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Show THE PIANO By William Miller work-wear- Lm A Low Books, $15.95 ISBN 1880000989 BY CAROLYN CATES REVIEW Tia loves music. Bui as a young girl living in the deep South in the early l9(Xk. she has neither the opportunity nor the means to pursue her dream of creating it. One day. as she passes a house in the "white" part of town, she hears a lovely new kind of music, different from the blues guitar she's grow n up w ith the sweet notes of a piano. "It made Tia think of castles. mountains, and deep snow. The music took her away from the hot, dry town. Tia so longs to hear more of it that she takes a job as a maid for the kind, elderly Miss Hartwell who lives in that music-fille- d house. William Millers wise and gentle words convey to the reader the power of music to soothe the human soul and transport us from our mundane lives to the lai.d of our African-America- n M(MT1 ( ) BN: SO YOU WANT TO BE Km IJB St George Illustrations by David Small Philomel Books, $17.99 ISBN 0399234071 REVIEW BY JOHN MY FRIEND JOHN j By Charlotte Zolotow Illustrated by Amanda Harvey y resting together, in harmony. on the white and black piano keys. The illustrations truly bring this charming story to life. Miller has given us a touching tale of how music transcends all social barriers and forms connections between very different peo- pie. Tia and Miss Hartwell have little else in common besides a love for music, yet somehow thats enough to form a true friendship, if $14.95 tS8N 0385326513 DoubtmUy, REVIEW i Carolyn Cates lives and writer in Nashville. BY KELLY MILNER HALLS The bonding nature of friendship is a little like a lightning strike. It hits where it hits, w ith random but powerful precision. Children's literature legend Charlotte Zolotow captures the simple magic of that electrifying process in her latest book. My Friend John. Using the soft spoken eloquence that has become her trademark after more than 70 picture books, Zolotow maps out a short lifetime of shared history between a freckle faced strawberry blond and his dark, fun loving friend John. The two boys share all of their dreams and fears, every season and secret. He admires John's leaps from the high dive at the pool, but keeps secret his quiet fear of cats. John knows his friend isnt afraid of a scuffle, but sleeps with a light on in the dark. With each turn of the page, we come to understand that John and his friend are close without hesitation they are friends for better or worse. They feel no need to conceal their boyish tenderness, so tender-- 1 ness remains a quality rather than a stereotypical "masculine flaw. In fact, stereotypes of any kind never enter into the fictional mix. Not surprising considering the precedent set by one of Zolotows first and most famous picture books, William's Doll. The story of a boys yearning for a doll is still in print today, more than 25 years after its original release. Acceptance and unconditional love underscore each of Zolotows stated lines. And Amanda Harvey's delicately vibrant illustrations perfectly blend with Zolotows soft but colorful ideals. My Friend John is the story of friendship between young boys as it is or at the very least, as it certainly could be. Kelly Milner Halls writes from her home in Spokane. Washington, where she hopes to collect good friends like John and Zolotow herself. 1 PRESIDENT? By Judith dreams. While listening to the piano's melodies. Tia forgets her lot in life and escapes from her dreary, world. Music treats everyone the same and cannot distinguish between colors or ages. It treats everyone who embraces it like royalty. Susan Keeter's wonderful illustra- lions in mostly cool pastel colors seem to blend and soften the contrast between the "white world" and the black world. The most memorable image is that of Miss Hartwell's white hands and Tia's black ones L SEIGENTHALER John F. Kennedy used to say that every mother wants her child to be president. but without becoming a politi- cian. Here is a nifty little book deftly written and laced with light humor that introduces very young readers to the 42 politicians who have become president of the United Stales. (Readers ignore the references on page 42 and on the dust jacket that reduce the number of presidents by one.) So You Want To Be President? is loaded with many other facts (that are, in fact, factual), most of them notable, others fascinating, if obscure. The pages are filled with charming anecdotes and art about the lives, administrations, families, likes, dislikes, and even the pets of our national chief executives. In the past Judith St. George has given us numerous children's bxks of Here once both fiction and again she has the good judgment not to "write down" to her youthful readers. She helps them (and possibly their cynical elders) understand that while many of our leaders