign and the newspaper he created were beacons of hope to those early Yiddish-speaking immigrants. Decades later, although their children and grandchildren may not speak Yiddish, we remember that it was Abe and his Forverts that helped families keep their old traditions while making new lives for themselves in the United States."

And something more: Norman H. Finkelstein explains in the Author's Note: "My relationship with the Forverts began at a very young age. My grandparents and parents arrived from Europe with Yiddish as their first language. In America, the Forverts was their link to the world. My job was to often pick up the newspaper for them at a local deli. My own Yiddish abilities were minimal, but I was specifically attracted to the Sunday issues, which contained a separate section with sepia news photographs from around the world with English subtitles... Like many others, I forgot about the Forverts until they began publishing an English edition... made relevant to a new generation of readers who did not know Yiddish."

Review of Guts for Glory

The Story of Civil War Solider Rosetta Wakeman

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

(pub. 2.27.2024)

56 pages

Ages 7 -12

Author and illustrator: Joanna Lapati

Character: Rosetta Wakeman

Overview:

" In 1862, the war between North and South showed no signs of stopping. In rural New York, nineteen-year-old Rosetta Wakeman longed for a life beyond the family farm. One day she made a brave, bold choice: she cut her braid and disguised herself as a man. No one suspected that “Lyons” was a woman—not even when she signed up to fight for the Union. As Rosetta’s new regiment traveled to Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana, she sent letter after letter home to New York. Army life wasn’t easy, but Rosetta knew it was where she belonged— supporting her family and serving her country.

Through intricately detailed scratchboard art and excerpts from Rosetta’s letters, this fascinating biography introduces young readers to an unconventional woman who was determined to claim her own place in history. "

Tantalizing taste:

" So a life filled with chores soon became dull.

She wanted something ... different.

She wanted something ... more.

So one night, when her family was asleep, Rosetta made a bold decision. She bound her chest, got dressed in her pa's old clothes, clutched a pair of shears in one hand ,took a deep breath ... and cut off her braid. Then she tiptoed out of the old, creaky house.

Outside, a breeze tickled her bare neck.

She practiced speaking in deep, low tones and pondered a name for her new self. 'Lyons Wakeman,' she whispered."

And something more: The More About Rosetta Wakeman and the Civil War explains: "We have no records of what the Wakemans thought of their soldier-daughter's letters as they arrived, but (however they felt" they stored her letters for years after the war. Rosetta wrote frequently, constantly reassuring her family that she was still well... On June 19, 1864, Rosetta Wakeman died from dysentery - the deadliest disease of the Civil War... Rosetta had been hospitalized for over a month, and during that time (as far as history records), no one had learned her secret.

She was buried under the name Lyons Wakeman ...

Through the efforts of [her sister] and other relatives Rosetta's letters were eventually published as the only letters that share a woman soldier's perspective on the Civil War as it happened."

Review of Wild Places

The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

G.P. Putnam's Sons

(Penguin Random House)

(pub. 2.27.2024)

48 pages

Ages 4-8

Author: Hayley Rocco

   Illustrator: John Rocco

Character: David Attenborough

Overview:

" As a boy, David loved exploring the wild places near his home in England, collecting fossils, rocks, and newts. When he grew older, he got a job in television, where he had an idea for a new kind of show: He would travel to wild places all over the world to film animals in their natural habitats. Over the span of seven decades, David's innovative documentaries have been treasured by millions of people.

But as time went on, he noticed the wild places he loved were shrinking. What could David do to help? What could we all do?"

Tantalizing taste:

"But as time went on, David noticed that the wild places were shrinking, while the not-so-wild places kept on expanding.

'We are replacing the wild with the tame.'

"The animals were becoming more and more difficult to find.

There weren't as many fish in the sea.

There weren't as many birds in the sky...

The natural world he cared for was in trouble.

Humankind was in danger too...

He realized he had to share what he'd learned and what we needed to do to fix it.

'We must rewild the world. If we act now, we can yet put it right.'"

And something more: The Back Matter includes a section, "What Can You Do to Help?" which states: "It may seem like many of the problems and solutions ... are out of your control, and in some ways, that is true. While reducing, reusing, and recycling is a great start, most of these problems need to be solved through new laws at the local, state, national, and even global level. The people who make these laws need to hear your voice… The more people who do this, the more likely they will create laws that will protect our planet."

"It's surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth." - David Attenborough