We have been out for medical stuff for several months and are just beginning to catch up with a few things – like book reviews. We select books to review on how they have relevance to the lives of our families and friends, so they’re often in completely different arenas. Below are 3 completely unrelated ones to get started with.
Triumph Over Tragedy: The Odyssey of an Academic Physician, by William H. Frishman, MD, MACP. This is a memoir about a young boy who grew up so poor that the glass of water by his bedside would freeze over on many a cold morning. Growing up in the South Bronx, Frishman had to run to school to avoid being attacked by gangs. And then when he was a junior in high school, his father died of an early heart attack. It made Frishman even more determined to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. And he spent his career as a cardiologist during what some call “The Golden Age of Cardiology,” during which scientists developed almost every drug that’s currently used to treat heart conditions. Frishman writes with a storyteller’s touch about his time in the military where he learned leadership and integrity, and about his journey through the field of medicine, ending up as a medical educator and Director of Medicine at Westchester Medical Center and several other relevant prestigious appointments. He acknowledges the inestimable value of having good mentors all through life. And he also suggests where to find them and why it’s important to “repay the favor.” Http://williamfrishman.com/
Jason’s Imagination: The Rain King by Jason Edwards. A book for your grandchild – the hero is a boy but there’s no reason your little granddaughter couldn’t relate – about a kid who uses his imagination to save himself and his mom from a monster. Complete with magic sword and armor, Jason first fears the ferocity of a thunderstorm and then decides – at mom’s urging – to use his imagination to overcome his fear. It appears in the book that his mom is a single mom – no mention of dad appears anywhere in the book. Certainly appropriate for today’s demographics of increasing numbers of single-mom-headed families. My very grown-up 10-year-old granddaughter said she thought her 8-year-old boy pal would enjoy the book – the best recommendation you can ask for. And I’d say it would be appropriate for even much younger kids.
Cricket Magazine is a marvelous literary-quality publication aimed at 9 to 14-year-olds, but Cricket Media publishes several different varieties, each aimed at a particular age group. I passed age-appropriate copies out to a group of kids – ages 4, 7 and 9 – and each one of them settled down with their copy and remained engrossed throughout the magazine. Talk about high recommendations. Babybug, Ladybug and Click are for the youngest group (0-6 years), Ask and Spider are next (6-9 years), and then for older kids Cricket and several others for kids 9 to 14. Each one has a Letterbox full of readers’ letters and several other regular features that the reading audiences love. The Realm of Imagination is a collection of favorite stories from multiple previous issues.
