Another page in America's struggle for civil rights

Rarely have I accidentally picked up a book that so completely dovetails with events on my mind.  In the wake of the violence in Ferguson, with this being the eve of Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and having just seen the movie Selma, civil rights is on my mind.  Into that comes Sylvia & Aki by Winfred Conkling.  This story tells the story of  two different civil rights struggles set during World War II.  One, the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps, the other, the struggle for desegregation of schools in California by Mexican Americans.  One I knew of, one was new to me.

Sylvia and Aki's stories intersect on a farm in Orange County.  Aki's family, who owns the farm, is forced into a camp because they are Japanese.  We learn of their distress over leaving their hard-earned life, the outrage of undeserved mistrust, and of life in the camps.  Before Aki's family leaves, they lease the farm to Sylvia's family, who are of "Mexican" descent.  They, too, work hard to keep the farm.  Sylvia is looking forward to third grade in her new community.  But when they try to register, they are told they can't, and must, instead, go across town to the Mexican school.  Her father's outrage at the inequality begins his battle to end segregation, which leads to the historic legal battle Gonzalo Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County.  This court case became the benchmark for the later battle for black students, Brown v Board of Education. Big events are told through the eyes of young girls, in a way that makes them very real.

The young girls in this story are real people, and the events really happened.  The chapter on the court case uses actual words from the transcript, highlighting the injustice of segregation.  It is also a testament to how to respond with grace and with courage.  For those who want to dig deeper ther is a list of grade-school age resources about civil rights.

Wimpy Kid for science geeks

This book happened to by the second along the Wimpy Kid wanna-be line, and I didn't particularly care for the first, so I didn't have high hopes.   I'm happy to say Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka pleasantly surprised me. I should have guessed, Scieszka is one of my favorite picture book authors.

The story is a tale of young Frank Einstein, his best friend, Watson, and their plan to win the Midville Science Prize.  Frank, our intrepid genius, fails in creating a learning robot, but a stray spark solves the problem.  The results...Klink and Klank....robots made from scraps, create themselves.  The four of them work together to create a new project.  But, his arch-nemesis, T. Edison, and Edison's sidekick, Mr Chimp, will stop at nothing to win the prize for themselves.  There are flying bicycles, robots that love hugs and knock knock jokes, and more than a little real science.

I love that this book checks all the boxes.  It's silly, with funny illustrations.  There is a chimp that uses sign language, an evil genius, and an absent-minded professor.  But, at the very same time, sometimes on the same page, their is serious science, complete with explanations at the end.  Laughing and learning, what more could you want?

Mistakes were made....

I must say, the jury is still out on Timmy Failure Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis.  There are so many things that annoy me, but, at the same time, it made me laugh, and has real-life problems with real-world outcomes.

The story centers around Timmy Failure (yes, that is his real name....which annoys me).  He is that odd kid, but he doesn't see it that way.  He is the head of a future Fortune 500 detective agency, with his sidekick, Total, who happens to be a polar bear.  Together they must get to the bottom of such mysteries as the disappearing Halloween candy, the TP'd yard, and the mysterious hamster death.  All while trying to stay ahead of his arch-nemesis, Corrina Corrina, whom he KNOWS stole his mom's Segway.

This book will appeal to those who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid, with its humor and many drawings.  The bits that annoy me....ridiculous names, pet polar bears, complete cluelessness, undoubtedly will be hilarious to the target audience.  So, while not my favorite, I will recommend it fully to kids.