Book Review: The Special Prisoner (WW2 and today, POWs)

The Special Prisoner, by Jim Lehrer (Random House, 2000, 227pp HB, $23.95)

Rarely do I not finish a book, primarily because I select good ones - except for the books I am required to read for the five literary awards I judge each year. I finished The Special Prisoner for several reasons: it is short, it is by a well-known author (yes, the Jim Lehrer of "The MacNeil-Lehrer Report"), it is a selection for the veterans book club that I am the token female in, and it takes place in a POW in Japan during WW2 (I am interested in Japan and WW2 and visited a former POW camp in Thailand years ago).

The Japanese used the term, special prisoner, for American GIs who bombed Japan and were subsequently shot down and captured. Their life in a Japanese POW camp was, to say the least, particularly unpleasant to brutal and gory, and author Jim Lehrer spares us no details. 

Young redheaded John Quincy Watson is a pilot during WW2 on a bombing run over Japan when his B29, Big Red, is shot down. The only survivor, Watson finds himself in a POW camp where, each day, one prisoner is selected to be beheaded while the others receive other forms of torture on a daily basis, the results of which follow the survivors throughout their lives while the most evil torturer, the camp commandant ("the Hyena"), at the end of the war, is - well, you will have to read the twists and turns of this book to find out the many ways to die.

Forgiveness, Retribution, Survival

Half a century later, Lieutenant Watson is now Bishop Watson who, in an airport believes he sees Hyena, recognizing him by his eyes, and tracks him down. The fight and conversations that ensue are only the beginning of loss of forgiveness, the main theme of The Special Prisoner.

So very unsettling to some readers, it may be important to discuss this book in a book club or safely in a group of veterans in order to recover from its story.

Book Review: Knit or Dye Trying (self-explanatory!!)

Knit or Dye Trying, by Allie Pleiter (Berkeley Prime Crime, $8.99, 304pp PB, 2022, book 2 of 3 [see the review of book one here) Review by Skye Anderson

Fast-paced Yet Slow at the Same Time. . . .

A long book that you only wish would be longer. . . . 

A book whose characters you really really like!

A book for knitting and mystery addicts!

Sisters are the stars of a small-town Maryland* coast festival called See More Than Seafood: one sister is a chef, the other dyes vegan (plant-based) yarns the loveliest of colors. The sisters argue, as they always have (for fun?), and now one sister is dead. 

Y.A.R.N.

Libby, fresh from a divorce, returns to her hometown and opens a knitting shop** with calming ambience, much like a cozy bookstore. Libby also organizes festivals and See More Than Seafood is one that she manages to bring in a famous yarn dyeing expert, one of the sisters mentioned above. 

Libby's mom wants to move in with her - a big mistake if it should happen for Libby's highschool flame is the mayor and they may have a thing for each other still.

The Cover

Covers give a clue to what's inside but here we have a dog in a chair looking out the window at spray-painted protest sheep looking in on their walk down main street. A shawl, some yarn and bottles of chemicals.

Murder, Suicide or a Threat Gone Wrong?

The guest of honor is dead. She was to give three workshops over the weekend. . . but, instead, she was invited to her death in the small town where the inn keeper knows the bakery guru whose best friend is the knitting entrepreneur who returns to date her hometown, highschool boyfriend who is now the mayor with a teen age daughter.

*"Our state has one of the largest sheep-and-wool festivals in the nation and you brought in someone sheep farmers hate." (a reference to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival)

**The shop's name, Y.A.R.N., stands for many things, depending on Libby's friends' and customers' mood: You're Absolutely Ready Now, or You'll Always Remember Nice, or Your Anger Rewards Nobody, or . . . . 

Book Review: I Deaf-initely Can, Rhett the Heeler (deaf dog and girl)(also in Spanish)

I Deaf-initely Can: Rhett the Heeler, by Karlie Waldrip (Karlie Waldrip, 2024, 29pp, ages 2-8, $16.99 PB) Reviewed by Skye Anderson

We LOVE this book. It's non-fiction but it needs an explanation. By looking at the cover, looking at the dog on the right, you might think, "What happened to him?" He is speckled and blue. But that is exactly how an Australian Cattle Dog looks, also known as a Blue Heeler or just Heeler. (Check him out in the photo on the last page of the book.) I think they are adorable.

As the story opens, and it's a real true story, we find a deaf Heeler in a dog shelter. He is a happy dog and one day a deaf girl comes to play with him but doesn't take him home. She does return a few days later though, and does take him home then.

Karlie the girl and Rhett the dog do everything together. They go everywhere together. Karlie is deaf, just like Rhett so they communicate using ASL (American Sign Language) - well, Karlie does, and Rhett learns to understand her signs.

But you don't have to be deaf to use ASL. One of my students uses it with her hearing dog! I teach hand signals in my dog training class but I could also teach ASL!

Karlie (and Rhett) loves to teach people about the fact that Rhett can do everything just like all of his furry four-legged friends - run, fetch, explore, swim. And so can Karlie.

We also love the illustrations by Lucy Rogers, also a deaf artist, and love Karlie's maroon T-shirt that says LOVE in ASL.

If you would like to try your hand at ASL, just look at the inside covers and copy the hand signals in three places in the book. Then, go teach your own dog!

We Deaf-initely Can! Let the Adventures Begin! is book two in the series. I can't wait to read it.

