Live It: Cooperation. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Marina Cohen. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4922-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4889-2 (hc.). Subject Headings: Cooperation-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Courage. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Natalie Hyde. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4918-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4885-4 (hc.). Subject Headings: Courage-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Empathy. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Martha Martin. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4915-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4882-3 (hc.). Subject Headings: Empathy-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Fairness. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Natalie Hyde. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4916-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4883-0 (hc.). Subject Headings: Fairness-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Honesty. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Molly Aloian. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4914-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4881-6 (hc.). Subject Headings: Honesty-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Inclusiveness. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Marina Cohen. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4923-3 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4890-8 (hc.). Subject Headings: Respect for persons-Juvenile literature. Social integration-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Initiative. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Robert Walker. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4921-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4888-5 (hc.). Subject Headings: Initiative (Personality trait)-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4

	Live It: Integrity. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Robert Walker. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4919-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4886-1 (hc.). Subject Headings: Integrity-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Optimism. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Robert Walker. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4920-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4887-8 (hc.). Subject Headings: Optimism-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Perseverance. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Kylie Burns. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4917-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4884-7 (hc.). Subject Headings: Perseverance (Ethics)-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4.
	Live It: Respect. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Molly Aloian. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4912-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4879-3 (hc.). Subject Headings: Respect-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4
	Live It: Responsibility. (Crabtree Character Sketches). Molly Aloian. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2010. 32 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.) $21.56 (hc.). ISBN 978-0-7787-4913-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-4880-9 (hc.). Subject Headings: Responsibility-Juvenile literature. Biography-Juvenile literature. Grades 3-5 / Ages 8-10. Review by Gregory Bryan and Kimberley Siwak. **½ /4

excerpt:  

Two weeks later Martin led another march. This time no police tried to interfere, and the protesters marched all the way to the state capitol building in Montgomery. Martin Luther King: “I must admit to you there are still jail cells waiting for us, dark and difficult moments. We will go on with the faith that non-violence and its power transformed dark yesterday into bright tomorrows. We will be able to change these conditions.” (From Live It: Optimism.).

Given the enormous popularity of graphic novels today, it is not surprising to see Crabtree Publishing Company also branch out into graphic novel style materials. Crabtree has a well-established reputation as one of the leaders in the industry when it comes to quality informational book series. In their new “Character Sketches” series, Crabtree marries their expertise in informational books with the booming popularity of graphic novels to innovatively create a graphic novel series of books focused on promoting desirable character traits among young readers.

     The 12 titles in the series focus upon character traits ranging from such things as courage and perseverance, through to honesty and integrity, from cooperation and inclusiveness, through to fairness and respect. The primary purpose of the series is the development of desirable character traits. Additionally, schools might find these books of use in teaching social studies, biographies, geography, environmental concerns, and history.

     Each of the books contains six biographical stories illustrating the character trait promoted in the particular book. The identities featured not only include sports stars, famous entertainers, politicians, and historical figures, but also everyday people who have positively impacted the lives of others. Actual quotes are embedded within the text. Where real-life quotes are used, they are identified.

     All books in the series are 32 pages in length. Each page generally contains three or four separate panels, with most panels accompanied by a short narrative text box and one or two dialogue voice balloons. The books are full colour and the Q2AMEDIA artwork contains sufficient detail that the famous people represented in the books are recognizable.

     The books all contain a glossary, a table of contents, an index, and addresses for relevant web sites. After each story, the authors have included a discussion scenario, entitled ‘What Would YOU Do?’. The books have a sturdy hard cover and strong binding, making them ideal for library circulation.

     Live It: Cooperation contains stories including those of NFL quarterback Eli Manning, NASA flight director Eugene Kranz, and a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Bernard Kouchner. These role models are known for successes that would not have been possible without cooperating with others.

     Canadian hero Terry Fox adorns the cover of Natalie Hyde’s book, Live It: Courage. Other courageous heroes featured in the book include pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart and civil rights activist Rosa Parks. A lesser-known model of courage is Alfred Williams, who, at 70 years of age, had the courage to attend grade one in order to finally learn how to read.

     In Live It: Empathy, Martha Martin highlights the story of Hannah Turner, who, in 2004, as a four-year-old, inspired the Hannah’s Socks organization. This charitable community group collects socks and warm clothing for homeless people.

     Japanese pole vaulters Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe are featured in Live It: Fairness. Nishida and Oe won the 1936 Olympic silver and bronze medals. Because they harboured doubts about the fairness of the final results, the athletes decided to literally split the medals and create two half-silver, half-bronze medals.

