Well, I thought this was a very enjoyable, informative tale describing life in 1932 in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Yes, it's written for 5th graders. And yes, it's historical fiction. But I look at books as a way to get kids interested in the past...including awesome pop culture, which this book does a great job of doing. There's a few spots where I'm not sure of the historical accuracy--Hitler is mentioned along with the fact that his party was gaining influence. But it's also mentioned that the US knew that they had a thing against the Jews. I don't know how public that information was in 1932. But I consider this a minor problem in a book who's sole importance for me is not in teaching history, but in getting kids interested in history. I love the inclusion of the main character, later in life, becoming a member of the WASPs and the fact that they didn't get formal recognition until 1991. Take that anti-revision history people--textbooks written 20 years ago wouldn't have even acknowledged the WASPs! So which book does a better job of teaching history? but I digress there. Sorry.
Hand this book to your 10 year old. Boys may or may not like it. I will warn you that there are 3 mentions of the fact that the friend of the main characters father killed himself by blasting his head off with a shotgun. I thought that when it happened in the story it was a bit shocking, but at least was vague enough for the naive reader--but later the character is quite blunt about the blasting. Just a warning, but as with everything, you should be reading what your kids are reading, know what they're watching, who their friends are. It's your judgment that matters--you know your kid.
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
"Murder at Fenway Park" By Troy Soos
I love this book. There, I said it. And I'll probably say it about a lot of books. And I'm fine with that.
So, we have very old fashioned baseball (it's 1912) and a murder entrenched in the not quite so idealistic world of old fashioned baseball. And it's written by a guy who's a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, so it's not like he's pulling his information from the center of left field (pun intended). What is there not to love?!??!
Plus (there's always a plus in my most loved books) there are a few anecdotes scattered throughout the novel that just make a person like me that loves history and especially tracing things through time (and if you've read my other blog "Daily Dose" you've probably heard me complain about a bunch of certain misconceptions used by the media when it comes to history [cough: Fox News/Conservatives]). Anywho. You have to remember that this is historical fiction, but I think I've taken enough history courses to be able to definitively say that your imagination is often better than a history book to explain societal relations. But I digress. Here's a few snap shots of these "pluses" in action:
"The game remained scoreless into the top of the ninth inning. And that's when I figured out how Hal Chase did it.
Jake Stahl hit a grounder to third to open our half of the inning, and I kept my eyes on Chase from the moment the bat made contact. While the ball skipped to the third baseman, Chase stayed anchored well off the first base bag. Then just before the ball was fielded, he broke for the base. When the third baseman's throw arrived, Chase was hustling as hard as he could to take the throw at first--but his initial delay ensured that he wouldn't be in time to catch the ball cleanly. The son of a bitch. He was really throwing the game.
Yesterday, with the sight of a dead man still fresh in my eyes, I would have thought that murder was the most heinous of crimes. But now I'd seen Hal Chase try to throw a baseball game. It was an offense that seemed worse than murder--a crime less gruesome, but a sacrilege more sinister."
"By our second week back in Boston, with Peggy still on Cape Cod, I started to read the newspapers. Any page without box scores on it was unfamiliar territory to me, but I decided to explore the news sections and find out what was going on in the world--not due to any sudden interest in international affairs, but because I thought it would give me more to talk about with Peggy
Since the presidential nominating conventions were coming up, it seemed a good time to start following the campaigns. I read about the opening of the Republican convention in Chicago, expecting it would be straightforward and easy to understand. I assumed that President Taft would automatically be nominated to head the Republican ticket again. But then Teddy Roosevelt's followers got mad at Taft's nomination by what they called "conservatives" and went off to form a "Progressive Party." Great--just when I start to follow politics, they complicate it by forming a third party. Well, at least it's supposed to go smoothly with the Democrats; according to the papers, Champ Clark is an easy winner for the nomination. Not that it mattered--I wouldn't be old enough to vote yet."
Then of course, you can just marvel at the type of man Mickey Rawlings is, to accept his life as a utility player, never destined for stardom. This book is awesome. It's the first in a series of currently, I believe, 5 such mystery books. I've read 2 or 3 others and loved them just as much. It's fun since this is the 1st in the series to see where he started out at, because here he meets his long time friends (when I met them) (and oh what a meeting that was), and when I read his books he was quite a few years older and no longer the "rookie" player. Of course I'll link up to as many as I can find, hopefully in order.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I've enjoyed them. And maybe you'll be like me and REALLY want to read the biography of a certain Ty Cobb, haha.
So, we have very old fashioned baseball (it's 1912) and a murder entrenched in the not quite so idealistic world of old fashioned baseball. And it's written by a guy who's a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, so it's not like he's pulling his information from the center of left field (pun intended). What is there not to love?!??!
Plus (there's always a plus in my most loved books) there are a few anecdotes scattered throughout the novel that just make a person like me that loves history and especially tracing things through time (and if you've read my other blog "Daily Dose" you've probably heard me complain about a bunch of certain misconceptions used by the media when it comes to history [cough: Fox News/Conservatives]). Anywho. You have to remember that this is historical fiction, but I think I've taken enough history courses to be able to definitively say that your imagination is often better than a history book to explain societal relations. But I digress. Here's a few snap shots of these "pluses" in action:
"The game remained scoreless into the top of the ninth inning. And that's when I figured out how Hal Chase did it.
Jake Stahl hit a grounder to third to open our half of the inning, and I kept my eyes on Chase from the moment the bat made contact. While the ball skipped to the third baseman, Chase stayed anchored well off the first base bag. Then just before the ball was fielded, he broke for the base. When the third baseman's throw arrived, Chase was hustling as hard as he could to take the throw at first--but his initial delay ensured that he wouldn't be in time to catch the ball cleanly. The son of a bitch. He was really throwing the game.
Yesterday, with the sight of a dead man still fresh in my eyes, I would have thought that murder was the most heinous of crimes. But now I'd seen Hal Chase try to throw a baseball game. It was an offense that seemed worse than murder--a crime less gruesome, but a sacrilege more sinister."
"By our second week back in Boston, with Peggy still on Cape Cod, I started to read the newspapers. Any page without box scores on it was unfamiliar territory to me, but I decided to explore the news sections and find out what was going on in the world--not due to any sudden interest in international affairs, but because I thought it would give me more to talk about with Peggy
Since the presidential nominating conventions were coming up, it seemed a good time to start following the campaigns. I read about the opening of the Republican convention in Chicago, expecting it would be straightforward and easy to understand. I assumed that President Taft would automatically be nominated to head the Republican ticket again. But then Teddy Roosevelt's followers got mad at Taft's nomination by what they called "conservatives" and went off to form a "Progressive Party." Great--just when I start to follow politics, they complicate it by forming a third party. Well, at least it's supposed to go smoothly with the Democrats; according to the papers, Champ Clark is an easy winner for the nomination. Not that it mattered--I wouldn't be old enough to vote yet."
Then of course, you can just marvel at the type of man Mickey Rawlings is, to accept his life as a utility player, never destined for stardom. This book is awesome. It's the first in a series of currently, I believe, 5 such mystery books. I've read 2 or 3 others and loved them just as much. It's fun since this is the 1st in the series to see where he started out at, because here he meets his long time friends (when I met them) (and oh what a meeting that was), and when I read his books he was quite a few years older and no longer the "rookie" player. Of course I'll link up to as many as I can find, hopefully in order.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I've enjoyed them. And maybe you'll be like me and REALLY want to read the biography of a certain Ty Cobb, haha.
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