“But for a goldfish, the wild promises abundance. Release a goldfish and it will never look back. Nothing fully lives in a bowl; it only learns to survive it.” page 19
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler, illustrated by Simon Ban. Little, Brown, and Company, New York, 2022. Adult nonfiction, 264 pages. Not leveled.
A unique combination of memoir and science writing by a queer, non-binary, Asian-American author.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler, illustrated by Simon Ban.
Although I’ve gotten back into reading nonfiction again, as of this writing the process has been slow and painful, and it’s harder for adult books to catch and keep my attention. The appealing cover design of this definitely helped, but after starting the first essay, I was hooked.
I haven’t reviewed too many essay collections here lately, so a reminder that I usually consider each separately and then discuss the book as a whole.
“The thing about Lulu and me is that we’re at once incompatible and really close. We can have a great time but also hurt each other deeply. […] Jed has never understood how one minute Lulu and I will be screaming death threats at each other, and the next minute we’ll be lying in bed, Lulu’s arms wrapped around me, talking about violins or reading and laughing together.” page 116
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. Penguin, New York, 2011. Adult nonfiction, 244 pages. Not leveled.
The story of a mother who tries to apply strict Chinese parenting techniques to her American daughters and finds that she’s making all of them miserable.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua.
Just as I’m working on my goal of trying to write negative and neutral reviews (and thus be able to pass along those books and clear shelves), I was given books by a few different acquaintances. This was exciting as new-to-me books always are, and it was frustrating because there were far more books incoming than outgoing on these review shelves! So I did a push to read and review several in order to keep things moving. Among them were some Amy Chua books, and this was the earliest published so I gave it a try.
“This is not just a book for Black people. It’s a book for *all people* about Black people.” Front matter, emphasis from the author
Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by Carell Augustus. Ebony Magazine Publishing with Sourcebooks, Naperville, Illinois, 2022. Art book, 230 pages. Not leveled.
Photographs from an eleven year project to recreate iconic movie posters, screen moments, and pinups with Black models.
Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments by Carell Augustus.
Over the last few years I’ve been trying to expand our art collection. We’ve reached the “some disposable income” stage but definitely not the “buy independent artworks” level of wealth. Libraries, digital collections, and museums have been wonderful but I’d like to have more at home. Thus calendars, postcards, and art books!
Because art books tend to be pricey, I usually research and apply coupons, wait for seasonal sales, or buy used. This one was more of an impulse purchase – saw a new copy at 50% discount and bought it without the previewing that I normally would have done.
You know how some kids are really into sneakers, or horses, or rap, or drawing? I was a book kid and always have been, so movies, television, and such tend to be what other people around me want to watch, rather than something I seek out. Honestly, I’d probably only heard of maybe half the movies or people in this book. But I still loved it.
Pages 20 and 21 of Black Hollywood include a scene from Fight Club with all the characters modeled by Wesley Jonathan and notes from both the model and photographer.
Augustus recreates a wide variety of films including comedies, science fiction, horror, and action movies, as well as some portrayals of specific people (like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin). The majority, although not all, of his models are actors and actresses.
“You are already worth of love and belonging. This is not a journey of worthiness but a journey of care. A journey of learning how we can care for ourselves when we feel like we are drowning. // Because you must know, dear heart, that you are worthy of care whether your house is immaculate or a mess.” page 9
How to Keep House While Drowning: a gentle approach to cleaning and organizing by KC Davis. Simon Element, Simon and Schuster, New York, 2022. Previously self-published. Adult nonfiction, 152 pages. Not leveled.
A guide to practical aspects of housekeeping and self-care while struggling with mental health, disability, grief, or other debilitating circumstances.
How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis.
I first came across Davis through her phrase “care tasks are morally neutral” and it was hugely resonant with me. As longtime readers of this blog will know, after several years of mostly routine posting, in March 2023 I had to take an indefinite hiatus. Those circumstances were also devastating in other areas of my life, so I decided to return to blogging with this book.
Davis works at breaking down some barriers to care tasks and has such a comprehensive, easy plan for dealing with some major struggles that I wept my first time reading this. Not everything she says will be applicable to every life, and I suspect most of us will have a lot to unpack in order to feel good following the plan she outlines here, but this approach is certainly needed by many.
“They got only this one egg a year even though the children’s mother tended chickens and ducks that produced seven or eight eggs a day right there in the front courtyard. But the eggs weren’t for the family. They were a small business that Gao Xiuying ran to earn a little bit of extra money.” page 49
A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream by Richard Bernstein. Originally Alfred A. Knopf, Random House, New York, 2011. My edition Yearling, Random House Children’s Books, New York, 2012. Middle grade (YA?) nonfiction, 272 pages. Lexile: 1080L . AR Level: 6.6 (worth 11.0 points) .
In 1978, an eleven year old girl traveled from her small town on the northern border of China to the Beijing Dance Academy for their open auditions, along with sixty thousand other applicants. Against all odds, she managed to be one of the twelve girls chosen – but that was just the start of her troubles.
A Girl Named Faithful Plum: The True Story of a Dancer from China and How She Achieved Her Dream by Richard Bernstein.
Zhongmei spent years in training, and had a long career, but this story focuses mainly on preparing to audition and her first year at school. About half the book focuses on her journey to even make it to auditions and then her progress through the seven layers of audition. The second half covers her first year at the school, and finally an epilogue tells what happened to her after.
Bernstein employs a number of timeline skips to maintain the pacing, although he’s not always successful. His most frequent device is the letters sent back and forth between Zhongmei and her beloved da-jie Zhongqin. He also occasionally has Zhongmei think back on past events. At some points there are skips forward, when reasonable within the story.
