Walsh, Barbara E. The Poppy Lady.

Walsh, Barbara E.   The Poppy Lady.  Boyd's Mills/Calkins Creek   2012  unp  $16.95  978-1-59078-754-0      all ages      Nonfiction        E-BN

     

Moina Belle Michael, a school teacher from Georgia, was in Europe when war first broke out in 1914.  She soon took to the cause of supporting young soldiers who were ignorant of the horrors they were to face.  She moved to New York City with the Red Cross. It was here that she read the poem “We Shall Not sleep.” This poem inspired her to get some red poppies to use as a memorial symbol.  Moina continued to work to convince both national and international veterans’ organizations to adopt the red poppy in support and honor of veterans.  This is an inspiring book for readers and non-readers of all ages.

Layne Johnson’s painting style beautifully portrays the story’s emotions. The paintings are quite detailed, yet they still have a soft, reflective appearance that portrays the sense of the story.
           

Veterans, American Legion, Poppies                          --Linda McNeil

Night Olympic Team by Caroline Hatton

Hatton, Caroline. Night Olympic team, the
Boyds Mills, 2008, $17.95, 978-1-59078-566-9

Explores doping in sports and discusses the efforts of scientists and officials to test athletes and prevent the use of performance enhancing drugs.
At the Olympics, winning athletes are not the only ones who get the gold. There is another Olympic team that does not compete but who nonetheless get the gold anyway. This team is the Night Olympic Team whose job is to monitor and test the urine of the athletes for banned performance enhancing drugs. Hatton states that the night Olympic team is like a group of custodians - keepers of a key Olympic ideal of honest competition. Hatton, a scientist, was a member of the team since its inception in 1984. In this fascinating title, she focuses on the events of the 2002 Winter Olympics, during which time several athletes surrendered their medals due to positive drug tests. Hatton explains the science of drug testing in a conversational manner, beginning with the development of a blood booster medicine, NESP. NESP was developed by the Amgen Corporation for illnesses that cause people to have fewer red blood cells, yet athletes quickly realized that it would benefit them as well, boosting their endurance. Since NESP became available five months before the Olympics, athletes were confident that a test for the drug would not be available. Unbeknownst to the athletes, there was a method for testing NESP usage. Fact boxes provide additional information; color photos nicely balance the text. Includes a glossary, author’s note, resources and an index. Although the focus of the drug scandal is on the 2002 Olympics, this is still a timely topic that will interest students, especially in an Olympic year. RZ