Reggie Reads: November 2015

Illinois State is proud to be able to acknowledge the work of graduates who are successful authors.

If you’ve written a book that has been released by a publishing house within the past decade, submit it for review by Professor Emerita of English JoAnna Stephens Mink ’73, M.S. ’75, D.A. ’85.

All books authored by alums will be added to a collection of work by other graduates on display in the Alumni Center. Autographed copies are especially appreciated.

Please send your book to Illinois State editor Susan Blystone at Illinois State Alumni Center, 1101 N. Main Street, Normal, IL 61790. Inquiries can be sent to sjblyst@IllinoisState.edu.

Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo: A Rare Photographic History

By Josh Bisney and J. L. Pickering. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015. 272pp.

Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini: A Rare Photographic History

By John Bisney and J. L. Pickering. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2015. 224pp.

Summary: Published by the same press within six months of each other, both of John Bisney and J. L. Pickering’s books are similar in appearance and focus. Each man has been involved in the space program for decades: Bisney as a correspondent for CNN and Pickering as archivist of rare space images. Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo and Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini are beautifully produced as heavy, coffee table-size books containing astonishing photographs augmented by some text.

Both books document the Space Race competition of the Cold War era, a unique chapter in American history. Their genesis occurred in 2010 when Bisney and Pickering wanted to showcase Pickering’s awesome archive of still images, many of which had never been published. Spaceshots and Moonshots includes photographs that will be recognized by readers—what Bisney calls “greatest hits”—and those from NASA photo archives, as well as Pickering’s private collection. Their goal was to place the images within the context of the Cold War in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the U. S. space program.

Spaceshots focuses on the Mercury (1961-1963) and Gemini (1965-1966) programs. The text is primarily extensive captions, which become an extended narrative for the pictures. One of the authors’ goals was “to identify as many of the rank-and-file space workers pictured as possible, since they are rarely given their due.” The black-and-white photographs, in particular, are stunning of the people and technology involved.

Moonshots covers the Apollo (1967-1972) and Skylab (1973-1974) programs, as well as the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975). In Moonshots the photo of the sun-splashed waves in the Pacific Ocean moments before the splashdown of the Casper (April 1972) is amazingly detailed. The black-and-white image of John Young collecting lunar samples as part of the Apollo 16 mission is perhaps more breath-taking. Either Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini or Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo will please anyone interested in the U. S. space program.

About the author: J. L. Pickering ’92 is a manned space flight historian who has been archiving rare space images and historic artifacts for some 40 years. He covered the final Apollo/Saturn launch in 1975 and attended more than a dozen space shuttle launches. Today he serves as a resource for authors, museums, astronauts and others. He lives in Bloomington.

My Voice: Essays on the Warm and Funny Moments in Life

By Donna Reed. Champaign, IL: The News-Gazette, Inc., 2015. 68pp.

Summary: My Voice is a compilation of short essays first published in The News-Gazette in Champaign. Donna Reed evokes childhood memories, as well as everyday humorous moments and holiday traditions.

She writes about commonplace annoyances: dealing with a washing machine that doesn’t sound right, the conundrum of getting used to clothes not worn for several months during the transition between summer and winter wardrobes, and sharing the kitchen countertop with her husband during meal preparation. Reed also philosophizes on how much our daily communication is with a person’s machine. In fact, oftentimes we’re a bit off balance when a “real person” answers the telephone.

The longest section of My Voice is about Christmas and memories associated with that holiday. Some are humorous (how does one cat-proof the house and still put up decorations?), while others focus on family traditions that bring out the warmth of the Christmas message.

These essays, though less than 500 words each, will bring a smile or, perhaps, a sigh as Reed describes episodes and thoughts that might be similar to our own.

About the author: Donna Mankey Reed ’70 recently retired after more than 30 years of teaching in the Champaign schools as a speech/language pathologist. My Voice is her first book.

Shadowgirl

By Kate Ristau. Calgary, Canada: Lycaon Press, 2015. 160pp.

