Book Report - The Hairstons

Beautifully written by a white outsider with no connection to the family, Henry Wiencek writes with a respect and a certain sense of wonder about the senior members of the Hairston clan, both black and white.

The Hairstons won the National Book Critics Circle Award for good reason. While taking us through the long and painful history of our country he manages to show us the humanity of the individuals involved. He opens the book with the handshake of two of the senior Hairstons clan, one the descendant of slaves who worked the plantation and the other the descendant of the slave holders. The handshake is friendly, the men seem to like and admire each other. And the author wonders if it's geniune. How could it be? But if it is a true handshake of friendship after years, lifetimes of unimaginable suffereing, then how is it possible? What came to pass? It took Henry Wiencek 7 years of research and interviews with hundreds of family members to answer the question. We have only to pick up the book.

Highly recommended!

Book Review - Next Stop Grand Central

Next Stop Grand Central
Maira Kalman

This book is magical. It's magic realism for children and adults. Even the youngest children will find it interesting as Kalman introduces the wonderful men and women who work at Grand Central but preschoolers will be especially delighted with some of the more absurdist moments.
The page where the opera singer sings "my knee" has become a family insider joke when real life just goes over the top Q will stop and stand and belt out "My KNEEEEEE!!!!!"

Book Report - Dragonfly's Tale

Retold and Illustrated by Kristina Rodanas, Clarion Books, NY 1991
Ages 5 and up (Please Note: In this story two children are left alone when the tribe forgets about them when they are sleeping. This is not recommended for children for all children in the preschool age.)

The retelling of a Native American (Zuni) Tale that is century's old. First translated by Frank Hamilton Cushing and published in The Millstone (Volumn 9, 1884) The author has changed it from the original.
Wonderful illustrations and a lovely story from the southwest about gratitude and kindness. I especially like this story as there are two children at the center of the story who show kindness to beggars when the adults do not and who are later repaid for their kindess in a magical way. The children are abandoned for a while by the tribe - so this may not be suitable for some children. However, the children are resourceful and the tribe comes back to find that the children have been abundantly blessed. The tribe changes it's ways. The tribe is considered very prosperous because they have plenty of food. Nice to be able to talk to children about prosperity then (enough food and warm shelter) compared with prosperity now (huge cars and over consumption.)