Book review: Fighting for the Forest: How FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps Helped Save America, by P. O’Connell Pearson

Pearson, P. O’Connell. Fighting for the Forest: How FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps Helped Save America. Simon & Schuster, 2019. $17.99. 197p. ISBN 978-1-5344-2932-1. Ages 10-14. P5 Q8

With the U.S. on the edge of environmental and economic disaster in 1933, brand new President Franklin D. Roosevelt set in motion many programs, among them the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Three million young men built parks and restored almost 120 million acres of forest and farmlands. During their nine years, they also built 125,000 miles of roads and 13,000 miles of trails. The three billion trees they planted are over half those ever planted in the nation. In exchange, these men received food, shelter, clothing, and a minimal wage to send back to their families. Pearson shows how the program succeeded through cooperation among different agencies—Agriculture, Interior, Labor, and War—and profited from the leadership of the first woman Cabinet member, Frances Perkins to get congressional funding.

Verdict: The connection between the Great Recession and the current economic disaster may make this well-researched, inspiring book more relevant because it shows a solution for the current massive unemployment situation. The information also draws a marked contrast between a president who designed programs to help low-income people in the U.S. and the current one without mentioning present times.

May 2020 review by Nel Ward.

Book review: Two Men and a Car: Franklin Roosevelt, Al Capone, and a Cadillac V-8, by Michael Garland

Garland, Michael. Two Men and a Car: Franklin Roosevelt, Al Capone, and a Cadillac V-8. Tilbury House, 2019. Unp. $17.95. ISBN 978-0-88448-620-6. Ages 7-10. P8Q8

Culture and biography from the first half of the 20^th century blend in this possibly true story of how an armored car constructed by a famous mobster in 1928 was later used to protect the president of the United States on his way to give a speech the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. With biographical information about the two men, both New Yorkers, Garland shows the contrast in backgrounds between the wealthy, privileged only child who changed the U.S. with his political acumen and the poor immigrant with eight siblings who controlled the Chicago underworld. Thousands of lines cover the illustrations of the subjects and the places where each spent part of his life—13 years in the White House and eight years in Alcatraz.

Verdict: Dense scratchwork art is distracting, but the use of the story to show U.S. history during a half century is clever.

June 2019 review by Nel Ward.

Book review:Fala, by Kate Klimo, illustrated by Tim Jessell

Klimo, Kate. Fala. (Dog Diaries, #8) Ill. Tim Jessell. Random House, 2016. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-553-53490-0. 150 pages. Ages 10-14. P8Q8.

“Blow it out your bagpipes, buster.” is Fala’s response to the president laughing about the her resembling a mop or duster.  Fala, the Scottish terrier, was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s faithful companion. Youngsters will learn about events leading up to the United States entering World War II and the president’s illness that confined him to a wheelchair from the canine perspective. Realistic black and white illustrations build understanding. This is a historical fiction story that is sure to engage all readers. Includes an appendix with further information about the president, WWII,  and Scottish terriers.

Summer 2016 review by Penny McDermott.