Summary: Áine lives in the light but is haunted by darkness, according to the back cover of Ristau’s aptly titled young adult novel Shadowgirl. When her fey powers blaze out of control, she escapes into the Shadowlands. But she cannot outrun her past. Fire fey and a rising darkness threaten the light, burning a path across the veil. Her fiery dreams come to life. With the help of Hennessy, an uninhibited Irish girl, Áine dives into the flames to discover who she truly is. Her mother burned to keep her secret safe, and now Áine wields the deadly Eta. She must learn to fight in the shadows — or die in the flames. This is not a fairy tale (back cover).

Shadowgirl is Ristau’s debut novel. Her two previous publications are Commas: An Irreverent Primer and Coarse Grounds: A Coffee Anthology, both co-authored with Maren Anderson. Shadowgirl is quite a departure from a short grammar on a troublesome punctuation mark and a chapbook of poems and short stories about our obsession with coffee. Obviously, it is much longer and a narrative. But, more important, this solo publication demonstrates Ristau’s creative talent.

The opening paragraphs illustrate her facility with language: “Áine’s foot crossed the threshold and darkness consumed her. She put her hands out, afraid she’d fall face-first into the void. But the shadows tricked her, and she stumbled onto solid ground. /p/ She laughed and pushed herself back up, wiping the dust off her cloak. Her voice echoed in the dark, spitting her laugh back at her, and then disappeared into the eerie silence.”

Her journey, albeit into a fantasy world, enables Áine to confront the reality of her fears and, with the aid of friends, achieve a truer, more mature understanding of herself. She explains to Keva, her younger sister, about their father’s weakness: “But he’s paid for his mistakes many times over. … He tried to make you safe. To fix what he had done. But he couldn’t. And he had to live with that” (135). Shadowgirl follows the tradition of the bildungsroman in a narrative that will appeal to contemporary young adult readers.

About the author: Kate Anderson Ristau ’03 writes young adult and middle grade fiction. Her writing goal is to combine magic and myth to create memorable stories and characters. She is currently working on a middle grade series informed by Greek mythology, pagan theology, and magic. Ristau and her husband live in Portland, Oregon.

Learn Like a PIRATE: Empower Your Students to Collaborate, Lead, and Succeed

By Paul Solarz. San Diego: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc., 2015. 274pp.

Summary: Dave Burgess opines in his foreword to Learn Like a PIRATE that “Education isn’t just about raising test scores; it’s about raising human potential,” an assertion that any dedicated teacher at any grade level is bound to applaud. The dilemma is that the way to accomplish this ideal often is not so cogently stated. Paul Solarz provides suggestions, based on his years of teaching fifth graders, that will encourage any teacher, whether first-year or experienced, to provide opportunities for students to learn in a meaningful way.

“Unfortunately,” says Solarz in his introduction, “the current state of education tends to stifle” student learning because (1) prioritizing grades fosters a fear of failure, (2) rigid rules suffocate creativity and innovation, and (3) students are not provided enough opportunities to work with peers. He instead suggests a PIRATE model, which stands for Peer Collaboration, Improvement-Focused Learning, Responsibility, Active Learning, Twenty-first Century Skills and Empowerment.

Learn Like a PIRATE is divided into two sections. The first describes student-led classrooms, and the second provides elements to promote student leadership. In Section 1, Solarz assures teachers that they are not abdicating their responsibility by allowing students to make decisions; in fact, managing a classroom of small groups is harder than leading from the front of the room. But the results are worth the effort.

Section 2 provides specific ways that teachers can help all students, regardless of ability, to learn not only the principles of the topic at hand but also skills to empower them as leaders. The six elements that Solarz’s students develop are peer collaboration, improvement focus vs. grade focus, responsibility, active learning, twenty-first century skills, and empowerment. Solarz’s commentary is directed at teachers, providing encouragement and specific examples of lessons for his fifth grade students. Many of his examples can be adapted to various grade levels, making Learn Like a PIRATE helpful for all teachers.

Active learning helps to develop high-level thinking skills. Our goal should be to develop students’ minds so that they can go beyond merely acquiring information. Thus, our influence will be an integral part of their continued learning after they leave our classroom.

About the author: Paul Solarz, M.S. ’02, has taught elementary school in Arlington Heights since 1999. He was named a Top 50 Finalist for the Varkey GEMS Global Teacher Prize, which seeks to do for education what the Nobel Prize has done for science, literature, and peace. He was also named the 2014 Educator of the Year by ICE (Illinois Computing Educators). Learn Like a PIRATE is his first book.