A captivating true story of a spy, secret hero, and baseball player too.
Moe Berg was a decent defensive catcher who struggled at the plate in the 1920s and ’30’s—it’s his post-baseball career that fascinates.
He was intellectually gifted and was one of only a few Jewish students at Princeton, where Jews were prohibited from joining social clubs. However, they were happy to have him on their baseball team. Upon graduation, he began his 15-year major league career. At a time when major league baseball players were white, Christian, and, with few exceptions, poorly educated, Berg was Jewish, a college graduate, a speaker of many languages, and attending law school. In 1941, he became a spy for the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. His knowledge of languages and world cultures was an asset, as was his seeming fearlessness: as a Jewish American, he would be in particularly grave danger if caught. He parachuted into occupied Yugoslavia and made contact with resistance groups. He spied on a German physicist to determine Nazi nuclear capability. Berg always remained secretive, and there’s little information about his postwar life, but that’s the way he wanted it. Jones gives readers the sketchy details of Berg’s life and exploits in carefully selected anecdotes, employing accessible, straightforward syntax. Cherrington’s bright cartoons capture the events and subtly convey Berg’s differences from the gentiles who surround him.
A captivating true story of a spy, secret hero, and baseball player too. (afterword) (Picture book/ biography. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5124-0313-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Imagine compressing one hundred years of American history into 48 pages! Imagine making history come alive with photographs of people dressed in period costumes, slipping in odd historical facts while debunking myths, tucking in colonial crafts kids can try at home, and providing a sympathetic narrator who attempts to present the point of view of European settlers, Native Americans, African slaves, and indentured servants. The author of this title and American Revolution, 1700–1800 (see above) in the “Chronicle of America” series, tries hard, but the snippets selected to add interest, the overly dramatic prose, lack of sources, and excessive compression of complex issues make this title less than successful. Each double-paged layout tackles a new topic. Those include the voyage, first Americans, food, clothing, shelter, education, warfare, illness, farming, crafts, and the like. Topics usually begin with questions in italics to stimulate reader interest. For example: “How would you feel if you sat down to a dinner of meat loaf with maggots?” An introductory paragraph or two follows with short discussions of related topics, three or four uncaptioned photographs of people and objects from America’s Living History Museums, and a tan, blue, or red box with a “surprising history” snippet, or a colonial craft to try. Unsupported statistics abound, “In the early days of the European settlements, 80 percent of the people who came to Virginia died once they got there.” Or, “It took 2500 trees to build a ship the size of the Mayflower.” Or, “After months at sea with no fresh food, is it any wonder that some early settlers were forced to turn to cannibalism?” The glossy photos and breezy tone will appeal to young history enthusiasts, but caution should be exercised lest the reader come away with some very odd ideas about the past. The author concludes with a few titles for further reading, Web sites, picture credits, and an index. (Nonfiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-05107-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
A stereotype about people with disabilities is shattered by this introduction to a dance company known as Dancing Wheels, a group composed of “sit down” and “stand-up” dancers. The story begins with Mary Fletcher-Verdi, born with spina bifida, a condition that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Mary always wanted to dance, and, encouraged by a family who focused on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t, she studied the art and eventually formed a mixed company, some who dance on their legs, and some who dance in wheelchairs. What she accomplished can be seen in this photo journal of the group’s dance workshop in which beginners and experienced dancers study and rehearse. Along the way, McMahon (One Belfast Boy, 1999, etc.) intersperses the history of the group, some details about the dancers, their families, and the rehearsal process that leads up to the final performance. Three children are featured, Jenny a wheelchair dancer, Devin, her stand-up partner, and Sabatino, the young son of Mary’s partner. The focus on these youngsters gives the reader a sense of their personalities and their lives with their families. Godt’s (Listen for the Bus, not reviewed, etc.) color photographs detail every aspect of the story and show the dancers at home and in rehearsal, interacting with each other, having fun, and finally performaning. They convey the dancer’s sense of joy as well as the commitment to the dance as an art form felt by the adult directors and teachers. An excellent book for helping children and adults expand their understanding about the abilities of the “disabled.” (Nonfiction. 7-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-88889-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
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