"Who Were the Beatles" by Geoff Edgers

I chose to review this book because it is included on the 3rd-5th grade list for the 2011-12 Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB).

Who Were the Beatles?
Author: Geoff Edgers
Genre: Biography
Age Level: 8+ years

SUMMARY
This easy-to-read, illustrated narrative covers the lives of each of the four Beatles. It begins with a description of their childhoods in Liverpool, England. It talks about how they were introduced to Rock 'n' Roll music. It describes Beatlemania and illustrates what it was like to be a rock star. It also explains why they broke up. Scattered throughout the book are brief informational summaries covering many topics including Rhythm and Blues, the Vietnam War, and The Sixties.

CRITIQUE
Parents should be aware that due to the lives of these individuals and the times in which they lived, this book touches on many mature themes. It doesn't go in to a lot of detail, and is dealt with in a very straightforward manner, but be aware that there is content that may be inappropriate for the targeted audience.

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: None
Profanity: None
Sex: Mild
Substance Use: Mild
Mature Themes: Heavy
Violence: Mild

SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-John Lennon made fun of his teachers, sometimes to their face.
-Paul McCartney's brother called him "fatty" when he was a young boy.

Sex: -Talks about how Elvis wore his shirt unbuttoned, and his jean tight, and swiveled his hips when he sang and the "girls went crazy."
-Mentions that Paul liked girls and bragged to all his friends when he had his first kiss.
-Explains Yoko Ono's experimental style as an artist by giving the example of how she "made a film of a fly walking up and down a naked person's body."
-Drawing of John Lennon and Yoko Ono kissing.

Substance Use:
-Mention of fans who had "too much beer and got into fights." (accompanied by drawing)
-Mentions LSD as being a drug that some people were using at the time.
-John Lennon "began to drink too much. He also took drugs."

Mature Themes:
-Custody battle.
-Death of parent: John and Paul both had a mother who died when they were teenagers.
-Abandoned by father.
-Extended illness.
-Racism.
-Discussion of how the sixties was a generation filled with anger.
-Vietnam War.
-Political assassinations.

Violence:
-John Lennon got into fights, as a child and as an adult.
-John's mother dies after being hit by a car.
-States that John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were all shot and killed.
-George Harrison is stabbed.
-Mentally ill man shoots John Lennon with a gun and kills him.

"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry

I chose to review this book because it is included on the 3rd-5th grade list for the 2011-12 Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB).

Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 10+ years

SUMMARY
This historical fiction brings to life the efforts of the Danish Resistance during World War II as they smuggled nearly the entire Jewish population of Denmark (nearly 7,000 people) across the sea to Sweden. Lois Lowry tells this story through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, and then helps Ellen and her family to escape the country.

CRITIQUE
This is another powerful and moving tale set in the context of the horrors of World War II. Ms. Lowry speaks of the pride and courage of the Danish people as they risked their lives to save their friends and neighbors. I appreciated that Ms. Lowry was able to address some difficult themes and yet keep the content appropriate for younger readers. This book certainly deserves its Newberry Medal and I would highly recommend it.

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: Moderate
Profanity: Mild
Sex: None
Substance Use: Mild
Mature Themes: Mild
Violence: Moderate

SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-Soldier tears up baby photographs, drops them on the floor, and grinds his boots into them.

Frightening/Suspenseful:
-German officers storm into the Johansen apartment in the middle of night looking for the Rosens, their Jewish neighbors.
-Germans barge into a "wake" wanting to know why they are all gathered together at night.
-Annemarie hears a growl up ahead on the path.
-Annemarie runs into German soldiers when she is attempting to deliver an important package to her uncle on his boat.

Profanity:
-Words used include 'dumb', 'dope', 'idiot', and 'stupid.'

Substance Use:
-Discussion of smoking and shortage of cigarettes.

Mature Themes:
-War
-Death
-Genocide of Jews

Violence:
-Mention on numerous occasions of German soldiers patrolling with their guns.
-Description of Danish Resistance activities including damaging trucks and cars and bombing factories and railroads.
-Mention that sometimes the Resistance fighters were "caught and killed."
-Annemarie's older sister "dies in an accident" two weeks before her wedding. At the end of the book we discover that she was "run down" by a German military car.
-A soldier slaps Mrs. Johansen across the face causing her to stagger backwards and leaving a mark.
-Peter Nielsen, a Resistance fighter, is captured and executed in the public square.