Authors: Martha Blanding with Tim O’Day

c.2024, Disney Editions

$25.99

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Your dream job is still a job.

You still must be there on time, look presentable and be ready to go. You can love the work and dislike your coworkers, embrace the challenge but hate the drudge, enjoy the process but dread the politics.

The book, “Groundbreaking Magic” by Martha Blanding with Tim O’Day, shows us how we can relish our unique employment situations, downsides and all — and still represent.

On the day she retired from a job she’d had for half a century Martha Blanding took a tour of her workplace as she took stock of the years.

Her parents, who’d lived under Jim Crow in their younger days, wouldn’t have believed the changes Blanding helped make.

Born in 1950, she’d watched Disney programming on television; living in South Central Los Angeles, she had been aware of the construction of Disneyland nearby. She visited the park for the first time when she was seven years old.

Needing money for college in the early 1970s, Blanding applied for a job at Disneyland and was told that they had no employment available – even though she’d seen postings for job openings. Some weeks later, her roommate encouraged Blanding to re-apply.

Reluctantly, she did. And that time, she was hired to work in the kitchen but before her first day on the job, Blanding was tapped as a tour guide and given training at “Disney University.” Due to her stellar work ethic, she was later promoted to VIP guide; over the years, she moved up the ladder to a series of positions that made use of her managerial and promotional skills.

As time passed and the Civil Rights Movement made strides in America, so did Blanding at Disney. She became a gentle activist, so that other minority workers had opportunities to be Cast Members, office staff, and management.

Oftentimes, she said, “… I was the only Black girl there” and “there was no hiding.”

None, in fact; instead, she used it to everyone’s advantage.

When you first start “Groundbreaking Magic,” you know right away that you’re in for a sweet, charming story from a hidden-until-now trailblazer.

You may or may not continue to feel that way.

In this biography, Blanding (with Tim O’Day) writes about creating equality in one small corner of an iconic business, and the story’s told from a POV that’s unique, engaging, and interesting. Fans of Disney will truly enjoy backstage peeks and insider info that takes readers through the decades and to various Disney locales.

What’s not so interesting is that the authors seem to mention every-single-one they worked with, including everyday people who are long gone or that you’ll probably never meet. That isn’t initially the distraction it becomes later but as the number of names increase, your attention is like to lag.

If you’re business-minded, then, and want to read about a corporation changing with the times, you may eventually be disappointed in “Groundbreaking Magic.”

Read it for the personal parts though, especially if you’re a Disney fan. It’s a dream story.

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By Terri Schlichenmeyer

So, who will you vote for?

That’s easy: nobody yet, because you’re still a kid — but you have your opinions. Even so, how much do you know about this important grown-up job? Learn more by reading these three great books on voting…

It was a cold and rainy early November day when Mama said they had to go out. They had a job to do “that, by definition, no one can do for us…” In “Show Up and Vote” by Ani Di Franco, illustrations by Rachelle Baker (Penguin Workshop), the job is done in a big, official building that’s staffed by friendly people. Mama knew a lot of folks there because a lot of people come to vote, and “no matter the weather we do this together…”

Step by step, this book takes little readers from beginning to end of the voting process, showing them how important the “job” is and the many people involved. Adults will love the pride that oozes from these words; kids ages three to five will love the artwork.

Once was a time when the right to vote was shaky, at best. If your child needs to know that history, then “The Day Madear Voted” by Wade Hudson, illustrated by Don Tate (Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin) is the book to find.

It’s 1969, and Charlie and Ralph’s Madear has been looking forward to this day for most of her life. Up until then, Black people had been turned away from the voting booth, but on this day, the boys’ mom dresses up and heads out, taking them along. This is important!

It was “just like being at church” because people were dressed nicely, and they were very excited! Most of them never thought they’d see the day they’d be allowed to vote. When it was over, Madear came out of the booth with the biggest smile on her face! Ralph and Charlie asked her what it felt like, and her words peek into the future.

This look at a chapter in American history is perfect for kids who are trying to grasp the realities and processes of voting, and the act’s importance. Your five-to-seven-year-old will love it.

Here’s another story of a big milestone: “Leo’s First Vote!” by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Knopf).

Leo’s dad just became an American citizen and this fall, he’ll be able to cast a vote for the President! Leo knows how great this is, and he’s very excited – but there are a lot of things he doesn’t understand. His teacher holds a mock election, which helps. Leo’s father helps, too, as he tries to learn all about the issues that are important. Leo listens as the adults debate politics and oops! his dad almost didn’t get registered, which is essential.

For parents of kids ages 5-to-7 who want to understand the process, so is this book.

If these aren’t enough to satisfy your young reader, check with your librarian or bookseller for more. In this election year, these books should get your vote!

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By Terri Schlichenmeyer

You give, and you give, and you give.

No problem. If you can be of service to your community, then that’s what you’ll do. You’ll volunteer where you’re needed. You’ll offer up your time to organize events and gather other helpers. You’ve dedicated your life to public service because, as in the new biography, “John Lewis: A Life” by David Greenberg, you’ve got it to give.

Born into a large but poor family in 1940, John Lewis became a widely respected U.S. Congressman who represented Georgia and fought to advance civil rights legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 through 2020.

Lewis grew up dodging chores in his father’s fields. Instead, he spent most of his time reading anything he could get his hands on. Lewis’s extended family – numbering in the hundreds – never minded much. They knew young John as someone who had big plans for getting off the farm and making something of himself.

Though he was already a victim of Jim Crow laws, and racism kept him from the books and education he craved, Greenberg says that “John’s teenage years coincided with the emerging civil rights movement,” and that became Lewis’s focus. He avidly followed the radio broadcasts of Martin Luther King, Jr., who became a beacon for him.

When it was time to choose a college, Lewis attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, but he “began… to ‘drift away’” from the church because it frowned on his interest in the NAACP. He chose another church and eventually made a name for himself there as a gentle, level thinker and a leader.

By 1960, Lewis had become more active in the effort for equality. In 1961, he met King, who “had a high opinion of Lewis.”

King, in fact, offered Lewis a job but Lewis “felt committed to SNCC,” and turned the great man down.

Still, Lewis kept in contact with King after he went to work with Robert Kennedy in 1968. He was organizing on behalf of Kennedy in Indianapolis when Dr. King was assassinated; he was in New York when Kennedy was shot.

It’s almost impossible in a small article like this to explain the breadth and depth of John Lewis’s days, or of this book. There’s so much to learn, so many anecdotes to explain his work and his life. Since distilling what author David Greenberg offers won’t do justice to either subject or saga, just know that “John Lewis” is about as comprehensive as it gets.

Using archives and other, newer sources, Greenberg dives into Lewis as a whole, taking us back even before he was born. Readers who’ve spent considerable time studying the politician will be pleasantly surprised to find new information here; those who are familiar with Lewis’s Civil Rights work or his politics will devour the until-now unfamiliar parts, making each page a pleasantly dramatic new discovery, like a treasure hunt with an old friend.

Be aware that Greenberg peoples this account of Lewis’s life and his career abundantly, which can be overwhelming unless you devote your time well. “John Lewis” is a book for students, historians, biography-lovers, political fans, and activists.

Find it for yourself. Consider it for gift-giving.

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