The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming
Bibliographic Data
Fleming, C. (2020). The rise and fall of Charles Lindbergh. Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN: 9780525646549
Summary
This is the story of Charles Linbergh who is best known for his aviation and his solo trip across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris. The book is also about Charles as a young boy and his life in between as an aviator, husband, father, inventor, author, activist, and a Nazi Sympathizer all the way to his death at the age of 72.
Critical Analysis
The author Candace Fleming wrote a story that showed Charles Lindbergh as someone who was a hero to many and in the following years became a disappointment. Ms. Fleming developed the character of Charles in such a way that the readers understand the upbringing that Charles had and the people who influenced his thinking. His parents did not expect him to attend school like most children, but he was highly intelligent, and he learned early on how to figure out things and build things mechanically. He was also a hard worker. He did not make friends easily and he had uncommon ideas influenced by family and others. Fleming uncovers secrets about Lindbergh that many in the public were not aware of. According to Kirkus Reviews Starred, the man who emerges is hateable, pitiable, and admirable all at the same time, and this volume measures up to the best Lindbergh biographies for any audience. A remarkable biography. This was an incredibly complex biography of a man whose character seem to change as he aged. Even as a reader, I had many questions about why Charles did the things he did, but the author writes with such beauty and feeling that you understand. One of the turning points for the Lindbergh family was when they left the US to live on an island in France after his son was kidnapped and murder. The press did not treat the Lindbergh family well at all during this tragic time and it was very understanding why they would want to leave. The family being away from the United States during this time and visiting Germany was also another turning point and the Lindbergh family again became influenced with ideas that went against what the US was thinking during this time. I almost feel like Charles Lindbergh was too trusting and did not think people would wrong him or give him inaccurate information, so I felt a lot of sympathy for him while reading the book, but once I found out how his wife and children felt when he was home and what their home was like when he left and he had other families in Europe my opinion of him changed, I began to see him for the arrogant man he truly was. Ms. Fleming had extensive resources, and as a reader I went through her sources because this book was so complex, and I was curious where she found her information, so I began to explore further in the bibliography section. This is a fantastic book about Charles Lindberg as a man with many talents as well as a person with a very secret life.
Reviews and Awards
Horn Book Guide Starred, 04/01/2020
Stitching together important life events, insightful anecdotes, and primary sources, Fleming (Amelia Lost, rev. 3/11; The Family Romanov, rev. 7/14) creates a cohesive and comprehensive biography of a charismatic, flawed figure.
School Library Journal Starred, 01/01/2020
This biography, told in short, easy-to-read chapters, at times reads like a suspense novel. Fleming successfully deconstructs the public persona of Lindbergh and highlights how some of the aviator's core values (nationalism, xenophobia) echo the country's current political and social unrest.
Booklist Starred Reviews, 01/01/2020
Though Charles Lindbergh achieved fame and adoration as an accomplished American aviator, he was an overwhelmingly complicated figure. In an eminently readable, at times thrilling, and occasionally deeply disturbing biography, the widely acclaimed Fleming (Amelia Lost, 2011) returns to the skies.
Awards
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, 01/01/2021
SLJ Best Book of the Year: Selection 2020
Connections
Charles did not have many friends growing up nor did he have a traditional education. Turn and Talk. Would you want to have the same education that he had growing up and why do you think he did not have very many friends?
Charles was known as the “Lone Eagle” after his flight across the Atlantic to Paris. What other incidents occurred that continued to make people think of Charles as a Lone Eagle?
Charles did not like public attention and when his son was kidnapped the press and others overstepped their bounds. How would you feel if the press reported on a devastating moment in your life? Would you have left the country if it were an option? What would you have done? Turn and talk with your neighbor.
Mary's Monster by Lita Judge
Bibliographic Data
Judge, L. (2018). Mary’s Monster. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 9781250304483
Summary
This is the story of a young Mary Shelley who at an early age, lost her biological mother and was sent away from her home by her father and evil stepmother because her father had much debt. She eventually was allowed to come back home to live with her family. When she was 16, she met Percy Bysshe Shelley, fell in love with him, became pregnant and followed him to different countries and she began writing and editing his poetry. She was disowned by her family and society looked down upon Mary, but she was resilient through all the tragedy that followed her, from the death of her children and dealing with Percy’s betrayal and mental illness. Through this, Mary overcame the struggles she was facing and became a famous author.
