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Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be Roanoke College's featured speaker for Constitution Day on September 17. The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, she was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and served until her retirement in 2006. O'Connor's address will focus on judicial independence and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Bast Center.

Interest in this event has been significant. Roanoke students, faculty and staff can reserve tickets by logging in to www.roanoke.edu/tickets. The tickets allotted for alumni/general public have already been distributed. More tickets may be released to alumni and the general public after distribution to Roanoke students and faculty. **UPDATE** There are no more tickets available.

Another option to get your O'Connor fill, should you be unable to attend this event, can be found in the pages of a children's book. Authored by O'Connor and released in June,  “Finding Susie” is about the longing to have a pet. What follows is a review of the title.

"Finding Susie" by Sandra Day O’Conner
Illustrated by Tom Pohrt
Knopf Books for Young Readers
40 pages. $16.99. Ages 4 - 8.

Reviewed by Kathleen Lunsford

Yes this is the Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner. This is her second children’s book about her childhood growing up on a 300 square mile ranch in Arizona. In this true story Sandra longs for a pet which is hard to imagine living on a ranch. But she was never allowed to have her own little pet. She had a horse and there were lots of animals around but none were pets she could love and hold in her lap. Life on this ranch was somewhat lonely for Sandra when school was not in session. The story is about several of her attempts to keep a wild animal for a pet. She tries a turtle, and a rabbit and a coyote. None of these lasted very long. Her most successful attempt was a bobcat named Bob who stayed for a couple of years before he ran away. Sandra finally gets a stray dog named Susie.

“Finding Susie” is realistically illustrated and well done. It is a book that a child will love looking at especially one that loves pets. The entire book has a special beauty about it. I particularly like the monotone photos of the ranch and young Sandra on the inside cover. The book offers a good opportunity to talk about the Supreme Court and the first female justice. While written for elementary age children it is a book that would be useful for older children because of the author and the Court.

STONEWALL HINKLEMAN AND THE BATTLEOF BULL RUN.  By Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger. Dial. 176 pages. $16.99

Reviewed by Gretchen Hager Tipps

Many parents dream that their children will enthusiastically embrace their hobbies. But surly preteen Stonewall Hinkleman is sure that his parents have gone off the deep end when they insist, weekend after weekend, on his participation in their passion: Civil War reenactments.
He must dress up in a scratchy bugle boy uniform — authentic, of course — and give up any semblance of modern amusement. No cellphones, no Game Boys, no Internet. All weekend long.
Stonewall thinks the only bright spot in the reenactment of the Battle of Bull Run will be Ashby, a cute girl whose nutty dad is over-the-top even for a reenactor.
But when a borrowed bugle hurls the kids back in time to the real Battle of Bull Run, they quickly learn they’re not the only ones who have been transported — they must thwart the efforts of Ashby’s father to change the outcome of the war. The United States as we know it rides on their success, so Stonewall must use all his repressed knowledge of the Civil War to keep history from changing.
Local authors Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger (aka Tom Angleberger, who writes the “What’s on Your Mind” column for The Roanoke Times) write with such urgency and wit that I had a hard time putting the book down. It made me wish I was a preteen again, with few real responsibilities, when I would shut myself in my room, lock the door against my big brother’s “nerd” taunts and escape into just such a book.
The authors have a great memory of preteen emotions, drawing out the drama of dealing with fanatical parents and the tongue-tying agony of a first crush.
They also handle historical details quite well, incorporating them so that they read as part of the story, not like a textbook. Hemphill and Riddleburger take liberties with the battle’s real characters and events for the sake of their storyline, but young readers are never in danger of confusing historical fact with fiction. This is a fun story that will likely help them on their next history test.
And, if we’re lucky, I sense a sequel on the horizon.

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship
by Chris Priestly
Bloomsbury, $12.99 hardcover, 243 pages
 
Reviewed by Heather Froeschl

What better on a dark and stormy night than ghostly tales to scare and haunt? Ghostly tales that involve pirates of course. “Atop a windy cliff, dangling over a stormy sea, lies the Old Inn.” The setting is perfect and the characters heavenly.

Two children are sick in bed, their father the innkeeper having gone to fetch the doctor while a terrible storm rages. Quite suddenly they feel much better and enjoy their tradition of reading pirate tales of horror. A knock on the door alarms them, but being an inn, the children play host to a weary traveler. What follows is a marathon of scary stories, each more gruesome and grisly than the last. Young Cathy is fascinated and ecstatic with the visitor, imploring him to continue, while her brother Ethan is highly suspicious and doubtful of the sincerity of their late night guest. Something about the man is not quite right, and when the storm fades away the children learn that there is much more to be doubtful of.

This rather macabre book for readers aged 9 -12 adds to the trend in darker books for children of late. More in-depth than the Goosebumps habit, this reading has a nice O’Henry type twist. Chris Priestly has a similar title available for more horrific fun, “Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror.” As enticement for reluctant readers, these books should capture the audience; for pure entertainment, they are a hit.

Natalie & Naughtily

By Vincent X. Kirsch

Bloomsbury USA Chilren’s Books. 32 pages. $16.99

Reviewed by Gretchen H. Tipps

Natalie and Naughtily Nopps live at the top of “the greatest department store in the world” — and it has their name on it!

From infancy, prim Natalie did things one way, while goofy Naughtily did them another. But they share a love of exploring their parents’ multilevel store.

The sisters love rainy days the best because those are the only days they are allowed to play in the store. But one very busy rainy day, the family’s butler gives them a note from their parents saying they shouldn’t play there.

Winding their way from the first floor all the way to the top, the girls embark on a good faith effort to help instead. Along the way, they infuriate an evening gown designer, drench a shopper in a perfume called Mischief No. 5, and turn a museum into a playground.

On the ninth floor, which is full of frustrated customers whom Natalie and Naughtily had “helped,” the exasperated store manager sends them home.

The final pages reveal Natalie’s list and Naughtily’s map of their favorite things in the store. Young readers could get lost in the fancy, colorful illustrations on each page as they try to find every item on the list.

Despite the sisters’ disdain for the outdoors and the store’s stodgy authority figures and customers, the children have a healthy appetite for innocent fun — so far. Their blatant materialism and disregard of authority is a warning of their future as the next Hilton sisters.

The whimsical, full-page illustrations easily overpower the mundane writing. Children will be dazzled by the overstimulating world in which the Nopps girls live, but adults might be dismayed by the subtle themes running throughout, namely the absentee parenting and rampant consumerism.