“The ‘ohana felt a deep loyalty to their ahupua’a. It was their ‘aina, their homeland. ‘Ai means ‘to eat.’ ‘Aina, the word for homeland or birthplace, means ‘that which feeds.’ It was the ‘aina that nourished, or fed, the ‘ohana. This made it the responsibility of the ‘ohana to take care of their ‘aina.” page 87
From the Mountains to the Sea: Early Hawaiian Life by Julie Stewart Williams, illustrated by Robin Yoko Racoma. Kamehameha Schools Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997. Middle grade non-fiction, 178 pages. Not leveled. NOTE: I read a physical copy of this book, and this review is based on the print book. However, it is also available as a free ebook, currently at this link: https://ulukau.org/ulukau-books/?a=d&d=EBOOK-ENGLISH.2.1.1&e=——-haw-20–1–txt-txPT———– .
A classic school text on early Hawaii.
From the Mountains to the Sea: Early Hawaiian Life by Julie Stewart Williams, illustrated by Robin Yoko Racoma.
I came across this text some time ago through the acquaintance of a friend who was offloading some books before moving back to the islands. My friend generously passed many books that her family had read or weren’t interested in to us. I’m always interested in titles from small presses or exploring cultures I don’t know too much about, so this was fascinating to me even though it was dry at points.
This particular book was also especially interesting because I’ve always heard that there aren’t accessible texts for young readers about indigenous life pre-European contact. This is an area I’ve been actively seeking out books on, so it was rather shocking to find one that was not only published in the 1990s, but is part of a series. Indeed, after exploring the ulukau.org link above, I’ve discovered that several books from Kamehameha Schools Press are available there, and hope to review some others which would be cost-prohibitive to have sent to the Midwest.
Our eleventh board book introduces little ones to famous artwork.
Jacob Lawrence in the City by Susan Goldman Rubin. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA, 2009. Board book, 24 pages. Not leveled.
A board book presenting eleven of famous artist Jacob Lawrence’s paintings for the youngest readers.
Jacob Lawrence in the City, written by Susan Goldman Rubin.
It’s fitting that this would be our eleventh board book since it showcases eleven different paintings by Jacob Lawrence. I remember when I started this challenge worrying that it would be difficult to find nonfiction board books that were diverse. Instead I now find that there are plenty (and new ones being published each year), but it sometimes takes a bit more hunting since these are not always part of specifically diverse series (as many of the fictional board books are).
“Each time the doctor asked me to move a part of my body and I could not move it, my terror increased.” page 10
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret. Albert Whitman & Company, Chicago, IL, 1996. Middle grade nonfiction/memoir, 168 pages + preview. Lexile: 830L . AR Level: 5.2 (worth 4.0 points) . NOTE: This review is of the nonfiction polio narrative, not the fictional Louis Sachar Holes sequel.
Seven months in 12 year old Peg’s life, starting in September 1949 shortly before she became ill, and continuing with her illness and survival for the rest of that school year.
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret.
When COVID hit, I went through a phase of reading children’s books about other epidemics. Books for young readers have the happy endings that adult authors rarely do, and there was something comforting about knowing others had survived the spread of contagious diseases.
Everyone in this story is either described or presumed white, but many characters, including the author/narrator, experience physical disability as a from the polio epidemic. I also wanted to write about this book because it was one of the best family read-alouds we did during quarantine, and ought to be better known.
“The women in my family handled most of the practical details of everyday life. Men were skilled at some things, at the same time as being inexplicably incapable of performing other seemingly simple tasks. I grew up believing that men were faulty creatures, a little untrustworthy, childlike, even. They needed a woman around to keep them on the tracks.” page 13
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote. Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, BC, Canada, originally published 2016, my edition 2019. Adult nonfiction, 244 pages + 12 pages for notes at the end. Not leveled.
Canadian memoir through a collection of essays – about life as a young butch and then a non-binary adult.
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote.
This was a gift from a friend who pointed out that I hadn’t reviewed any nonfiction by non-binary authors yet – to which my response was that I hadn’t read any yet. A quick trip to another room and this was pressed into my hands with the instruction that it should be my first, but definitely not only, non-binary nonfiction read.
“Writing a novel is a long process – like a long-distance runner running a marathon, I know I cannot reach the finish line that day. Instead, I have to be patient, trying to complete a shorter stretch of writing – a chapter, for instance.” pages 21 and 22
The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep. My edition Beech Tree Paperback, Harper Collins, New York, 1996 – originally Simon & Schuster, 1991. MG autobiography, 118 pages. Lexile: 1110L . AR Level: 7.1 (worth 7.0 points) .
The story of famous children’s author Laurence Yep’s life from his early years to the start of his writing career, although focusing mostly on his coming of age in the 1950s and 1960s.
The slim paperback fooled me into thinking that this would be a book for elementary students, but the content is more appropriate for tweens and young teens. Yep doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, such as his own family’s brushes with poverty, a customer whose husband brutally attacked her, Mark Twain’s suicidal thoughts, the topless dancers at a club in the neighborhood, and pulse-pounding confrontations when the burglar alarm goes off.
He tells even difficult and painful tales in a straightforward way, and frequently pauses to explain details that might not be known or understood by younger readers. This reminded me strongly of Roald Dahl’s Boy – a tale of a fairly ordinary life told with vivid details that render it fascinating. Aspects such as what it was like to have severe asthma attacks before common home treatments may shock young readers.
There are so many tidbits here about how he was inspired or helped with various novels by different relatives or events. I’m planning a systematic rereading of his entire Golden Mountain Chronicles series, many of which I’ve read but not in order – after which I might need to reread this book!
Colorful Book Reviews 