Critical Analysis
The author Lita Judge has created a dark and beautiful book about the author of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The artwork is beautiful with the use of black and white ink wash. The reader is drawn into the artwork and sees the feelings that Mary goes through as the pages are turned. There is much sadness and yet much love that is shared in the illustration in the pages. The author has taken Mary’s life and written it in free verse. The author has researched and has used words from Mary’s diary and letters to create a novel of a young women who was not understood by those around her. According to Voice of Youth Advocate, Judge's Mary’s Monster traces Mary’s early feminist upbringing in a household with a loving father. Her father turns traditional when he remarries, however, and Mary’s life resembles the cliché of an evil stepmother and aloof father running the household. This review is fully accurate because the reader cannot help but wonder if Mary’s father had not remarried and if he had been a little stronger to stand up to the stepmother could Mary’s life have been different? Unfortunately, we do not know, but what we do know is the path Mary took was the path that led her to write and create stories that are still read today. Without Mary's experiences, there would not have been a Frankenstein for us to read today.
Reviews and Awards
Horn Book Guide, 10/01/2018
This novel based on Mary Shelley's life gives readers insight into the complex author of Frankenstein, including details about her life and her creative process, in first-person verse covering lots of chronological ground.
School Library Journal Starred, 01/01/2018
Judge details the life of the great Mary Shelley through poetry in this atmospheric and illustrated volume.
Booklist, 12/01/2017
Judge’s book spotlights the circumstances that inevitably spawn Mary’s unforgettable Creature. There was the death of Mary’s mother, renowned feminist Mary Wollstonecraft; an adolescence spent in Scotland, severed from her family; and a tumultuous romance with married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and its consequences, including familial and social exile.
Awards
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People: Biography Selection 2019
CCBC Choices: Selection 2019
Connections
This book was written in free verse and presented many emotions. What emotions did you feel while reading this story? Turn and talk with a neighbor and prepare to share.
The author used black and white watercolor illustrations. How did these illustrations help you understand Mary?
Describe Mary’s character. Is Mary someone that you can empathize with? Sympathize with? Would Mary be someone you would be friends with? Why or why not? It is ok to be honest.
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman
Bibliographic Data
Heiligman, D. (2009). Charles and Emma. Henry Holt and Company (BYR). ISBN: 9781429934954
Summary
This is the story of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma and their relationship from the beginning. Charles believes in science and evolution; his wife Emma is a devout Christian. This is the story of how their differences in their beliefs do not separate the love and the respect they have for each other.
Critical Analysis
The author Deborah Heiligman has created a novel that shows Charles Darwin as a young man who has a love of science and nature. The author takes us through the process of how Charles even decides whether to marry Emma with his pros and cons list. The author uses letters written between Charles and Emma that show the reader the love and respect that they have for each other. When Emma, who was a devout Christian, faces the many trials of losing family members, and having a husband and children who were ill, her faith gets her through those trials and because of her faith, Charles also is pulled through the difficult times on Emma’s hem of faith. According to Voice of Youth Advocates, the volume provides a unique blend of romance, scientific observations, explanations of medical practices prevalent in the early-nineteenth century, and opportunities to examine scientific discoveries and religious beliefs in detail. Mrs. Heiligman’s writing will place the reader into the time period of Charles and Emma's life and gives the reader a better understanding of what it was like to live during this time. With the lack of medical care that was available and the fear of scarlet fever, it was interesting how the Darwin family was afflicted by illness and the ways and means they went about to get better. The letters that were written between Emma and Charles also give the reader insight into another means of communication that took place between families. The letters alone I feel is what gives the reader an opportunity to get to know who the Darwin family really is.
Reviews and Awards
School Library Journal Starred, 01/01/2009
Beginning with Darwin's notorious chart listing reasons to wed and not to wed, Heiligman has created a unique, flowing, and meticulously researched picture of the controversial scientist and the effect of his marriage on his life and work. Using the couple's letters, diaries, and notebooks as well as documents and memoirs of their relatives, friends, and critics, the author lets her subjects speak for themselves while rounding out the story of their relationship with information about their time and place.
Publishers Weekly Starred, 12/15/2008
Embracing the paradoxes in her subjects' personalities, the author unfolds a sympathetic and illuminating account, bolstered by quotations from their personal writings as well as significant research into the historical context
Library Journal, 04/20/2009
The Darwins' fascinating marriage of faith and reason is a very grown-up love story.
Awards
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People: Biography Selection 2019
CCBC Choices: Selection 2019
YALSA Nonfiction Award: Winner 2010
Michael L. Printz Award: Honor 2010
Connections
What did you think about Charles creating a pros/ cons list on whether to marry or not? Turn and Talk to your neighbor.
Charles and Emma wrote many letters to each other. What do you think about the many letters they wrote to each other and their family members? What thoughts did you have while reading all the letters? Write a letter to a family member explaining how your day goes from the moment you wake up till it is time for bed.
Emma was a wonderful wife and mother, who cared for husband even though he did not share the same beliefs as her. What are your thoughts on the way Emma would share her faith and the way Charles would respond?
