Fearless by Paula Dail is a book adapted from a real-life story. It revolves around Maggie Corrigan, a 17-year-old Catholic girl who’s the eldest of seven children in South Chicago. Oppressed by patriarchy and religious boundaries, this is an empowering tale of a woman who survived nonetheless. When she is faced with the choice of either marrying and bearing more children or joining the Convent, her choice is clear. Maggie instantly realizes that she can’t possibly raise more children, and since the cause of her mother’s death was extensive childbirth, she decides to dedicate her life to God. In the turn of events, when the wider women’s movement takes control, Maggie openly stands up for women’s reproductive rights in a male-dominated society, and that’s when people realize that Maggie Corrigan is truly fearless. 

Paula Dail has written an incredible masterpiece that is one of a kind. Fearless is an empowering book that is guaranteed to wake the feminist inside you. The fact that it is based on a real-life story makes it even more special and inspiring. Dail has written amazing characters that are fun to read about. Dail’s ability to write vivid details, a realistic setting, and lovable characters made this book easier to visualize.

The protagonist, Maggie Corrigan, is a strong-headed female character who’s seen as a Saint by some and a heretic by others. She is seen surviving in a patriarchal society where she is oppressed and bound by religious obligations, but that doesn’t stop her from voicing her demands. Maggie’s fearlessness and strength to stand up for women’s reproductive rights are applause-worthy and a source of inspiration for several young women around the world who are stuck in similar situations.

Fearless contains an important lesson: no matter the circumstances, if someone is dedicated and courageous enough, they can use their voice to stand up for their rights and succeed. This stirring book is an emotional roller coaster and contains an amazing message.

Pages: 388 | ASIN : B0B5B8Z36G

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/03/fearless/

Have you ever found yourself trying to help someone with a task but then finding yourself making an even bigger mess? In What A Muck by Linda Sachs, Drew finds out the answer to that question is an absolute yes!

While Mom and Drew are packing up the car with gardening tools to go help Papa Lou in his garden, Drew accidentally locks the keys inside their car, they must walk to Papa Lou’s house in the hot sun, leaving them unable to garden and clean up the muck.

Now Drew has another idea. Drew wants to help Papa Lou, so Drew hops in the truck and proceeds to pull the stick shift down. The truck begins to roll away. Thankfully before the truck could crash into a pole, Drew was able to clean up the muck and knows now that it is important to ask how to be helpful.

In this charming rhyming children’s story, we follow young Drew, who only wants to be helpful but causes some chaos instead. Drew’s heart is always in the right place, but it is hard to figure out the correct way to help. I felt the situations Drew got into could realistically happen to other children; this makes the story both comical and frightening. This amusing story reminded me of reading about Curious George with all the unintentional mishaps that Drew ends up in.

The author has a great vision with the message in the story, such as that it is important to want to be helpful but even more important to ask HOW to help. In addition, I enjoyed that the book also shows children playing an active role in activities with family, which is extremely important for children’s self-esteem.

What a Muck by Linda Sachs and illustrated by Katrina Sachs is an entertaining picture book that shows children the importance of not just helping but making sure they are helping in a manner that is actually helpful. This would be a great aid in teaching children the importance of communication, teamwork, and trust.

Pages: 31 | ASIN : B09XWHT8SL

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/03/what-a-muck/