The Rechargeables

by Tom Rath

Illustrated by Carlos Aon

Missionday     2015

46 pages     Picture Book

Tom Rath incorporates the philosophy of three of his books, Eat Move Sleep, How Full is Your Bucket for Kids  and Are You Fully Charged, into a picture book for children called The Rechargeables. It is a relateable story about Poppy and Simon, who are completely out of energy. Using experimental research, they figure out how to recharge their energy. They find that eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep helps everyone in the family become recharged. 

The Rechargeables seems most appropriate for early elementary aged children. I can see it being used in science or health classes or at a story time in the library. There are many activities that could follow the reading of the book. It could be used with a nutrition unit or in a physical education class. I particularly like the battery-style shirt sticker that a child can wear to show that he/she is fully charged. It is a bit longer than a standard picture book, which is why it might be more appropriate for elementary-aged children.

The illustrations are delightful. They are full page and do an excellent job of telling the story, which is the most important part of good picture books. 

The Rechargeables is fun and educational. Your kids will love it. If you are a teacher, it will be a valuable tool for your classroom.

Are You Fully Charged?

by Tom Rath

Silicon Guild    2015

239 pages     Self Help

The Shortlist

I once heard my nephew being asked how his job was going. His response was: "Working for the weekend; just working for the weekend."

Although I had never read any books by Tom Rath, I knew about his work from helping business students with their coursework, particularly the Strengthsfinder 2.0 assessment, an assessment tool that many university students take as they are deciding on a career path.  Are you Fully Charged? is the latest of several books Rath has written about life and work. This book has a feature-length movie, an app, and a website. There are self-assessments, resources, and discussion guides included.   

Rath looks at the motivation behind work through several lenses. He believes that people enjoy their life's work more when they are engaged in their work; when their interactions are positive, and when they have the energy to fulfill their obligations. His advice is sound, and although somewhat obvious, it apparently must be said again and again. Rath uses examples from his own life, which has been fraught with illness, to illustrate the points he makes about finding happiness in daily life and work.

Rath believes that the meaningfulness of work is more important than happiness at work. Workers can put up with a lot if they believe that their work is doing good for the world. The current research shows that more than any generation, the Millennials are looking for meaningful work.  

Some of the best advice includes putting purpose before busyness. My husband came from his office late in the evening, telling me that he had just finished reading 150+ emails. It's a common story. The problem of busyness plagues today's workers. It is very difficult to get away from work. I read recently that the average person checks their smart phone 150 times a day. 

One reviewer says that Are You Fully Charged? will help you take your life back. The section on energy is particularly useful because I believe many people are running on empty when it comes to energy. His advice on exercise, food, and sleep, while tried-and-true, need to be read again and again.

Later today I will take a look at Rath's children's book The Rechargeables which will be published soon and deals with energy.

If you enjoyed this book, you will also enjoy The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

A review on the Small Business Trends website.

Tom Rath's website.

The Truth According to Us

by Annie Barrows

Dial Press     2015

512 pages     Fiction

Here is how Annie Barrows sets the stage for The Truth According to Us on her website:  

"It all began at the Decoration Day Parade, when the Rotary Club band honked out the last notes of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and Willa Romeyn, age 12, made a solemn vow to discover all the secrets that adults hide from children.  
It all began when Miss Layla Beck refused to marry Nelson the Citronella Scion, was tossed out of the lap of luxury, and landed—in white high-heels—at the train station of Macedonia, West Virginia.
It all began when the Town Council of Macedonia decided to commemorate the town’s Sesquicentennial with a dignified yet lively recounting of its history, to be entitled The History of Macedonia.
It all began when Jottie Romeyn cleaned out her spare room for a new boarder, a girl named Layla Beck, who was writing something or other for the Town Council.
It all began when Willa got run over by a bicycle on her way to meet Miss Layla Beck at the train station.
It all began when Felix Romeyn lifted his hat, held out his hand, and said, “Welcome to Macedonia.”
Or did it all begin twenty years earlier, on the night when the American Everlasting Hosiery Factory burned to the ground?"

And that's all you need to know about the story. 

We know from literature that pre-teen girls love to solve family secrets; Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird being the prime example. Lucky Us, which I read last year, had a delightful pre-teen protagonist, Eva, and a dishonest father like Willa's father, Felix, from The Truth According to Us.  

Although Willa is the narrator of parts of the story, she is only one of an extraordinary cast of characters in small town Macedonia, West Virginia. Willa is part of the Romeyn family, who everyone in town knows, and whose secrets everyone seems to know as well. It is difficult to keep secrets in a small town, but it is easier to keep secrets from children. Willa knows there are secrets, and as she helps Layla Beck write up the history of Macedonia for the WPA Writer's Project, the truth begins to come clear to her. Layla, a stranger to the community, knows there are secrets as well, and as she lives as a boarder with the Romeyn family, she strives to put the story of the family and the story of the community down on paper.

