Family & Childhood Books - Page 4

Too Close to the Falls

Catherine Gildiner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Welcome to the childhood of Catherine McClure Gildiner. It is the mid-1950s in Lewiston, New York, a sleepy town near Niagara Falls. Divorce is unheard of, mothers wear high heels to the beauty salon, and television has only just arrived.

At the tender age of four, Cathy accompanies Roy, the deliveryman at her father's pharmacy, on his routes. She shares some of their memorable deliveries-sleeping pills to Marilyn Monroe (in town filming Niagara), sedatives to Mad Bear, a violent Tuscarora chief, and fungus cream to Warty, the gentle operator of the town dump. As she reaches her teenage years,

Cathy's irrepressible spirit spurs her from dangerous sled rides that take her "too close to the Falls" to tipsy dances with the town priest.

"Anyone who appreciates a good story, well told, will find it in Too Close to the Falls." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"Gildiner beautifully portrays her outrageous youth through the innocent, yet sometimes frighteningly worldly eyes of a child." (The Quill & Quire)

When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge

Chanrithy Him

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Every page kept my interest. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.

When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.

For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.

Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.

Editorial Review:

In this mesmerizing story, finalist for the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, Chanrithy Him vividly recounts her trek through the hell of the "killing fields." She gives us a child's-eye view of a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps for both adults and children are the norm and modern technology no longer exists. Death becomes a companion in the camps, along with illness. Yet through the terror, the members of Chanrithy's family remain loyal to one another, and she and her siblings who survive will find redeemed lives in America. 15 b/w photographs.

German Boy: A Child in War

Wolfgang W. E. Samuel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“I think German Boy has all the qualities of greatness. I love the book.” -- from the Foreword by Stephen Ambrose

As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther west into a disease-ridden refugee camp. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for survival as the tables of power turned and, for reasons Wolfgang was too young to understand, his broken family suffered arbitrary arrest, rape, hunger, and constant fear.

Because his father was off fighting the war as a Luftwaffe officer, young Wolfgang was forced to become the head of his household, scavenging for provisions and scraps with which to feed his family. Despite his best efforts, his mother still found herself forced to do the unthinkable to survive, and her sacrifices became Wolfgang’s worst nightmares. Somehow, with the resilience only children can muster, he maintained his youth and innocence in little ways–making friends with other young refugees, playing games with shrapnel, delighting in the planes flown by the Americans and the candies the GIs brought. In the end, the Samuels begin life anew in America, and Wolfgang eventually goes on to a thirty-year career in the U.S. Air Force.

Bringing fresh insight to the dark history of Nazi Germany and the horror left in its wake, German Boy records the valuable recollections of an innocent’s incredible journey.

Facing The Lion: Memoirs of a Young Girl in Nazi Europe

Simone Arnold Liebster

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Young Girls Life interrupted by Nazie terrorists! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This young girl suffered so much at the hands of the French, who sided with the Nazies.
She was French and they took her away from her parents and put her in a terrible reform type school.
This book enlightened me as to how horrific that these Jehovahs Witnesses were treated and only because of their deep religious convictions.
It brought many tears to my eyes at how the innocent ones suffered.

Simone is a real survivor 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is a first hand account of a young girl who had what it took to survive her horrible experience under the Nazi's. What she "had" was her religion. It is amazing to me that the large amount of Jehovah's Witnesses came through those war years able to cope with life after the war. So many others (in the camps) had no means of doing so. What J.W.'s have is nothing short of a miracle, as I have seen for myself. My 18 yr. old son and I met Simone and her husband at their home in France this past winter. The first thing Max did was to show us the number tattooed on his arm.Then he said to my son, "young man, I watched a 1000 people being put to death every day". Yet, here he stood, just out of the hospital the day before, still bright and full of life and love for his faith, at over 90 yrs. old. Next on my list is his book which I hear is just as inspiring as his wife's.

Editorial Review:

Facing The Lion is an inspiring autobiographical account of a young, non-Jewish girl standing up for her beliefs in the face of overwhelming pressure to conform to the Nazi propaganda machines. Simone refuses to accept the Nazi party and her simple acts of defiance lead her to be persecuted by her school and local officials, and ignored by friends. She is put in a harsh reform school until the end of the war.

