On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss
Publisher's Summary:
Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear--fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in your child's air, food, mattress, medicine, and vaccines. She finds that you cannot immunize your child, or yourself, from the world.
In this bold, fascinating book, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world, both historically and in the present moment. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire's Candide, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, Susan Sontag's AIDS and Its Metaphors, and beyond.
On Immunity is a moving account of how we are all interconnected-our bodies and our fates.
My Thoughts:
I loved how she approaches the subject of trust in government and vaccinations based on her own experiences and worries as a new mother. She talks about the real fears and their basis in history. I feel like she offers a very fair approach and one full of empathy. She follows the science and shares her stories and those of other mothers she talks with. I feel it could change minds with people who are on the fence.
A Voice of Her Own: Candlewick Biographies: The Story of Phyllis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Kathryn Laskey
Publisher's Summary:
"We’ll call her Phillis."
In 1761, a young African girl was sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, who named her Phillis after the slave schooner that had carried her. Kidnapped from her home in Africa and shipped to America, she’d had everything taken from her - her family, her name, and her language.
But Phillis Wheatley was no ordinary young girl. She had a passion to learn, and the Wheatleys encouraged her, breaking with unwritten rule in New England to keep slaves illiterate. Amid the tumult of the Revolutionary War, Phillis Wheatley became a poet and ultimately had a book of verse published, establishing herself as the first African American woman poet this country had ever known. She also found what had been taken away from her and from slaves everywhere: a voice of her own.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the story of Phyllis Wheatley. I've heard of her but do not know a lot about. This was a great introduction on her life.
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
Publisher's Summary:
Kadir Nelson's Heart and Soul is the winner of numerous awards, including the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor, and the recipient of five starred reviews.
The story of America and African Americans is a story of hope and inspiration and unwavering courage. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it's about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws; it's about the brothers and sisters of all colors who rallied against those who would dare bar a child from an education. It's a story of discrimination and broken promises, determination, and triumphs.
Told through the unique point of view and intimate voice of a one-hundred-year-old African-American female narrator, this inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice—the true heart and soul of our nation.
My Thoughts:
This is an amazing introduction for kids to American history from the perspective of black Americans. The illustrations are also gorgeous. The history is presented in a story-telling format like a grandmother telling her grandchildren the way things were. It's personal and informative. I'll be reading this one with my son this month.
Black Heroes of the American Revolution by Burke Davis
Publisher's Summary:
Crispus Attucks is known as the escaped slave whose freedom ended when he died in the Boston Massacre, but there are many other lesser-known black men and women who made enormous contributions to U.S. independence. Readers will discover Edward Hector, the brave wagoner of Brandywine; artilleryman and slave Austin Dabney; William Lee, the aide and closest companion of George Washington throughout the war; and many others.
My Thoughts:
| I really enjoyed reading about black heroes of the American Revolution. Crispus Attucks and James Lafayette really stand out. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote almost a century after the Revolution that "We are to reflect upon the mas far more magnanimous...[inasmuch as they served] a nation which did not acknowledge them as citizens and equals, and in whose interests and prosperity they had less at stake. It was not for their own land they fought, not even for a land which had adopted them, but for a land which had enslaved them, and whose laws, even in freedom, oftener oppressed than protected. Bravery, under such circumstances, has a peculiar beauty and merit." Amen. |
I'm glad I got to know the story of Phillis Wheatley. It's a very sad story, how she was stolen from her home and how her life ended in poverty, in America; however, she left us her poems and they are pretty amazing. Even George Washington honored her and her work. I believe she may have visited England, too.
ReplyDeleteIt is tragic. But her story is so important and loved learning more about her. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteOn Immunity sounds like a fascinating read!
ReplyDeleteShe's a great writer and appreciated her angle in this one.
DeleteAll of these sound like books I'd enjoy reading. Thank you for sharing these reviews.
ReplyDeleteOH good! I hope you do.
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