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The Bookwatch
Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
So You Think You Know George Washington?
Jack Darrell Crowder
Clearfield Press
c/o Genealogical Publishing Co.
600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, MD US 21211
www.genealogical.com
9780806359656, $45.00, PB, 230pp
https://www.amazon.com/Think-George-Washington-Stories-School/dp/080635965X
So You Think You Know George Washington? Stories They Didn't Tell You in School blends American history with personal facts in anecdotes told by those who knew him personally, and adds a lively personal touch to the historical literature surrounding Washington 's life and times.
From his various incarnations as plantation owner to politician, stories about his life, business pursuits, and experiments includes insights on things Washington should have done differently, whether they be militarily or in his life pursuits. The result is a lively compendium of biographical impart that should be in any definitive American history collection.
The Education Shelf
Creativity: Crossroads in K-12 Education
Kirk Schiebold
Apple Books
https://www.apple.com/apple-books
No ISBN $39.99
https://books.apple.com/us/book/creativity-crossroads-in-k12-education/id6461866071
Creativity: Crossroads in K-12 Education is a book that not only all educators should read, but anyone concerned with educational processes, objectives, and history. It's a lesson in alternative teaching approaches that parents, educators, and the general public need to learn, if the educational system is to move forward and up from its downward trajectory. Creativity and correctness often clash in the educational system, bringing with them "...misconceptions of discipline-based education, that through an emphasis on submissive imitation and forced instruction..."
Kirk Schiebold's own epiphany about education's failures when he "took flight and surveyed my opportunities" resulted in a new paradigm and (thankfully for fellow educators) this book, which outlines an alternative pathway to juxtaposing educational quality with creativity in teaching and learning. These approaches embrace many unusual approaches, including analyzing recurring dreams and offering personal and case history examples of how various teachers in his life and career introduced ideas that captured the attention and interest of youth: "We pushed our hands into the cloudy water and swished it around. It was wet, gooey and textured - like the raw hamburger and egg mixture mom used to make my favorite Italian meatballs. Mr. Welfare made learning fun and interesting, arousing our curiosity and holding the attention of a bunch of squirrelly fourth graders!"
Schiebold doesn't make suggestions that eschew set educational standards. Indeed, he mentions and embraces them by showing how creative teaching can operate within the boundaries of these systems: "The teacher frames a problem within a reality-based context. The teacher sets the parameters of the problem: we have to be reflective and innovative, committed to diversity. Basically any lesson created has to fit into the national and state standards for teaching English. Any piece of local or universal truth discovered or created can fit into the national and state standards for teaching English."
By undertaking teaching and curriculum reform within the existing framework, but pushing the creative element beyond its typical borders, Schiebold creates a mandate for change which is practical, inspiring, and achievable for those operating within a traditionally rigid, non-creative environment and system. No educator should be without the points raised in Creativity: Crossroads in K-12 Education. This is why it should be considered a 'must' for any library strong in education references and parenting books, and also very highly recommended to book clubs interested in debating and discussing issues surrounding education system reassessment and rejuvenation.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Falling Through the New World
Cynthia Reeves
https://www.cynthiareeveswriter.com
Gold Wake Press
9781737780861, $15.95
https://www.amazon.com/Falling-Through-World-Cynthia-Reeves/dp/1737780860
Falling Through the New World features fourteen linked narratives about a different generations of an Italian family who find their lives challenged by political currents and personal trials. In employing the stories-in-novel format, the narrative assumes a uniform continuation of family encounters and themes while staying true to the changing currents of social and political forces that buffet the family and force changes.
Each character lives within a very different milieu that lends a sense of familiar uniformity via their Italian heritage while embracing different contrasts between old and new world thinking and forces. From aging family members and relationships that shift with immigration and confrontation to departures and arrivals that assure new victories and revised life goals when different environments and people come to influence their lives, Cynthia Reeves creates a satisfying juxtaposition of times, places, people, and events.
These ultimately lead and lend to a family portrait that flexes and bends with time and tides. "How is it possible I feel anything when nothing works?" one character wonders. But, the crux of the story lies in how families do work against all odds, and in this, Reeves has produced a powerful set of interlocked vignettes that shine with a sense of place, purpose, and connection, whether their characters reside in the Old Country or abroad.
Libraries and readers seeking powerful collections that represent the best of the short-stories-in-novel approach to fiction will find Falling Through the New World's powerful characters, who represent and contrast old and new world thinking, makes it suitable not just for those of Italian descent, but literary readers seeking examples of effective short story devices.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
A Blanket of Steel
Timothy S. Johnston
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
www.fitzhenry.ca
9781554556281, $21.95
https://www.amazon.com/Blanket-Steel-Timothy-S-Johnston/dp/1554556287
Young adult and dedicated adult sci-fi fans who found the previous Oceana futuristic setting alluring in Timothy S. Johnston's past writings will want to make A Blanket of Steel a priority selection.
A timeline recap of events from 2020 (when little is being done to address climate change) to the setting of this story in 2131, where the mayor of the underwater city, Trieste Truman McClusky ("Mac"), faces an assassin and revenge, provides newcomers with a relatively seamless introduction despite the wealth of political and social action contained in previous books. This allows for a review of major characters in a way that also marks the important changes many of them confront in this story.
The political confrontation in the name of freedom embraces the new possibilities of a submarine that can reach unprecedented depths, bringing terror and murder campaigns on and below the high seas.
As in his previous books, Johnston presents vivid confrontations between characters, political powerhouses, and a world transformed by climate change. The dual focus on thriller elements and sci-fi settings lends to an action-packed story that most cli-fi does not embrace in a vivid story of confrontation and survival tactics that is hard to put down.
The characters are clear about their motivations and efforts to either exact revenge or survive its attempts: "Ventinov understood there was a reason why he was doing things differently this time. He had plotted a revenge for the Mayor, instead of diving in headlong and hoping for an easy kill."
As traps are laid, interceptions and counterpoints planned, and subterfuge revealed, all ages are provided with a thoroughly engrossing tale that feels realistic for its underlying probe of psychological motivations and responses and shifting political climates.
A Blanket of Steel is especially highly recommended for readers who enjoy futuristic stories set in cli-fi environments where nautical and political issues are compellingly presented. Libraries that seek cli-fi collection additions that both stand nicely alone and compliment other books in series will find A Blanket of Steel outstanding.
Weird World War: China
Sean Patrick Hazlett, Editor
Baen Books
www.baen.com
9781982193140, $18.00
https://www.amazon.com/Weird-World-War-China-3/dp/198219314X
Weird World War: China is a compendium of short stories by Baen authors including Larry Correia, David Drake, D.J. Butler and several others focusing on futuristic war scenarios that eschew the usual sci-fi military fiction plots with the added value of weird horrors which emerge from conflicts with China . This gives each story not only a unique approach, but lends the collection as a whole an attraction to weird and horror fiction readers who will find these combinations of fantasy, sci-fi and horror to be absolutely compelling and satisfyingly original.
From the terror in the sludge in the South China Sea which affects a military engagement to the 'swamp ambience' in Julian Michael Carver's 'Project Blackworm', each tale features a different form of eldritch horror that comes to life in a satisfyingly unexpected way, making the entire collection highly recommended not just for military sci-fi buffs, but those who appreciate weird futuristic confrontation scenarios.
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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