There's a Boy in Here

Judy Barron, Sean Barron

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

There's a Boy In Here 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read this book when my son was diagnosed with autism. The concept looked interesting and what I read opened up the world of autism to me. Sean gave me the idea that I had to get into my son's world and not make him come to mine! And 4 years later, my son is a very high functioning autistic child - it wouldn't have been possible without what I learned from this book!

One Just Like Him 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I found this book very helpful. I could really relate to Judy's situation and saw many facets of my son's behavior in that of Sean's. It helped me to see that I am not the only one facing this same situation. Maybe my son will mature out of a lot of this too.

RIVETING! I READ IT IN 24 HOURS! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Fortunately, I never had a child with Autism, but this book speaks to all parents everywhere no matter what issues they might have with they own children. Two things jumped right out at me. One was Sean's total "disconnect" problem from everything and everyone around him. It was as if he functioned in an emotional vacuum and even those closest to him had no value. And secondly, Judy's gut-whenching honesty. Every parent will be able to relate. I found myself in tears much of the time wishing I could have been there to offer her understanding and a shoulder to cry on.

The format of this book is also key. Sean's very significant contribution to the whole cannot be denied. Judy tells of a particularly bizarre behavior and immediately following it is Sean's answer to what he was thinking at that time and why he behaved as he did. It boggles the mind when you consider how much character and sheer guts it took for Sean to pull himself out of the quicksand of Autism and go forward to help others. I say bravo to them both. A truly beautiful love story.

Editorial Review:

This is the best seller that has been out of print for a few years. A mother and son, in alternating paragraphs, look back at their time meeting the challenge of his autism, his amazing progress. In a new section, both authors discuss where Sean is today.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

BONUS FEATURE: Exclusive interview with the author.

From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid, nostalgic and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the middle of the United States in the middle of the last century. A book that delivers on the promise that it is “laugh-out-loud funny.”

Some say that the first hints that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth came from his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innocuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people’s hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman.

Bill Bryson’s first travel book opened with the immortal line, “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.” In this hilarious new memoir, he travels back to explore the kid he once was and the weird and wonderful world of 1950s America. He modestly claims that this is a book about not very much: about being small and getting much larger slowly. But for the rest of us, it is a laugh-out-loud book that will speak volumes – especially to anyone who has ever been young.

Notes from the Hyena's Belly: An Ethiopian Boyhood

Nega Mezlekia

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Winner of the Governor General's Award
A Library Journal Best Book of 2001

Part autobiography and part social history, Notes from the Hyena's Belly offers an unforgettable portrait of Ethiopia, and of Africa, during the 1970s and '80s, an era of civil war, widespread famine, and mass execution. "We children lived like the donkey," Mezlekia remembers, "careful not to wander off the beaten trail and end up in the hyena's belly." His memoir sheds light not only on the violence and disorder that beset his native country, but on the rich spiritual and cultural life of Ethiopia itself. Throughout, he portrays the careful divisions in dress, language, and culture between the Muslims and Christians of the Ethiopian landscape. Mezlekia also explores the struggle between western European interests and communist influences that caused the collapse of Ethiopia's social and political structure—and that forced him, at age 18, to join a guerrilla army. Through droughts, floods, imprisonment, and killing sprees at the hands of military juntas, Mezlekia survived, eventually emigrating to Canada. In Notes from the Hyena's Belly he bears witness to a time and place that few Westerners have understood.

Where Rivers Change Direction

Mark Spragg

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Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"I knew the horses as I knew my family...When I was separated from them I felt wrong in the world. When I was separated from them I took no comfort in the sound of the creek. I felt chilled without the heat of them. In the short lulls between rides I leaned against the corrals, watching them roil like some captured pod of smallish whales, multi-colored, snorting at their handicapped buoyancy. When I stepped in among them, they would turn to me, roll their eyes until the whites showed, flick their ears. They were used to the sight and sound of me. I was the boy who straddled their hearts."

If the West had a voice this is how it would sound. Passionate. Unequivocal. In the tradition of Ivan Doig's THIS HOUSE OF SKY, Mark Spragg's stunning collection, WHERE RIVERS CHANGE DIRECTION, renders an unforgettable story of an adolescence spent on the oldest dude ranch in Wyoming-a remote spread on the Shoshone National Forest, the largest block of unfenced wilderness in the lower forty-eight states.