     Molly Aloian tells the story of Newark cab driver Mohammed Khalil in the book Live It: Honesty. Khalil returned a violin valued at four million dollars after the instrument was accidentally left in his taxi. With the contents of a real-life quote, the mayor of Newark is depicted honouring Khalil with the words, “This is a moment where a cab driver in our city saw something awry and did not take personal advantage, but did the right thing, showed character, showed ethics, showed values, showed a sense of love for his fellow man or woman.”

     In 2000, high school sophomore Angie Groh taught computer skills to senior citizens in her community. This story is included in Marina Cohen’s Live It: Inclusiveness, alongside other stories including one about Olympic hockey hero Hayley Wickenheiser. When Wichenheiser was a child growing up in Saskatchewan, she participated in the men’s hockey league and eventually became the first woman to score a point in a men’s professional hockey league.

     Despite a lack of success and motivation in his music career, Bob Geldof became passionate about helping others when he realized his life’s problems were comparatively small. Geldof’s Band Aid project is discussed in Live It: Initiative. Geldof took the initiative to organize musicians to raise funds for, and awareness of, the starving in Africa.

     Nelson Mandela, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Muhammad Ali are three of the six individuals featured in Live It: Integrity. Another person featured is U.S. senator John McCain who retained his integrity despite potential personal benefits whilst a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. As the son of an important American leader, McCain could have accepted the North Vietnamese offers for an early release, but McCain refused to go home before other prisoners who had been captive for longer periods than he.

     Robert Walker is the author of Live It: Initiative, Live It: Integrity and Live it: Optimism. Live It: Optimism features depictions of Michael J. Fox on the cover. Fox is represented as one who has retained his optimism in the face of Parkinson’s disease. In an actual, real-life quote by Fox, the book portrays Fox saying, “For everything this disease has taken, something with greater value has been given—sometimes just a marker that points me in a new direction that I might not otherwise have travelled.” Martin Luther King is another person who is featured in the book for his ability to remain optimistic, even in the face of extreme racism. Singer-musician Jewel is also included in the book for remaining optimistic about eventually fulfilling her dreams of becoming a recording artist, despite setbacks and hardships growing up in a broken family in Alaska.

     Another recording artist who had to struggle to overcome personal setbacks before forging a career as a successful singer is Canadian Shania Twain. Twain continued to pursue her singing dreams after the tragic deaths of both of her parents in a car accident. As such, Twain is featured in the book, Live It: Perseverance. The cover of this book has an illustration of Bethany Hamilton, a surfing champion who lost an arm in a shark attack in 2003 when she was 13. Just a month later, she was back in the water on her surfboard—a model of perseverance in the face of the most severe setback.

     David Suzuki’s passion for the environment is featured in Live It: Respect. Suzuki advocates respect for, and preservation of, the earth’s natural resources. In another story, Dr. Doris Allen is portrayed showing respect for different cultures in her work with Children’s International Summer Villages.

     In addition to Live It: Honesty and Live It: Respect, Molly Aloian is the author of Live It: Responsibility. The final story in this book focuses on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) organization and its founding president, Candace Lightner. Lightner’s 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver. MADD strives to encourage responsible behaviour and to prevent impaired driving of motor vehicles.

   One valuable aspect of the series is that the portrayed role models include children, like Hannah Turner, discussed above in Live It: Empathy. Other featured children include 13-year-old Rachel Zimmerman, inventor of the blissymbol printer, and four-year-old Nora Gross, who, together with her father, founded the Common Cents Foundation to help the homeless. Another positive feature of the series is the portrayal of women and girls as strong protagonists. Females are depicted as active, dynamic forces for change and role models worthy of emulation. Furthermore, we were pleased to find that the identities showcased include modern, contemporary figures to which today’s readers will relate.

     In terms of balanced biographical portrayals, the series focuses exclusively on presenting the subjects in a positive light. This being the case, the books are not an ideal example of strong biographical writing. We recognize that, for the purpose of this series, the slanted representation is acceptable.

    All of the text in the books is in uppercase letters. This proved irritating for one of the reviewers. To a younger generation, an all-caps font suggests yelling, which seems incompatible with some of the highlighted values. The graphic novel design of the series is directed specifically at a hyper-text demographic; unfortunately, it is that same audience who would read all-caps as shouting.

    Despite some weaknesses, the Crabtree “Character Sketches” series of books will be of use for some educators. While we don’t think that the series is necessarily desirable for personal collections, there is a place for the series in schools. As such, we recommend the series for school and public libraries.

Recommended.

Gregory Bryan teaches in the University of Manitoba Faculty of Education. Kimberley Siwak is a graduate student at the University of Manitoba and she is also currently teaching grade one.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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