Zoe Weil

After balancing on the edge of science fiction, this read dives into adventure, heroism, and making the world a better place.

Claude and Medea are in the same class but don't have anything to do with each other. When a strange substitute teacher enters the classroom, not only are surprises guaranteed but her words pack food-for-thought. Both Claude and Medea find themselves more touched by the words than most of their classmates. This heads into an unexpected friendship. Despite the secrets each wants to hide, walls drop when they run across a situation, they can't ignore. Soon, Claude and Medea are working together to solve a crime, which will take more than just a few good intentions to crack.

While this read is short, it is jammed full. It starts with Claude, letting his life and personality gain footing with the reader before the odd teacher steps in. Then, Medea gets her chance to shine, although this takes a bit more time. Told in third person, both characters gain depth and personality, and both are easy to root for. It's inspiring to watch how their two, very-different worlds meld together in time to the growing tension of the plot. It makes for a nice balance and keeps the story interesting the entire way through.

Claude and Medea might have to work together to catch a dangerous criminal, but the tension and excitement rotating around that plot-string is only one layer of the tale. The author begins with the strange teacher, who almost tips things into science fiction but shifts into another direction and hits themes surrounding the environment, kindness, and dealing with the world around us. Just when it starts sinking heavily into pointed messages, it shifts again. In some ways, it left a few strings feeling unaddressed...as if casting a wide net to hit many aspects. Still, the increasing pace pushes through and makes it hard to put the read down.

Summed up, this tale hits a huge span of modern concerns, sows seeds of thought, adds a bit of humor, and heads into adventure with tension, too. And all of that in a concise page amount, which won't scare more reluctant readers away. I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed the short, fast-paced adventure.… (mehr)

Just finished reading Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times.

Definitely an interesting read and a worthwhile read. She gives lots of scenarios and how parents dealt with them - she even includes a few brief interview with kids who are humane and what their parents did to get them there.

I'm glad I read it. I wrote down a few other books to read from her recommended reading section. Also has a few facts on sweatshop labor, child labor, etc, etc to get you thinking about how what you are doing every day impacts the great world outside your door and on the other side of the planet.

The only downfall, is every example she uses works out perfectly and well and beautifully and wonderfully. Now, chances are, you aren't going to talk to your child about something and have it end so perfectly - however she does acknowledge that at one point and says if it doesn't go so smoothly at your house, just keep trying. Which I did like, but it would have been nice to read about a family who had to keep trying too, ya know? Also, and this is totally personal and not because the author is a bad writer, but she clearly has issue with people eating meat. The topic of vegetarianism comes up time and time again. The kids she interviews in the back, she makes a point of saying in each of their blurbs when they became vegetarian - I admit, it got old. It felt like her first goal with the book was to teach you to raise a humane child and the second goal was to convert all readers to vegetarianism. I have nothing against it, and have cut back on meat at our house, but we'll probably never go completely meat free and I felt like I was being preached at a bit on the topic. That, is totally me. You might read it and not notice it, but it kept jumping out at me on the page!

Anyway, I think the biggest impact the book left on me is that I can talk to my children about some of these issues - at age appropriate and I can say to them we are picking this product because we not only like it but we believe in the values of the company. And that kids can get involved in some bigger issues even at younger ages and if we see a spark like that in our child, run with it with them, even if you don't necessarily agree with them. (An example in the child protests against animal testing but his mom is a doctor who believes animal testing is important for humans in the long run. The mom didn't agree with her son, but she didn't try to squelch his passion for it either).

Anyway, I give it 4 out 5. And really would encourage you to read the book as well!… (mehr)

“Is your life the message you want it to be?”

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review at the publisher's invitation.)

CLAUDE AND MEDEA: THE HELLBURN DOGS is the inspiring story of two children who, with the help of a quirky substitute teacher, find the strength and courage to become heroes.

Claude and Medea, the protagonists of the tale (tail?), hail from very different backgrounds, though both attend the same prestigious private school. Their young lives take a new, unexpected turn when Ms. Flora Rattlebee fills in for their homeroom teacher for one brief yet eventful week. Without revealing too much of the plot, let's just say that Ms. Rattlebee's consciousness-raising couldn't come at a better time, fatefully coinciding with a rash of Manhattan dog-nappings.

Author Zoe Weil has created an enjoyable, progressive, truly family-friendly children's book. She covers quite a bit of ground, including in her story lessons about speciesism, racism, classism, sizeism, sexism, nepotism, environmentalism, poverty and privilege, bullying, slavery, child labor, littering, endangered species, and civil disobedience. And it's no wonder: Ms. Weil serves as president of the Institute for Humane Education, a non-profit organization that is "dedicated to creating a humane world through humane education," for example, by developing training programs for future Ms. (and Mr.!) Rattlebees.

While this is Zoe Weil's first work of fiction, the subtitle hints at a possible CLAUDE AND MEDEA series. I feel a bit silly saying as much (at 29 years of age and all), but THE HELLBURN DOGS left me with quite a few unanswered questions. Will Claude and Medea again cross paths with Ms. Rattlebee? Will their covert friendship ever see the light of Worthington? What's the deal with the myopic (as in both near-sighted and narrow-minded) Mr. Frool? And, most importantly, will our heroes continue their adventures in direct action? I must know!

During her final class with the students of Worthington, Ms. Rattlebee asked the children to write an essay in response the following question:

"Is your life the message you want it to be?"

She then instructed the students to fold up their essays and place them in self-addressed envelopes:

"Some time, when you least expect it, you'll receive it in the mail. When you do, open it up and read what you wrote, and notice what you think about it, and how you feel. Pay attention to whether you have made your life more the message you want it to be."

I can't help but wonder what Austin, Penelope, Bill, Brent, Meena, Samantha, and the rest of Ms. Rattlebee's seventh-grade homeroom class will be up to when they unwittingly receive the long-forgotten missives from their past selves.

Would that all our lives be touched by a Ms. Rattlebee. Methinks the world would be a much kinder, gentler, more livable place.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2007/06/07/book-review-claude-and-medea-by-zoe-weil-20...… (mehr)