Synergy: Fatherhood Involvement

Fatherhood involvement focuses on the unique bond between a father and child. Children at every stage of development benefit from the involvement of a positive and supporting adult in their life. Regardless of the family structure, strong families and healthy relationships take patience, respect, and communication.

Read the recently published picture book, then learn more at the websites:

DADDY LET’S PLAY written by Rodney Freeman, Jr. and illustrated by Dorothea Taylor weaves together an endearing father-daughter story with relatable, contemporary themes including the pandemic, diversity, and social activism.

Milah and her father play video games together each evening. When her father ends up in the hospital, they figure out a way to stay in contact through their shared passion for gaming.

The brightly colored illustrations paired with the fast-paced text are sure to engage young readers. This accessible title is an effective way to introduce children to the growing number of picture books that represent fatherhood and specifically black dads in a positive light.

FATHERHOOD.GOV is part of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse supporting strong fathers and families. The website contains tips and hints for dads and kids along with programs and research. The marketing campaign including PSAs reflect ‘#Dadication’ to parenting. A search of the library section reveals dozens of articles focusing specifically on the needs and interests of black fathers.

To visit the website, go to https://www.fatherhood.gov/.

ARC courtesy of Preservation LLC.

Book Review: Love is the Drug

LOVE IS THE DRUG by Alaya Dawn Johnson is a fast-paced mystery-suspense set in near-future Washington DC. 

Set against the backdrop of a global pandemic, prep-school teen Emily Bird becomes involved in a mysterious homeland security scandal made worse by her memory loss after an elite Washington DC party. This young adult novel involves a wide range of topics that will attract youth including romance, friendships, conspiracy, drugs, and disaster.

The plot moves quickly as the world dives deeper into chaos and our heroine tries to piece together the mystery of her memory loss. The author does a masterful job dealing with social problems, public policy, and contemporary issues facing teens such as drug use and college preparation.

The authentic, conversational writing style is likely to appeal to a young adult audience. Like many works of mystery/suspense, movement between the present and flashbacks can be temporarily disorienting. In addition, the story breaks down near the end as the author attempts to tie up all the loose ends. However, the overall plot is fast-paced and engaging.

The diverse cast of characters were skillfully developed and realistically portrayed. Teens will enjoy the strong female lead. Rarely do teen readers have the opportunity to see a realistically portrayed, independent, intelligent young black woman in a leading role.

Each chapter begins with a chemical compound. Careful readers will easily connect the chemicals to the chapter’s focus and students will be thrilled to apply their Chemistry class to the real-world.

With so many series books to choose from, librarians will be happy to see a stand-alone mystery-suspense.

Those readers who enjoy this type of mystery/suspense would also enjoy adult suspense novels by Michael Crichton and John Grisham.

With the Ebola scare making headlines and conspiracy theories everywhere, this book is likely to fly off the shelf.

Publisher ARC used for review

Book Review: Patient Zero and Red Madness

PATIENT ZERO by Marilee Peters tells a series of engaging true stories of the world’s scariest epidemics. Focusing on the courageous pioneers of epidemiology, each case follows the quest of a scientist to identify “patient zero”, the first person to contract and spread the disease. In each of the seven deadly diseases examined, scientists were able to build on the work of others to extend our knowledge in the hopes of preventing future catastrophes.

More people have died of disease than wars or natural disasters. The epidemics chronicled in this text include The Great Plague (1665), The Soho Outbreak (1854), Yellow Fever in Cuba (1900), Typhoid in New York City (1906), Spanish Influenza (1918), Ebola in Zaire, (1976), and AIDS in the U.S. (1980).

Peters’ writing style incorporates elements of mystery and horror to bring these compelling stories to life. Whether focusing on sympathetic victims like the infant in London who started the cholera epidemic or over-the-top characters such as Typhoid Mary, the cases are certain to jumpstart interest in other books related to disease and disaster. The glossary, index, and suggested readings are useful for youth readers.

Although students may be attracted to the layout and use of clipart, the book suffers from the lack of authentic primary source documents. Although the book points out that John Graunt collected health statistics, readers don’t get the chance to see his work. This omission would be a great opportunity to connect with online resources such as digital collections. Samuel Pepys’ diary accounts provide exciting insights into The Great Plague of 1665.

Maps play a central role in the world of many scientists seeking the elusive “patient zero.” Probably the best known is Dr. John Snow’s Mapping of the cholera epidemic of London. Check out an interactive map at http://goo.gl/Ff9qSw

Seeking online photographs is another way to enhance the book. The Library of Congress contains many excellent documents and photographs related to the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918. Chronicling American contains fascinating newspaper articles published during the epidemic at http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/pandemic.html. For more ideas, go to The Great Pandemic at http://www.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918/

PATIENT ZERO mentions Google’s Flu Trends at http://www.google.org/flutrends/. Use this opportunity to introduce youth to this exciting source of data.

This book is particularly timely given the recent Ebola epidemics in Africa. Encourage youth to keep up-to-date on an interactive map from Healthmap at http://healthmap.org/ebola/

Another, recently published book RED MADNESS (2014) by Gail Jarrow focuses on the pellagra epidemic of the early 20th century in the American South caused by vitamin deficiency disease. Scientists found that enriching the diet with niacin helped to resolve the problem.

To learn more about maps in nonfiction literature, check out my articles in the October and December 2014 issues of Teacher Librarian.

Publisher ARC used for review.