Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan

Due to the 'depressing' books I have been posting recently, here is a cute one to share with your tots! It will make anyone smile.

Publisher: Walker Children's

Release: February 1st, 2011

Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan is a close examination of what happens to friends that don't like to share. Sticking to a fantastic rhyme scheme that is easy to read, Ryan effectively conveys that friendship requires cooperation. Frog and Bunny break up because of a tug-of-war battle over a robot, resulting in Bunny and Frog retreating from each other with a piece of the disembodied toy. They are lonely and realize playtime is no fun without each other. To reunite, Frog and Bunny wrap up their respective pieces of the robot and exchange gifts. The reassembled robot represents their delicate, but important friendship. Without each other they cannot fight monsters or enjoy peanut-butter sandwiches.

The adorable sounds throughout Ribbit Rabbit are the result of skilled word-play on behalf of Candace Ryan. Her fantastic and emotional story is complemented nicely by Mike Lowery's illustrations that are simplistic but thoughtful. It is obvious when Frog misses Bunny, and we can see Bunny struggle as he wraps his 'gift' for Frog. The color scheme is gentle on the eyes; blaring white pages are nowhere to be found. Ribbit Rabbit is a must for any Kindergarten classroom.

Rape New York by Jana Leo

Publisher: The Feminist Press at The City University Of New York(CUNY)

Release Date: February 2011

Rape New York by Jana Leo is an exploration of the harsh realities of life in New York City. The book opens with the author returning home, only to discover she has been followed to her apartment door by a gunman. She gives all of the vivid details of the home invasion – her begging the armed man if she could keep a dollar to asking him to wear a condom. Jana Leo spends some time introducing us to her life, explaining why she lived in Harlem and how she hoped that her and her white boyfriend would fit in because they were impoverished. She didn't want to be viewed as someone who was determined to push out the resident population. She devotes a section of the book to a method of gentrification: how violence is Harlem is being used to devalue the buildings which are then bought and demolished to make room for condominiums. She also discusses how apartment buildings are left unsecured, allowing criminals to travel rooftops undetected. Understandably, rape altered the life of Jana Leo. It became the focus of her studies and her life. Rape is not an uncommon event that happens in a foreign location – it often happens in or around the victim's home.

For a female reader, Leo's book is frustrating. She acknowledges that strict fire safety codes are in place for buildings, but no enforced codes to protect tenants from criminal activities. There are basic regulations pertaining to secured lobbies, windows, and gates; however, such regulations are poorly enforced. The book spends a great deal of time expressing the disinterest the police showed in Leo's rape. They did not place surveillance around her former apartment, they were uninterested in where the rapist lived, and they didn't care that the rapist intended to kill her if she reported his crime. Although odds were not in her favor, Leo did not give up on finding justice. With Rape New York, we are with Leo from beginning to end. We see her as a victim and as someone fighting for her value as a human being.

Leo's book truly dissects New York City and shatters the Hollywood image it carries. It reveals a New York where slumlords reign while residents work minimum wage jobs and fear for their safety. Her book addresses every fear a woman could possibly imagine. Every female reader will have an easy time relating to the concerns addressed by Jana Leo. Rape New York is a well composed book that reads quickly – it will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end. If Leo intended to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of readers, she certainly has succeeded. The reality of life in New York is horrifying.

Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law - John Hasnas

Publisher: CATO Institute

Release: March 2006

Trapped by John Hasnas examines the evolution of court rulings and laws that allow prosecutors to circumvent the personal rights of defendants. He uses the 1906 case of Hale v. Henkel as his jumping off point to discuss the state of corporations under law. Prior to 1906, a corporation could not be criminally liable for any action because corporations were not viewed as entities. It was the outcome of Hale v Henkel that allowed corporations to be viewed as beings and thus could be charged with criminal intent. The courts did not, however, revisit the rights granted to individuals and so the Fifth Amendment was never applied to corporations. Hasnas outlines neatly how a prosecutor could easily force self-incrimination upon an individual without any roadblocks from the Fifth Amendment. He also discusses how broad statutes allow the indictment of high-profile executives who publicly declare their innocence of offenses they are not charged with based upon said claims of innocence.

In the second section of his book, Hasnas explains how white-collar crime laws force businesses to make unethical decisions. If your assistant is being charged with a white-collar crime and you are certain of his innocence, what would you do? Ethics dictates that you would defend your employee and even aid him with legal fees; however, the law makes this illegal. As a manager you must decide to help your employee, or to help your stock-holders. If you aid your innocent employee, you risk the entire firm because any affiliation with the employee is considered obstruction of justice. Instead, as a manager, you must fire your loyal employee and help prosecutors convict him even if you are certain of his innocence.

Hasnas concludes that ethics and compliance do not co-exit in the realm of white-collar laws. His book reads like college level political science text, but is filled with information if the reader is patient. I suppose this book would work best as an assigned reader in a college level course, and it would be a great addition to the libraries of the politically inclined. I consider myself a bit more politically 'aware' than the 'average' Joe and this book made sense to me, especially when I applied the examples to real world encounters(such as the Anonymous tip lines corporations provide for their employees). This book will shatter the security of anyone who believes they can report corruption with the protection of anonymity.