Teri Kanefield

Andrew Jackson, the second book in The Making of America series from Teri Kanefield, is an important work both for helping middle school children understand the development of the country and for offering some insight into the kinds of people some of today's politicians admire.

While I find Jackson to be anything but a man worthy of much admiration in 21st century America he played a large role in the shaping of the country. Because of that his story is indeed an important part of history. show more Kanefield does a remarkable job of presenting the man in a fair and accurate way (something I would have struggled to do without pointing out the obvious negative implications for our current predicament). By doing so students can question during classroom discussion how or why some things were accepted and even encouraged. A slanted presentation would have caused lock step reactions on all sides and would not have helped to either promote debate or actually teach the nuances of history.

Like the previous volume (on Alexander Hamilton) this book will be a valuable addition to both home and school libraries as well as a wonderful addition to the classroom itself. In addition to Jackson's story there are plenty of sidebars with ideas, incidents, and terms that will allow this book to serve as more than simply a biography of Jackson.

Kanefield tells his story in a coherent narrative that leads from important historical event to important historical event while also showing how Jackson's personal life and psychological makeup contributed to his actions during those events. When too much importance is given to a charismatic person then that person's personal strengths and flaws become ever more important because we are giving them so much power. There is a warning here even if it is not made explicit (as expected from a good history book) about personal vindictiveness and pettiness when given power. Combined with a less than astute ability to pay attention to details (sounds like right now) and long lasting harm can result.

I would recommend this to both schools and parents. While the book itself is balanced it certainly invites discussion about both history and government, so where one might sit on the political spectrum won't matter. Kanefield does not judge Jackson here, she tells his story,often in his own uneducated words. show less

This is a beautifully written look inside a deeply dysfunctional family.

The story is told so vividly from the child’s perspective that you genuinely feel the weight of growing up with emotionally immature, narcissistic parents. The constant invalidation, the isolation, the slow erosion of a child’s sense of self. It’s heartbreaking in the best way a book can be.

I won’t be leaving a star rating, I don’t usually rate memoirs. Finding out at the end that this is the author’s own show more lived experience. But if you like well written, family and resilience stories this book would be for you.

If you’ve ever wanted to understand the long shadow that damaged parenting casts on a child, read this one.

Received a copy via giveaway, all opinions my own. show less

Alexander Hamilton by Teri Kanefield is a timely book on an often overlooked figure.

This biography serves as a wonderful introduction to both the person of Alexander Hamilton as well as an overview of the various arguments over how the United States would function. The narrative will keep young readers interested yet Kanefield masterfully incorporates a multitude of teaching points into the story.

As a biography the work, of course, focuses on the ideas and thoughts of Hamilton. Yet the show more opposing ideas of the other founders are given a fair accounting as well, which will help students to understand the differences in locating power in government in different places.

Also of interest to educators are the various sidebars which explain terms (such as tariff or Articles of Confederation). These are kept brief but provide enough information to help the reader better understand the events taking place in Hamilton's life.

The writing, as I have come to appreciate in Kanefield's work, is clear and concise. For the target age group, 10-14, this will be an interesting and relatively easy read but will also help to expand both vocabulary and comprehension. I can envision this being a central source for a classroom debate on type of government with students taking Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian positions.

Hamilton's inclusive ideas on who should be included in the freedom the new country was promising can serve as a jumping off point for discussion on far more than form of government or type of economic system is best. Such discussion in the classroom can be used to help students learn empathy and compassion in addition to facts and figures.

I would highly recommend this book to any parent wanting to supplement their child's education (the discussions I envision for a classroom would be equally valuable in the home) and for any educators seeking engaging reading material for their classrooms. show less

Free to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Teri Kanefield is an example of biography at its best. The reader gets to know both Ruth and Justice Ginsburg, though Kanefield does a great job of making it clear that the personal and the professional are intimately bound together.

Many biographies of professionals either get bogged down in specialized jargon (true of books about scientists, lawyers and doctors to give a few examples) or, in order to avoid the jargon, become strictly a biography of the show more person outside of their profession. Neither present a compelling picture to most readers. Kanefield uses a minimum of jargon (which is covered in a short glossary in the back) yet gives a thorough account of Ginsburg's legal career in language a layperson can readily understand. Ginsburg's personal life is woven seamlessly into this story (or perhaps the professional is woven into the personal) so that the reader comes to understand Ginsburg's motivations.

An early chapter served as a valuable key to understanding Ginsburg's life even though it spoke very little to it directly. In this chapter, chapter 3, Kanefield gives an important overview of women in the legal profession up to the mid-20th century. This bit of contextualizing helps us to better understand the obstacles, both well-intentioned (theoretically) and not, that stood in the way of any woman who thought that "we the people" included her. In many ways this biography serves as an important next chapter in that history.

I would highly recommend this to any reader who likes biographies, particularly those who enjoy reading about trailblazers. The writing keeps the story flowing smoothly while also being very instructive (for those of us who were deficient in this area). I would also recommend this to readers all along the political spectrum, maybe the better we understood each other the easier it would be to find common ground.

I received a copy of this book for an honest review and am so happy that I did. show less