Barrows has done a remarkable job of filling the novel with details about the year 1938, the last year of the depression. In one of my favorite details, Willa's little sister cuts paper dolls out of the Sears catalog. That was still a favorite pastime when I was a little girl in about 1950. I have a fond memory of cutting out an entire family and everything they needed from the catalog. Barrows obviously knows small town life intimately as well, because Macedonia is an absolutely believable community. 

My major fascination with The Truth According to Us is the wry, intelligent commentary of Willa. She is one astute girl, and her efforts to get to the bottom of the family mystery endears her to the readers. One of my favorite lines comes from Willa's efforts to translate the community's history into her family history—knowing, as she does, that the histories are one and the same. She reflects: "This is what's called the enigma of history, and it can drive you right out of your mind, if you let it."

I connected so well with Willa, I think, because I spent a long time, when I was about 12, trying to understand my parents' lives during World War II when my father was stationed in the South Pacific. In an attic trunk, my mother kept all the letters she received from him, and all the letters she sent him. My mother's letters were passionate and poetic. My dad's letter's richly censored by the Marine censors. I spent endless hours rummaging around in that trunk and other boxes in the attic figuring out family mysteries.

West Virginia is not a common setting for novels, although Phyllis Naylor and Cynthia Rylant have set several of their juvenile novels there. I believe that the only West Virginia book I have read since I began reviewing books online is Lord of Misrule, a horse racing novel that won the National Book Award in 2010.

My advice is to read this book in the coolness of the air conditioning. It's a very hot summer in Macedonia West Virginia.

 

Annie Barrows coauthored the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with her aunt Mary Anne Shaffer. Most of her other books are juvenile fiction, including the inimitable Ivy and Bean series. 

 Review in the Washington Post.

High Country Nocturne

By Jon Talton

Poisoned Pen Press     2015

317 pages     Mystery

"In the end, the truth was almost beside the point."

David Mapstone, the narrator of High Country Nocturne, is a complex man. He has a PhD in history and has taught at universities. He has been a deputy sheriff and a private detective. He is also born and bred in Arizona, and is remarkably opinionated about the course that his beloved city Phoenix has taken.

Mapstone has been working with his friend Mike Peralta for several years, first serving as a deputy when Peralta was sheriff, and then as his partner in a private investigation company. In this 8th novel featuring Mapstone, Peralta, and their wives, Peralta has gone missing following a heist of raw diamonds. As the story unfolds, we believe that Peralta is either deeply undercover or is dirty. In any case he is gone, and a dangerous woman is out to get him and the diamonds. She almost kills Mapstone and  gravely injures his wife, Lindsey. 

The reader learns a lot about the political system of Arizona, the corruption of the FBI, and the death of Mapstone's beloved Arizona. Frankly, figuring out where the diamonds are is almost secondary to all the other bits and pieces of information being bandied about. Talton is a talented storyteller, and he throws in enough complications to keep the reader on her toes. He also has comments and opinions about nearly everything; from corrupt politics, the militarization of police departments, immigration and racism, and the paving of the paradise that used to be Arizona.  Mapstone muses: "Phoenix is not my city now. It belongs to the millions of newcomers drawn here by sun, a pool in the backyard, and big wide freeways to drive. To the ones that bulldoze its history and throw down gravel and concrete where there once were flowers and oleanders and canopies of cottonwoods, ficus, and Arizona ash over open irrigation ditches. I hear the ghosts of the Hohokam and love it when it rains. Newcomers want championship golf and endless sunshine. They own this place now, not me."

Luckily for the reader, there is enough action and taut drama to keep the book on track, even as Mapstone is diverted by his rambling observations. His love for his wife is palpable. He also believes that he will find Peralta, the assassin, the dirty cops, and the diamonds. The action is nonstop. High Country Nocturne has a noirish feel to it, although Mapstone does not quite fit the image of a "hard-boiled" detective. He does have the same cynicism, and one can almost hear the organ playing in the background, just like it does behind Guy Noir on the Prairie Home Companion radio show.

There is a subplot about the widow of a rich land developer that almost seems superfluous to the novel. I'm not sure why Talton inserted it except that it is another indictment of the people that Talton believes ruined his state. All in all, High Country Nocturne is taut, well-written, with an action-packed conclusion.

Jon Talton's website.

An interview with Jon Talton in the Arizona Republic.