Book Review: Uncle Yossi's Grand Story Collection: A Treasury of Classic Jewish Tales for All Ages (OT)

Uncle Yossi's Grand Story Collection: A Treasury of Classic Jewish Tales for All Ages, by Yosef Goldstein (Jewish Learning Group, 2024, $29.95, 440pp, all ages) Review by Skye Anderson

About the Book

Look at that cover! And it's embossed, too. 

The title is right on! This is indeed a "grand story collection" of tales from Jewish history and culture. The book itself is the size of a Bible and the tales come from the Talmud, the Torah, the Midrash and Jewish lore.

About the Storyteller

Author Rabbi Yosef Goldstein, Uncle Yossi, lived to be 85 (1927-2013) and was well-known for 50 years for his teachings and stories on tape and on radio. His stories appealed to all and many ended with an explanation or discussion of universal truths, morals and ethics.

This collection of tales, both contemporary and traditional, collected by one of the Rabbi's ten sons, Zalman, will last a lifetime. The hardcopy version even has an attached ribbon to hold your place as you zip around from story to story. Many stories are suspenseful and will keep you wanting to read the next one, and the next one.

About a Story

One grand story is about King Solomon - a story that perhaps may be new to you, about an old woman who baked three loaves of bread. She gave two to beggars who knocked on her door (the woman "hosted guests" and "gave charity") and the third one just blew away. It turned out that loaf of bread plugged a hole in the boat of a wealthy man who prayed to God to quell the storm and he would give away half his wealth. I won't reveal the ending but I'm sure you can guess. (p. 159)

Book Review: Jagger and Bode Have a Field Day (books, library, dogs save the day)

Jagger and Bode Have a Field Day, by L. Ellis (Miriam Laundry Publishing, 2024, 34pp, ages 6-8, $11.99) Review by Skye Anderson 

Wow, just look at that front cover full of dogs playing tug of war, playing pin the tail on the kitty, playing frisbee, playing roll the tire, having sack races, and our dogstars, Jagger and Bode, are featured in the middle, having a field day, as well as on the back cover with their human and in an actual photograph!

You can even color the front cover if you go to https://doodlebrotherspublishing.com/activities/ and print out* one of the coloring pages.

Jagger and Bode are brothers but Jagger is the 'elder.' By six months. They love storytime at school when they gather round the teacher and sit on the floor (just like you!) and listen to the teacher read them a book. Sometimes it takes more than one day to get through a long book and that is just what happened with Biscuit and Bone - but a storm came up and flooded the school library ruining all the books, even the one the class was in the middle of!

Oh, no! What to do? The students want to know what happens in their story!

Suddenly, Jagger has an idea! "Let's raise money to buy new books by having a field day with lots of games!"

And so the story goes on with the planning and marketing of field day. Will the class raise enough money to buy their favorite books?

*Jagger and Bode are mini goldendoodles who want you to learn about how to act around dogs so they included pages in both their book and on their website - some do's and don't's. They even include how to act around service dogs. And the reader can try to guess the dog breeds.

What would I change?

I wouldn't refer to the vet as the "dreaded vet" but maybe the "friendly vet."

Book Review: Summer's Song, A Day in the Life of a Child (by the older girl in a family, full of activity)

Summer's Song, A Day in the Life of a Child, by Charlotte Rouse (Fancy Feather Press, ages 5-8, 2024, $24.99HB, 52pp) Reviewed by Skye Anderson

Family is Everything

Oh, to relive a summer's day from your childhood days gone by! Author Charlotte Rouse shares one such summer day with us "old folks" and gives the youngsters ideas of what to do with their siblings on a long hot summer day in the country. 

Perhaps you liked to ride bikes, play in the sandbox, slurp some watermelon, lie on your back in the grass and make up stories about the cloud shapes in the sky. Eat an indoor picnic lunch, pick blackberries that stain your shirt, catch tadpoles, make a dandelion necklace, trap fireflies - and let them go again - all before a bedtime story.

Rouse has created a big book, a bit long so we suggest you read half of it before afternoon naptime and the rest, right before bedtime. Written from the point of view of the older daughter (in the pink dress), Summer's Song is a book about a time gone by - and, of course, the family has both a dog and a cat!

Savor the sounds, the incomplete sentences that are just perfect. the memories dug up playing with the neighbor kids. . . . 

Bonus: a free comprehensive reading guide is available on the author's webpage - https://www.charlottetinsleyrouse.com/books

Book Review: Brandon Sets Sail - A Story about Sharing Success (OT)(chiildren's treasure hunt)

Brandon Sets Sail - A Story about Sharing Success, by Elton and Brandon Dean (Big Paw Publishing, 36pp, ages 4-8, 2024, $14.99 PB) Reviewed by Skye Anderson

Success is More Fun When Shared

Young Brandon sets sail with his crew, a couple of treasure-hunting buddies, to follow a treasure map indicating where a treasure is buried. Along the way he, Captain Brandon, learns how to get what he wants by being nice to his friends, a parrot, and an octopus. When we help others, they, in turn help us. 

When our intrepid heroes reach the last X on the map, they are temporarily stumped (again) until they work together - and taking turns can be considered helping others. And the surprising final sentence is worth all the treasure in the world!

Bonus

In this little book written y a 7-year-old and his dad, there are plenty of opportunities in Brandon Sets Sail to discuss the value of helping others, as well as never giving up.

With a page of Parody's Pirate Puns (Parody is the parrot) and a 'map' of their ship, the Goldhopper, with parts labelled, this book is a fun addition to your little one's little library.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite sandwich?

A: Peanut butter and jellyfish!