In this sublime and unforgiving landscape, Spragg's distant and mercurial father, his emotionally isolated but resilient mother, his fierce and devoted younger brother Rick, and his mentor, a wry and wise cowboy named John, cleave to one another and to the harsh life they have chosen. Unrelenting winds, pitiless blizzards, muscular rivers--from these elements Spragg divines the universal yearnings for self-reliance, trust, acceptance, and love. WHERE RIVERS CHANGE DIRECTION illuminates the unexpected wisdom and irrevocable truth embedded in the small, but profound dramas of one boy's journey toward manhood.

From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens

50 Cent

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 69 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

From Pieces to Weights 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read the book From Pieces to Weights, by 50 cent. This book showed me how the streets are a hard place. There are a lot of people that think the streets are a horrible place and that there dangerous. Well they are dangerous, but there not horrible and many people think that there are horrible people that live in the area. This book showed me that many people on the streets hustling are really trying to find themselves. This book also showed me not to judge the people that are selling the drugs.

This book really touched me with what 50 cent was going though. His mom was killed for selling drugs and then he went and started to sell drugs. I really think he didn't have a choice because it's what he saw everyday. He watched his aunts and uncles and everyone else on the streets, and he probably thought that it was the right thing to do. This book was very well writing and I got hooked to it. I think 50 cent did a great job at telling his story.

I would recommend this book to anyone, I think mostly people who don't really know about the streets because it tells you a lot. I wouldn't recommend this book to people that do not like bad language used a lot. This book was very entertaining. I suggest you read it.

Editorial Review:

Rapper 50 Cent has made it big in a very short space of time. Having been supported by Jam Master Jay, and produced by Dr Dre and Eminem, the rapper and poet has already experienced great success and critical acclaim. Whilst some 'talk the talk', 50 has 'walked the walk'. Growing up in Jamaica, Queens, he was born to a drug-dealing mother - she was killed in mysterious circumstances - and took over the family business at the age of 12. Living hard, he has been stabbed, shot 9 times (one bullet in his face) and has survived a number of assassination attempts. He is a potent and heady mixture of thug and poet.

An Hour Before Daylight : Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood

Jimmy Carter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting, quick read but tedious in spots 3 out of 5 stars.
26 of 27 people found this review helpful.

I've been wanting to read one or more of President Carter's books for a long time and decided to begin with this one. While I agree that it is well-executed in the main, it doesn't score higher with me on a few grounds.

One: I felt there was a need for more fastidious editing. The book was by no means too long, but there was repetition and disordered content.

Two: Way too much detail in some of the more mundane and unpleasant sections, in particular discussions of minutiae of small-town agribusiness dealings as well as graphic detail of livestock issues including slaughtering and castrating. TMI.

Three: This is a half-hearted complaint, for I realize this isn't the book where these matters would likely be discussed considering the author has several other memoirs addressing other periods of his life (doesn't he?) In any case, I felt like the President did not discuss enough how his upbringing resulted in his being the man he is today as far as race relations are concerned. Lots of discussion about the relatively tolerant household in which he was raised, but lots of apology at the same time about how racism was ubiquitous at the time and not really perceived by his family or by others as a wrong to be righted. I don't know, I guess I'm rambling here, but I would have liked to have read content along the lines of "and these boyhood experiences shaped my perceptions in such a way that I wanted to make a difference in my public service career" and also I woulda liked to have read about how he connects his religious beliefs with his liberal leanings. Flesh out that relationship a bit more.

Just my 2 cents.

In any event, the book was a quick read and I am very glad I got around to reading it.

Editorial Review:

In An Hour Before Daylight, Jimmy Carter, bestselling author of Living Faith and Sources of Strength, re-creates his Depression-era boyhood on a Georgia farm before the civil rights movement forever changed it and the country. Carter writes about the powerful rhythms of countryside and community in a sharecropping economy, offering an unforgettable portrait of his father, a brilliant farmer and a strict segregationist who treated black workers with respect and fairness; his strong-willed and well-read mother; and the five other people who shaped his early life, three of whom were black.

Carter's clean and eloquent prose evokes a time when the cycles of life were predictable and simple and the rules were heartbreaking and complex. In his singular voice and with a novelist's gift for detail, Jimmy Carter creates a sensitive portrait of an era that shaped the nation and recounts a classic, American story of enduring importance.