Juvenile Nonfiction – Biography/Autobiography

We Can All Drink From The Same Fountain

The title, White Water (16.99, Candlewick Press, ages 5 – 8) brings rafting to mind, but this book has nothing to do with that kind of white water. Based upon a true childhood experience, this story is about an African American boy who discovers the deep pain of discrimination and segregation in 1962, during the time of Jim Crow Laws. When he takes a drink out of a “colored” fountain, he is disgusted with the gritty tasting water. He realizes that the white boy next to him, who is drinking out of the “white” fountain, is taking a long drink and seems to be enjoying his water. The black boy becomes obsessed with the notion that “white” water is cleaner and better tasting than “colored” water. So later he sneaks back to town to try to drink from the white fountain to confirm his suspicions.  What he discovers in the process is life changing.

This special book is based upon the real childhood experiences of author Michael S. Bandy. The story is co-authored with Eric Stein and is beautifully illustrated by Shadra Strickland. Both captivating and truly unique in its approach, this story is also educational and an important one to share. It is the sort of book that every child in America should read. The message is not just about discrimination; it is also about how our lives are limited only by the way we think.

On the back of the book jacket is a quote by Bill Cosby that says, “White Water is a wonderful way to give children an American history lesson proving that racism is a waste of time.” I could not have said it better.

-Reviewed by Debbie Glade

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Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime

Marcel Marceau: Master of Mimethumbnail-1.asp, written by Gloria Spielman and illustrated by Manon Gauthier ($17.95, Kar-Ben, ages 8-11), is reviewed by Ronna Mandel.

There are many mimes, but there is only one Marcel Marceau. In Spielman’s compelling children’s biography complemented by subtle artwork from Gauthier, we learn of Marceau’s early inspiration, the silent film star Charlie Chaplin, as well as his childhood growing up in Strasbourg, France, close to the German border. Always the performer, young Marcel could make people laugh with his impersonations and amiable personality. This ability to entertain would not only save his life but countless others as well.

The son of a Jewish kosher butcher, Marceau and his older brother Alain fled to Limoges when, on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the French government ordered the people of Strasbourg to leave their city. The Marceau brothers changed their last name from Mangel in a move to avoid being targeted by the Nazis who, in 1940, had taken over most of France. Marcel had an aptitude for art and worked secretly during the war to alter identity cards in order to help young Jewish children avoid the labor camps where so many were being sent. In addition to this risky business, Marceau faced untold danger helping a cousin in the Resistance by leading groups of children across the Swiss border on more than one occasion. “On one trip, Marcel got the children singing so happily that Nazis traveling on the same train complimented them on their voices.” Here his skill at performing allowed him to smuggle children out of Nazi territory “right under their noses.”

At age 20, Marcel began to study drama working under the famous mime, Etienne Decroux. Because Marceau never lost his love of mime, as a volunteer soldier in the Free French Army, he performed his first mime review in front of 3,000 American troops. How fortunate that Marceau continued to pursue a career on the stage, bringing the craft of mime to new heights. He went on to create the eponymous Bip, part clown, part Chaplin Little Tramp in “white face paint, tight-fitting pants, a striped shirt, flower, and a crumpled hat.  Spielman helps us marvel at how the masterful Marceau, without so much as word, could speak volumes the world over.

Find this review in October’s issue of L.A. Parent at www.laparent.com.

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Let’s Celebrate Independence Day! In 1776 by Jean Marzollo

IN 1776
Written by Jean Marzollo
Illustrated by Steve Björkman
(Scholastic; $ paperback prices vary, Ages 7-10)

 

 

In 1776, by Jean Marzollo and illustrated by Steve Björkman, while first published in 1994 by Scholastic, is still relevant today as we look forward to July 4th in 2017.

This paperback, part of the Scholastic Bookcase series, is a great book to bring out this holiday before all the BBQs and fireworks get started so youngsters can understand just exactly what it is we are celebrating. Told in easy to understand rhyme, “The colonists were angry, because they had no say, when the British king gave orders, three thousand miles away.” Kids will learn in simple language how, as colonists of Great Britain, Americans refused to be burdened with more taxes levied by King George III without representation. When the British marched on Lexington and Concord, fighting broke out. Soon the seeds of independence were sown, “So their leaders met in Philly, in June and in July. They picked some men to tell the king, “We must be free – here’s why!” The American Revolution or the War of Independence was bravely fought under the guidance of its leader, General George Washington and the rest as we say, is history.

“On the Fourth of July, in seventy-six, after a long and heated morn, The Declaration was approved, and the U.S.A. was born.”

Happy 4th of July everyone! 🇺🇸

  • Reviewed by Ronna Mandel
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