April 2012 – Inspirations for Local Travel and Exploration
The daffodils and tulips are all in bloom, welcoming the sunshine, warm breezes, and blue skies of Spring. This is the perfect time for travel – day trips or weekend adventures. In A Treasury of Vermont Life, edited by Stephen Greene, et al, one doesn’t even have to leave the living room to enjoy the beautiful, photogenic scenery of Vermont. Stone walls, rolling hills and covered bridges dot this New England state. The four seasons are beautifully captured in black and white as well as full color photos.
Mystic Seaport, published by Mystic Seaport Museum Stores, makes one long for the ocean, tall ships and anything nautical. Steve Dunwell’s photography transports the reader to the cobbled streets and salty air of one of Connecticut’s most beautiful areas.
Romantic Cape Cod by James Westaway McCue published in 1941, conjures visions of steaming clam chowder, rolling mists, and footprint-covered seashores. This book takes one on a tour of the Cape, from Sandwich to Provincetown. History and myth combine to create not only a nationally recognized attraction, but also a hauntingly beautiful text.
So, whether traveling near or far during this budding time of the year, any one of these selections will be a guide and inspritation.
-mh
September 2011
With August drawing to a close, it’s hard not to see the myriad of items for going back to school. In past years, a pencil box, notebook paper, erasers, a ruler and a new lunch box were all that was needed for the youngster to successfully begin the school year. Now… we have a myriad of aps for our pcs and a “notebook “is anything but a three-ring binder. Ball-point pens have been replaced by “smart pens,” which record everything a student writes and “Google” is the reference librarian of today. However, no electronic gadget can replace the teacher-student interaction that is imperative in order for a child to have a meaningful learning experience.
Tracy Kidder’s Among Schoolchildren explores the challenges facing teachers and children in the school setting. He gives us insight into the importance of caring, love, and empathy in a teacher, as well as subject expertise. The endless paperwork, administrative and parental demands, and heart-breaking plights that children face, are only some of the issues Kidder explores in this remarkably honest examination of American education.
Shut Up and Let the Lady Teach by Emily Sachar is a book about the author’s experience as an eighth grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Confronted by students, who act out, administrators, who are apathetic and insufficient materials with which to teach, Emily Sachar is both dismayed and energized by her classroom realities. She gives us a year in the life of a New York City teacher facing the overwhelming problems in American education.
A school for children who are “crippled” was the realized dream of Henry Viscardi in The School. While attempting to overcome the variety of challenges in the creation of this school, Viscardi maintains in the forefront the goal of a quality education for all handicapped children. A truly inspiring narrative, Viscardi is a man determined to better the lives of children with infirmities.
All three books are true accounts of what American education was, is and could become. Good teaching is an art, not a business. It is a visceral experience as well as an intellectual endeavor. Kidder, Sachar, and Viscardi open the readers’ eyes to the world of the classroom.
July 2011
When one thinks of July, one envisions town halls festooned in red, white, and blue bunting, the American flag flying proudly, parades winding up Main Street, neighborhood barbecues, and the bombast of fireworks. However, it is also a time to remember American traditions in a more historic manner. The founding of our country, the inspiring men and women who struggled to form a new society, and the awe-inspiring document, the Constitution, help us to understand the marvel that is the United States of America.
Leo Huberman’s We, the People: The Drama of America provides the reader with a perspective on who and what made America great and why. Illustrated by Thomas Hart Benton, this book expresses the visions of Americans, past and present.
In We the People: The Constitution in American Life by Robert S. Peck, the consistent strength, durability, and relevance of the American Constitution is examined. Illustrations of many of our more valued documents are presented as well as a facsimile/copy of the complete Constitution.
Stephen E. Ambrose explores the ever-positive spirit of the American people as well as its errors of racism, prejudice, and war. In his book, To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian, Ambrose presents elements of history, patriotism, and the art of writing.
So… light a sparkler, munch on a hot dog, and cheer the parade, but don’t forget to read one of these three books to inspire in you what it means to be an American!
March 2011
In celebration of Women in History month, Heritage Books of Southampton recommends Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Although written in 1937, Hurston’s central character, Janie, is very much the modern woman. Janie demonstrates independence, initiative, and innate intelligence. Janie discovers her sense of self and identity though quite a circuitous journey. Enduring three marriages, social ridicule, and a major flood, Janie emerges as a strong, vital woman. Forged by the fires of physical and mental abuse, social criticism, and devastating loss, a woman or steely substance is created. Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece will continue to entertain and provoke decades of readers.
featured book March 2011
