BookPikks

 Note:  I found and read this book because the publisher (Academy Chicago Publisher) recommended it for my reading list.

Julian was only 7 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland, and he fled Warsaw with his mother whom he barely knew, and his aunts and cousins.  Although Julian and his family were Jewish, Julian’s beloved governess Kiki had taught Julian of God’s love for Catholics and disregard for Jews.  Thus, Julian secretly in his 7-year-old heart was a Catholic.  Julian’s thoughts and misunderstandings on God and religion form a welcome break from the brutality of the war swirling around him.  One passage in particular describes the Trinity from a  child’s mindset:

Over the next two years or so, I learned from Kiki about God and Mary, their little boy Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.  This last, I saw from pictures, was like a white pigeon that they had.  This, I supposed, was like the canary that I was going to get some day when I was old enough.

Julian’s mother was an amazingly strong and intelligent woman.  Although she was used to being pampered and cared for, when it came to the survival of her family, she did whatever it took to keep her and her son alive.  This memoir recalls the basic story of Julian’s escape from Poland.  But beyond that, it shows two important transformations in Julian’s young life.  First, Julian’s attitude towards his mother changes from disregard and embarrasment to love and respect.  Second, due to his mother’s influence, Julian discovers that God doesn’t hate people just because they aren’t born Catholic–God loves everyone.

Due to the nature of the book (a memoir) parts of the book read a bit slow, as Padowicz includes more detail than a fiction writer would.  But because of the detail and his memory of small incidents (accidentally receiving his first sausage sandwich, jumping in the hay loft) the story has an authentic feel, and has a true child’s perspective on some horrible times.

Burch recounts the tragic period in his childhood, beginning at age 8 when he is dropped off at an orphanage without explanation by his mother.  Burch is then bounced from institution to home to foster home and back to institutions for the next several years.  He never knows if or when he will see his family again, and his only comfort is an old stuffed animal taken from an orphanage.  Burch struggles to learn the rules in every new place that he visits, but the hardest rule to accept comes from a boy his own age:

“There ain’t no friends in here. . . It’s like this.  If you got a friend in here and they go away someplace, then you’re left by yourself, alone.  And if you keep making friends and they keep going away, then over and over again, you’re alone. . . It hurts.”

But in spite of this rule, and in spite of the abandonment and abuse that Burch repeatedly experiences, he eventually learns to love and receive love.

Self-help, positive thinking Dr. Laura style.  My favorite chapter title?  “The Earth Is Not the Center of the Universe–And You and I Aren’t Either!”

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist, living in South Africa when the US invaded Iraq. Because of his background working with large animals, his immediate thought went to the welfare of the animals living in the Baghdad zoo. With much persistence and the help of many people, Anthony traveled to Baghdad shortly after the invasion to see what could be done to rescue the animals.

Anthony’s story is an amazing one. The zoo was in utter disarray, and in the middle of a war zone. Yet somehow, he, with the help of courageous Iraqis, various foreign nationals and US soldiers was able to save the remaining animals and restore the zoo to a place of rest and beauty. In the midst of the horror of war, Anthony’s story shines brightly with its message of hope.

A simply delightful book by the author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander is one of the real-life sons of author Judith Viorst. When he, his wife and 3 children come to live with Viorst and her husband for 3 months while their home is being remodeled, Viorst siezes the opportunity to write about the experience of 3 generations living together. What results is a humorous accounting of how the family coped, mixed with some practical advice for adult family living together. I enjoyed this book (reading from Alexander’s perspective) but I think that grandparents who have had grown children and grandchildren come back to live (or even just to visit) will enjoy it even more.