Library Mama

Sacred Myths: Stories of World Religions by Marilyn MacFarlane When I was in the sixth grade at a religious school, my teacher skipped the brief pages on other religions at the beginning of our religion text. She was trying to teach us Christianity, not those other false religions.

For those who want their children to have a somewhat broader exposure to the world’s many religious traditions, I recommend this book. Each of seven major world religions is given a one-page summary, including its version of the Golden Rule in large and decorative type. While Mr. FP had no patience for these sections, he was mesmerized by the five myths told for each religion. All are illustrated with images from appropriate religious art enmeshed in bright graphic design – hard to describe, but interesting to look at. Religions included are Buddhism, Hindusim, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Native American and Sacred Earth. Stories include the births of Buddha, Ganesh, Mohammed and Jesus, as well as many less well-known stories; a pre-Hellenic retelling of Demeter and Persephone, where Persephone goes willingly to the Underworld to help the spirits there; and Mr. FP’s favorite, “How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun.” The stories are engagingly told and brief enough to work for older preschoolers (OK, my preschooler - Publisher’s Weekly says age 10… judge your own child) up through adult. It also includes a helpful pronunciation guide, glossary, and books for further reading. For educators, her website says that she also has a classroom guide available, with questions for discussion as well as explanations of all the symbols in the pictures. I’ve not seen the guide, but the stories are well worth reading.

My Very First Bible by Lois Rock. Pictures by Alex Ayliffe. The desire may not be universal, but Mr. FP was starting to want to learn about the stories at church. I had a definite agenda looking for a children's Bible. The stories should be short enough to be engaging, but long enough to get the gist of the story across. The pictures should be attractive, and the characters should not look like Palestine was located somewhere in Northern Europe. Finally, it should follow the Bible narratives as closely as possible, not adding dialog, motives or morals where they don't exist in the original. I would like to see stories of the strong Bible women included, and Mr. FP has no patience for prayers, so those aren't a plus. This Bible met all but one of my (dare I say it) exacting criteria. The stories convey a lot with very simple words. The bright pictures look like they are cut from paper, with appealing round-nosed and smiling characters with tan skin. There's only one very short prayer at the beginning. The stories tend towards the upbeat, with Goliath and Jesus the only named people killed. My only quibble was that the women were given pretty short shrift. Miriam, Sarah and some unnamed female disciples make appearances, but Esther, Ruth, Mary and Martha don’t appear at all. On the other hand, this is really a greatest hits Bible stories collection. With only 20 stories out of the whole Bible, there’s not a lot of room for minor characters of either gender. It was a great hit with Mr. FP, who would happily have read the whole thing in one sitting. If you’re looking for a children’s Bible either for religious text or basic cultural literacy, this is a good choice.

I’m just writing down my list of things to review. There are six, which is a lot. I’m sure not all of them will make it up at once. Hadn’t realized I was so far behind, but I guess that’s what happens when I both listen in the car and read fast books.

The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. Read by Wendy Dillon “The City of Ember is the only point of light in a dark world” say the ancient texts, and this is literally true, since the only light in Ember’s sky comes from huge floodlights, and no one has been able to navigate the darkness of the Unknown Regions to see if there are other cities. On Assignment Day, all 12-year-olds in the City of Ember are randomly assigned jobs. On this day in the year 241, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow trade jobs. She will become a Messenger, carrying messages between the citizens of Ember, and he, a Pipeworker, repairing the ancient plumbing that takes water from the underground river and sends it to the people of Ember. Once there was plenty of everything – food, supplies, and light. Now supplies are running short, the greenhouses are beginning to fail and blackouts are becoming longer and more frequent. As Doon tries to repair the crumbling underside of the city, Lina finds cryptic, half-destroyed Instructions for Egress. Together they work to find the hidden way out before the generator stops for good. Wendy Dillon, as the narrator, made all the characters sound somewhat uncertain and cartoon-like, but did an excellent job of distinguishing all the characters and building suspense through the story.

I always feel that some spiritual reflection is in order during Lent, and with Anne Lamott, I know for sure I’m not going to find the “God and the Republicans will keep America a Christian nation and save it from the gays if we pray hard enough” kind of thinking or even the “God wants your life to be perfect – all you have to do is pray just right” kind of thinking, both of which I find really abhorrent.

Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott This is a journal of Lamott’s son’s first year, not really religious book. Lamott decides to keep an unplanned pregnancy, even though the father wants nothing to do with a baby, and even though she has been clean for only three years and couldn’t take care of a cat in her previous life. Despite differences in parenting and life styles, baby Sam’s story was instantly recognizable. If you’re a parent, you’ll remember being there yourself, and if you’re not, you’ll have a much better idea by the time you’re done (though I’d advise you not to expect a baby to sleep through the night at three months). Lamott’s wrestling with her faith and the difficulties of being a single parent and the sorrow as Lamott’s best friend and partner in parenting is diagnosed with terminal cancer are all described with merciless and irreverent humor. This is one to be careful about reading in public, as you are likely to need tissues and help to keep from falling out of your seat with laughter.

