Heroes for My Daughter by Brad Meltzer

Article first published as Book Review: Heroes for My Daughter by Brad Meltzer on Blog Critics.

Our children are a precious commodity. Given what we know from our own experiences we want to lift them past the mistakes we have made, and help to elevate them to the level of greatness within them. Often we are never sure how to proceed, so we look for answers to help them grow.

In Heroes for My Daughter by Brad Meltzer he has supplied a group of heroes, lovingly chosen for his own young child. That he would share his own secret to helping her move forward is a wonderful and loving thing by itself.  While we are often heroes to our children, we often neglect to tell them that they are heroes to us as well. To watch them grow and develop into outstanding adulthood is the stuff dreams are made of. Meltzer has chosen to fill his story with the people he sees as setting the examples that make them more, and he explains in his terms how he feels about their exploits.

The stories and descriptions are brave, courageous and full of the strength we often look for in ourselves, and hope we can instill in our families. He runs the gambit from Marie Curie to Christopher Reeve, from Tina Turner to Leonardo Da Vinci. You may not initially understand his choices but he does a wonderful job of explaining, and darned if he does not get you to agree. In his group of 56 heroes, I was surprised to find that I was not aware of many of the accomplishments of this group of erstwhile people. While I only listed a few of the names included, you may deduce that they are all rich or famous, and yet Meltzer went beyond that and introduced us to the everyday hero as well.  They have each individually made a mark on the world in some form, which still resonates today.

I was both charmed and intrigued with the works and found myself unable to put it down until I recognized every single hero and the scope of their courage and accomplishments that put them there. What I found was that while this book is written for his daughter and would be a very excellent choice of gift to start and move them on their journey, it is also a reminder of what we all can still accomplish.

I believe this would be a wonderful book for any library, child or adult. I felt much solace as I read through the exploits of those listed, and will make a place for this where I can pull it out when I am feeling in need of support and encouragement. I believe it would be a fantastic book for a reading or discussion group, opinions on the heroes and their accomplishments could create some extensive discussions.

Rating 5/5

This book was received free through the publicist. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.