deserve to be considered heroes, all of them were human, and some had character flaws. She answers the tilled question with balance and without a trace of partisanship. And she wisely leaves to serious historians all the stories and rumors about marital infidelity. Youngsters (and oldsters) will find now?"); the horse upstairs in Teddy Roosevelts White House; John Quincy Adams, while swimming, losing his clothes to a woman journalist who the collection of incidental intelligence about our presidents engaging: good things and bad things about sitting in the Oval Office; how different presidents felt about the job; the number bom in log cabins; the coincidence of some presidential first names; the ages and sires of others. Beyond the alluring trivia, the hidden value of such a book is that the collection of selected data artfully related inevitably will prompt questions of parents: Mom. what is an impeachment? Dad. why was Warren G. Harding one of the worst presidents? Grandpa, w hv was Abraham Lincoln one of the best? Grandma, when will we have a woman or African-America- presi- n dent? Or v ice president? Why was no Catholic elected for more than 170 years? The saddest and most puzzling question of all: Why w ere four of our presidents shot to death by assassins? Questions predictably will create family conversations, perhaps even research, about how those who have held the highest office in the land came to win it and serve in it. For children, parents, and politicians, that sort of discourse offers a worthwhile learning experience. The collection of humorous anecdotes enriches that experience: William Henry Harrison walking to maikct with a shopping basket over his arm; the disgruntled voter hurling a head of cabbage at William Howard Taft: Abraham I incolns cryptic answer to critics who d said he was ("If I am would I wear the face I have two-face- d two-l.ice- j j wanted an interview; William McKinley, mortally wounded, trying to stop a mob from harming his assassin. From cover to cover the story line is graphically enhanced by the imaginative illustrations of David Small. His versatile caricatures of the presidents in diverse and unlikely settings make the book all the more fun. His enchanting depic- tions range from comic to melancholic: There is an obese President Taft hoisted naked above his gigantic bathtub. There is a jigging President Wilson, dancing solo to the music of an orchestra that includes an unlikely piano duct of Richard Nixon and Harry Truman (with Thomas Jefferson on the violin), Chester Arthur on the banjo, and Bill Clinton on his saxo-- ! phone. There is an angry President John Quincy Adams trapped in his sw imming hole. There is the former tailor, Andrew Johnson, fitting the former actor, Ronald Reagan, for a suit of clothes. But there also is the stooped profile of a profoundly contemplative Lincoln, perhaps pondering the war or emancipa-- ; tion. And another of an unhappy, impeached Clinton trailing an unhappi- er, resigned Nixon down the shadowed steps from the Lincoln Memorial. In the back of the book there is a chronological listing of all the presidents (42. count em) with brief, interesting thumbnail profiles of each one. Nitpiekerv may question some of St. George's generalizations: Did FDR real j j ' ly provide soup for the depression hungry; should she have said that presidents always dress up when there are photographs of President Carter delivering television chats in a sweater and many other of pictures Presidents Clinton, Ford, Eisenhower, and Taft in golfing attire? Should she have given kids the impression that citizens named James or people bom in log cabins have better chances than other Americans to become president? If there are blanks between the lines (and there must be in childrens small books on large subjects) let history books or better still, parents fill them in. In the end St. George appropriately recites the presidential oath for her readers, then quotes Lincolns line, 1 must do the best I can and bear responsibility of taking the course I feel I ought to take. Our best presidents, she tells us. have tried to do just that and the best also asked more of themselves than they thought they could give. g She concludes with a endorsement of them: They had the courage, spirit and will to do what they knew was right. Most of all, their first priority has always been the people and the country they served." Young readers will come away from So You Want To Be President? with the clear perception that the presidency is a tremendously important and challenging office, well worth seeking. In an age of cynicism about politicians and presidents that is a message that needs to resonate w ith the very young and those not so young. drum-rollin- j j John L. Scigrnthulcr is the founder of the First Amendment Center and has hosted the PBS-hook show A Word on Words for JO years. |