Another entry in my occasional series Kids Music That Won’t Require an Insulin Shot.

Mother Goose Rocks from Boffomedia This is just what it sounds like, classic Mother Goose rhymes set to rock music. This CD (first in a series of four or so) features “Rub-a-Dub-Dub” done to a tune that sounds suspiciously like the Spice Girls’ “Wanna” and “Pat-a-Cake” ala Alanis Morissette. It might be a little too close to the originals for the liner notes not to credit them, but that means more fun for you figuring out which artist they’re mimicking. I was rolling with laughter at the spoofs, and Mr. Froggie Pants was just rocking along with the music.

I sent a patron to get something at another library with just half an hour to go before that library's closing time, before they actually knew the item was on the shelf for them. Now the Mission Impossible theme is stuck in my head.

Here are two seasonal reading items. The first is for Lent, a time for reflection and thinking about faith. The second is for National Poetry Month, which is April, but I have to read ahead to have time to get the reviews up. I have to say that both of these topics are tricky for me. I consider myself a Christian, but find a lot of thinking on the topic grating and narrow-minded and sometimes downright creepy. Poetry, too, I like in theory, but often have trouble getting into. In fact, I gave up on the first poetry book I tried for this review. However, both of these books are excellent, highly enjoyable and easy to get into, even if they aren’t your usual genre.

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott In this collection of highly personal essays, Lamott explores what it means to be a Christian who believes in peace, love, and caring for the poor in an America involved in an unjust war in Iraq and on the poor. There’s also a number of thoughts on parenting a teenage boy. Although the attitude on politics and religion is much the same at my own church, seeing a published author who differs so from the vocal right-wing Christians is highly reassuring. Lamott’s writing is simply masterful. Like tupelo, she is able to write about a depressing topic in a way that is still laugh-out-loud funny. Her honesty in talking about the difficulty of living up to her own ideals – as in the essay “Loving the President: Day Two” – is both laudable and deeply touching. She’s reached that magical place where feelings are so personal as to be profoundly universal. This isn’t hair-splitting theology, and it’s not just for Christians. Read it.


The Trouble with Poetry and other poems by Billy Collins Do you know who the current Poet Laureate of the United States is? I don’t, so perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised that I didn’t know that Billy Collins used to be, a couple of years ago. Anyway, after reading this book, I think he deserved it. The poems are lovely to listen to (at least inside my head), small reflections on the oddities of life that are beautiful without requiring a lot of effort to understand. Which I think might be considered good poetry, but is not the kind of thing that I have energy for. My favorite poem, I think, was “The Lanyard”, where he reflects on a lanyard he made for his mother in summer camp, naively considering that the small gift would repay the work she had done for him. “Here are thousands of meals, she said/ and here is clothing and a good education. /And here is your lanyard, I replied,/which I made with a little help from a counselor.”

Jesus and King Arthur – maybe not the most natural of combinations, but here you are:

American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon by Stephen Prothero This fascinating books looks at the changes in American culture over the years, through the lens of how Americans have viewed Jesus. At the founding of our country, nobody paid much attention to Jesus – Christians or non-Christians. Sometime in the 18th century, Jesus rose to prominence. Since then, Jesus has been described as reflecting the ideal characteristics of the day, from feminine and merciful to powerful and masculine. But wait! It’s not just Christians doing this – the book also looks at images of Jesus from outside Christianity, from Rabbi to Yogi.

In Camelot’s Shadow by Sarah Zettel Sarah Zettel* is best known for writing hard-core science fiction (and as a side note, if you have disliked sf in the past for having either cardboard characters set up in science concepts, or operatic characters in a flimsy universe, I would seriously recommend her sci-fi books, which have both excellent real characters and real ideas. But I digress.) This latest book, however, is an Arthurian. Rejoice, ye fans of King Arthur! For here is a book which does not attempt to set a new spin on a mythos so overloaded that most recent attempts seem to crash under the weight of explaining exactly how their Arthurian universe differs from all the other ones out there. Rejoice also, fans of historical fiction, for while there is magic in the book, the setting is solidly detailed and historically correct – no 15th century velvet or 18th century potatoes here. But most of all, rejoice, fans of a good story, for this is a cracking good one, with strong characters and plot in addition to the magic and romance.

*In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that Sarah Zettel is a local author and, moreover, though I have met her only briefly, responsible for my husband joining the organization where I met him. In spite of this deep debt, I would not recommend this book to you if it weren’t really truly good.