BOTW: saints and troublemakers

 BOTW = Books of the Week -- what I've been reading lately.

"I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true....one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green....and I mean to be one, too,"  goes the Sunday school hymn

Daneen Akers tells the stories of 37 of these saints in short biographies. Some are well-known (Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Francis of Assisi, Mr. Rogers). Some are lesser-known (suffragist Alice Paul, preacher Anne Hutchinson, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, poet Mary Oliver). Others were new to me --and what a wonderful group! Imams, rabbis, and pastors, making trouble mostly in the U.S. but in other countries as well. Cis, trans, straight, gay. All of them speak truth to power as they seek in their way to "work to heal our present world, making it a just, safe, and compassionate home for everyone." 

Each biography includes a follow-up question asking readers how they might exemplify that saint's mission. "What are some ways you can help others to be free? Have you ever had to do something that felt scary in order to be true to yourself? What does it mean to you to 'love without exception'?"   

Inspiration and food for thought for kids (10 and up) and adults.  

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And on the topic of holy troublemakers, "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" leads to The Sound of Music which leads to Julie Andrews which leads to the next book. 

"Let's start at the very beginning/that's a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A, B, C / when you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi." We automatically hear Julie Andrews singing that famous song in The Sound of Music. And who better to explain just how musical notation began?

In this charming picture book Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton tell the story about the 11th century Italian Benedictine monk Guido d'Arezzo. "Guidonian Hand" is the term for the notation system he codified.

The story is enhanced with essays about the contemporary song, written by Rogers and Hammerstein; a glossary; a description of life in a medieval monastery; and historical notes.

Children's books can provide just the right amount of information on a topic, as The First Notes proves.