Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart

Not all books we encourage our kids to read have to be award-winning literature. If you’ve checked the children’s shelves at bookstores recently, you will find plenty of books about the latest celebrity idols of pre-teens and teen-agers.  Many of them are “unauthorized” biographies, which are often exploitations of the featured celebrities as well as the fans that buy and read the books.

 One of the currently hot celebrities for young girls today is Britney Spears.  The paperback featured in this review is “Britney Spears’ Heart to Heart,” published by Three rivers Press and listed for $12.95.  Unlike many of these books, this one purports to be written by Britney Spears and her mother, Lynne Spears, with the assistance of a professional writer named Sheryl Berk. The written text tends to be pages alternating between Britney’s words and those of her mother.  Naturally, the book is filled with photographs, ranging from snapshots taken in childhood to publicity shots taken when Britney reached national prominence.

This combination biography/autobiography presents a picture of wholesome family life.  The teen idol tells a story in which she endorses a strong value system and expresses a high regard for the contributions made by her family to her success.  Regardless of what the truth may be behind the press agent-type prose, the book itself has nothing in it that any parent is likely to find objectionable. This book provides the dual advantage of motivating a young Britney Spear’s fan to read and providing material a cut above what is to be found on the magazine rack in the drugstore. 
 

101 Fun Facts about Kurt Warner

Some boys are threatened by big books that go on and on for page after page. It just seems like too much of a commitment for them to make.  “101 Fun Facts about Kurt Warner” is a tiny book and each page is complete in itself.  A reader can read all the “fun facts” in one short sitting or just read one or two and put the book aside until later. 

The tiny paperback contains just the kind of isolated facts that a boy would like to share when the grown-ups are talking about Kurt Warner’s unbelievable feats during the most recent Sunday afternoon Rams game.  It’s also the kind of booklet that fits easily into a pocket or school backpack and can be shared with playmates on the playground at school. 

A drawback to this publication is that it went to press before the 1999-2000 football season was completed.  So the statistics are incomplete.  It also misses the most “fun fact” of them all – that Kurt Warner led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. 

Sure, “101 Fun Facts about Kurt Warner” is a publisher’s exploitation of a sports celebrity.  It certainly isn’t prize-winning children’s literature.  But if it motivates a boy to read and to share what he has read with others, it is an invaluable asset for a parent to just happen to leave around the house. 
 

Lewis and Clark for Kids

Sometimes when you want to see your kids read “serious” material that promotes their educational background, it’s best to take the direct approach.  “Lewis and Clark for Kids” is a book that helps you do just that – take the direct approach.  It is a 143-page paperback that appears to be a picture book, since it is large size and colorfully illustrated.  A closer look at the text shows it is almost a textbook that draws heavily on the journals of Lewis and Clark for its content. Most adults would find it interesting reading and filled with previously unknown details about one of the great events in American history. 

The book’s format and illustrations should make it attractive to middle grade kids who shy away from reading.  However, a struggling reader will need adult assistance in reading the text and emerging with a good understanding of what the author is trying to convey.  A major feature of the book is the inclusion of 21 hands-on activities that are meant to involve the young reader in the action and events described.  To obtain full value from the reading experience, some adult involvement is desirable and probably necessary. 

If your child is studying the Lewis and Clark era in social studies and some kind of outside project is expected as an assignment, this book could be a lifesaver. The book also would be a great addition to any 4th, 5th, or 6th grade classroom library.  Janis Herbert is the author of “Lewis and Clark for Kids.”  The publisher of the 2000 publication is Chicago Review Press and the price is $14.95. 
 
 

Watsons go to Birmingham – 1963

“The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963” is the first novel written by Christopher Paul Curtis, an African-American writer who had been an automobile factory worker in Flint, Michigan while going to college.  First published in 1995 in hardback, the book was issued in paperback form in 1997.  In the intervening years, it has garnered a long list of awards.  It was named as a 1996 Newbery Honor book, a 1996 Coretta Scott King Honor book, and as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Books, along with being the recipient of more than a dozen other book awards. 

The author’s second book, “Bud, Not Buddy,” which is still in hardback only, was the Newbery Award Winning book for Children, the year that it was published (Reviewed in the September issue of YoungSaintLouis.com).  Christopher Paul Curtis writes about the African-American experience in growing up in America.  He blends lots of humor, sensitivity, and matter-of-fact realism in his writing. 

Curtis’ ”The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963” departs in its ending from his usual realistic style.  On the face of it, there appears to be somewhat of a supernatural phenomenon occurring at the book’s dramatic conclusion. Kenny, the ten-year-old narrator, has a near death experience – he almost drowns.   Later, his younger sister is saved from the bombing at the church in Birmingham by a come-to-me gesture from a shadowy figure that she thinks is Kenny. However, Kenny was not present at the scene until much later. A helping adult needs to be alerted to the possibility that this one event can be interpreted in different ways, because kids will want to talk about it as they try to understand what it means.