Anna L. (annalovesbooks) reviewed on
ISBN 1416975284 - I chose to read and review this book for two reasons. One is that I review more children's books than anything else lately. The other is that I wanted to know how much propaganda and how much truth could make it into a book that is aimed at children between the ages of 4 and 8. I'm disappointed in some ways; McCain fans, however, will enjoy the book.
Meghan McCain tells the life story of her father, John McCain, beginning with his birth on a naval base in Panama. Born into a naval family, it was taken for granted that he would continue the family tradition, but it took a while for him to decide that for himself. Once in the navy, McCain knew he wanted to fly and, despite a crash and a fire onboard an aircraft carrier, he did - until, during the "Vietnam War", he was shot down over Vietnam. Taken as a prisoner of war, he was held for five and a half years before he was able to return home. Soon after, he met Cindy, who would become his wife, and they started a family. McCain could no longer fly, due to injuries from the war, so he began to pursue a career in politics. His political career, up to his two runs for the presidency, cap off the story.
There is, obviously, a great deal of political argument to be made of the information in - and not in - this book. Nothing negative is said, and probably shouldn't be - this is, after all, his daughter writing and she's writing for children. It is, for example, probably for the best that she doesn't talk about her father's years of torture; she just says he was "treated badly". This accounts for a great deal of missing information that, for an adult, is incredibly important. It does not account for the fact that Meghan never mentions John's first wife or his children with her - too bad, because in this day and age, many children would find that something they could relate to - although she does mention her own full siblings and her adopted sister. Sadly, the absence of some very big facts and the presence of some distortions (other POWs were offered the chance to leave, as well; McCain was as much a hero for saying "no thanks" as the rest of them were, but he wasn't unique in that way) does mean that the book is lopsided and inaccurate. For adults, this is a negative; for adults who want "non-fiction" books for their children to contain reality, it's a big negative. On the other hand, there are, without a doubt, parents who just want to introduce their children to John McCain, a man they consider a hero, and those parents will find themselves delighted.
Children, especially boys, will enjoy the story which, all else aside, is an exciting tale full of adventure. The oversized book with sprawling, glossy pages gave the illustrator a big canvas to work on and Andreasen's illustrations have me torn - they are, absolutely, well done. The only trouble is that every child I've shown the book to recognizes John McCain's face... and wants to know why he's black. The illustrations are heavy on a sort of cross-hatch pattern of lines that gives the appearance, in several cases, of darker skin than the people actually have in real life. Were it not for this election, I doubt the kids would notice or care about skin color. At the same time, were it not for this election, I don't think kids would recognize John McCain at all. The book is clearly political, since Meghan begins and ends with the idea that her father would be a great president. It's possible that the timing of the release of the book explains the terrible, almost abrupt and incomplete, ending - it would have made more sense to wait until the election was over and end with the results.
The promise of the dustjacket, that "Meghan McCain shows us the public John McCain and the personal John McCain in a way we've never seen before" is not true, it's pure hyperbole. Nothing in this book is new; there is no unique look at the personal side of the man, there are no new and interesting details, there is nothing special here. Anyone hoping for insight will find that Meghan McCain seems to know as much about her father as we do - and maybe less. In the end, this is not a stellar, in-depth biography. And that's okay. The book wasn't written for political activists, it was written for children. But, for failing to live up to the hype, and for cherry-picking reality (and cherry-picking "family"!), I can't find the book to be more than average.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Meghan McCain tells the life story of her father, John McCain, beginning with his birth on a naval base in Panama. Born into a naval family, it was taken for granted that he would continue the family tradition, but it took a while for him to decide that for himself. Once in the navy, McCain knew he wanted to fly and, despite a crash and a fire onboard an aircraft carrier, he did - until, during the "Vietnam War", he was shot down over Vietnam. Taken as a prisoner of war, he was held for five and a half years before he was able to return home. Soon after, he met Cindy, who would become his wife, and they started a family. McCain could no longer fly, due to injuries from the war, so he began to pursue a career in politics. His political career, up to his two runs for the presidency, cap off the story.
There is, obviously, a great deal of political argument to be made of the information in - and not in - this book. Nothing negative is said, and probably shouldn't be - this is, after all, his daughter writing and she's writing for children. It is, for example, probably for the best that she doesn't talk about her father's years of torture; she just says he was "treated badly". This accounts for a great deal of missing information that, for an adult, is incredibly important. It does not account for the fact that Meghan never mentions John's first wife or his children with her - too bad, because in this day and age, many children would find that something they could relate to - although she does mention her own full siblings and her adopted sister. Sadly, the absence of some very big facts and the presence of some distortions (other POWs were offered the chance to leave, as well; McCain was as much a hero for saying "no thanks" as the rest of them were, but he wasn't unique in that way) does mean that the book is lopsided and inaccurate. For adults, this is a negative; for adults who want "non-fiction" books for their children to contain reality, it's a big negative. On the other hand, there are, without a doubt, parents who just want to introduce their children to John McCain, a man they consider a hero, and those parents will find themselves delighted.
Children, especially boys, will enjoy the story which, all else aside, is an exciting tale full of adventure. The oversized book with sprawling, glossy pages gave the illustrator a big canvas to work on and Andreasen's illustrations have me torn - they are, absolutely, well done. The only trouble is that every child I've shown the book to recognizes John McCain's face... and wants to know why he's black. The illustrations are heavy on a sort of cross-hatch pattern of lines that gives the appearance, in several cases, of darker skin than the people actually have in real life. Were it not for this election, I doubt the kids would notice or care about skin color. At the same time, were it not for this election, I don't think kids would recognize John McCain at all. The book is clearly political, since Meghan begins and ends with the idea that her father would be a great president. It's possible that the timing of the release of the book explains the terrible, almost abrupt and incomplete, ending - it would have made more sense to wait until the election was over and end with the results.
The promise of the dustjacket, that "Meghan McCain shows us the public John McCain and the personal John McCain in a way we've never seen before" is not true, it's pure hyperbole. Nothing in this book is new; there is no unique look at the personal side of the man, there are no new and interesting details, there is nothing special here. Anyone hoping for insight will find that Meghan McCain seems to know as much about her father as we do - and maybe less. In the end, this is not a stellar, in-depth biography. And that's okay. The book wasn't written for political activists, it was written for children. But, for failing to live up to the hype, and for cherry-picking reality (and cherry-picking "family"!), I can't find the book to be more than average.
- AnnaLovesBooks
