The complaint that there aren’t enough books for boys can be dismissed after seeing Scieska’s new collection, for which 88 writers and illustrators have contributed work. Awkwardly titled (its allusion is to Scieszka’s Web site), this well-intentioned anthology runs the risk of stereotyping boys with its tales of barfing, farts, sex, basketball and war, and all of the very short pieces appeal to readers with short attention spans and the need for frequent visual stimulation. However, as a collection of brief autobiographical essays, excellent for reading aloud and as models for writing, this is quite good. Lloyd Alexander writes about a first date, Marc Aronson about the pure male joy in throwing things, Jack Gantos about daredevil neighbors and Gary Paulsen returns to the theme of peeing on electric fences, first explored in Harris and Me (1993). If it leads boys to the many works by the authors represented, it will have done a fine service to its cause. (foreword) (Anthology. 11+)
Pub Date: May 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-670-06007-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
By more than 80 authors, including Robert Penn Warren, Anne Sexton, Langston Hughes, and Herbert Scott, an anthology of recent (70's and 80's) poems plus a few nostalgic looks at long- gone youth, with references to WW II and earlier. Many relate sharply poignant stories or epiphanies, succinctly and powerfully recalled; Janesczko's familiar themes (e.g., small-town life, Catholic angst) frequently recur. The voices are almost overwhelmingly male (an imbalance echoed in the handsome jacket painting of a small, worried girl peering from behind a much larger, confident man), but the quality is so high, the appeal so immediate, and the selection so personal that it's a forgivable happenstance; teen-agers will easily identify with the problems expressed, often reflecting adolescence as a time of deep self- absorption and loss of faith in childhood beliefs. An excellent collection for any library, especially those with activities involving poetry. Index. (Poetry. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-531-05901-4
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1991
American citizens have been held hostage in the Middle East at least since 1979, when our embassy in Teheran was seized by a mob; Lawson's history of the US government's response in the 80's makes a sad tale of hypocrisy, incompetence, and corruption. He shows how, after the hostage crisis cost Carter his political career, Reagan allowed a series of profitable arms-for-hostages deals to go through—while publicly condemning the idea—to finance his ``pet anti-communist project.'' The ensuing revelations, investigations, and trials are covered here in some detail. In an epilogue, Lawson notes that a new group of hostages were taken when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990. A thematic introduction by Arthur L. Liman, an attorney involved in the Senate Iran-contra investigation, sums it up: Reagan's advisors, acting from ``disrespect, bordering on contempt'' for the Constitution, established a ``secret government within the Government'' for specifically illegal purposes. B&w photos; adequate bibliography; long chronology; excellent notes; chart listing hostages taken in the 80's; index. (Nonfiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-531-11009-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1991
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