Book Review: Heroes for my Son and Daughter by Brad Meltzer

Alexandra Adlawan’s

Book Title & Alexandra's Review

Heroes for my Son and Daughter by Brad Meltzer

Anyone who wants to learn about true heroes

Brad Meltzer wrote these books for his two sons, Jonas and Theo, and his daughter, Lila.

He wrote them to teach his children lessons in kindness, patience, charity, honesty, tenacity, empathy, creativity, and many more through example.

These books are for parents and their children – sons and daughters alike – to enjoy together as they choose heroes of their own.

Each inspiring figure includes a black-and-white photo, highlighted behind-the-scenes information, and a quote. Each passage is short and can be read in about two to three minutes which is nice when you’re sharing the stories with someone with a short attention span.

The Son book contains forty-two featured figures, while the Daughter book contains fifty-seven. However, they both share the same Amelia Earhart passage for some reason.

I learned about some truly amazing people I hadn’t heard of until reading these books. People like Officer Frank Shankwitz (Cofounder of the Make-a-Wish Foundation), Aung San Suu Kyi (Leader of Burma’s Democratic Movement), Chesley B. Sullenberger III (Landed a plummeting plane in the Hudson River), Wangari Maathai (Founder of the Green Belt Movement), and Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Prize Winner).

I was surprised to see Lisa Simpson featured here, mostly because she’s fictional, but the things she stands for aren’t.

Brad Meltzer also includes inspiring people from his own life. I loved reading about his mother, grandfather, grandmother, and wife. But my favorite was his ninth-grade teacher, specifically the picture.

I think writing these books gave Brad Meltzer the idea for the ‘Ordinary People Change the World’ book series so that he could share more about these amazing people’s lives than just a few paragraphs.

I’m hoping Mr. Rogers (Television Host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), Jonas Salk (Scientist who created the polio vaccine), Clara Barton (Pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross), and Eleanor Roosevelt (first lady, activist, and role model) get an ‘Ordinary People Change the World’ book written about them.

Be sure to read the introduction at the beginning of both books.

This week’s Weird but True Facts about Julia Child and George Washington

Before she became a famous chef, Julia Child, worked for the U.S. government during WWII, helping to develop shark repellent and conducting top-secret work in Asia.

George Washington had a Dalmatian named Sweetlips.