Michael HutchinsonBesprekingen

I just noticed as I am posting that this is book three, but it read well as a stand-alone. One of the things I liked about this book, as an adult reader, was that it caused me to check my assumptions about who I thought were the likely suspects. Why I would recommend it to teachers and students is that it brings to light how Cree traditions are upheld in modern day and how the paternalistic government policies enacted in the past endure to this day. Discussion points could include; Connection to the land, differences amongst Cree Nations depending on their location, the Indian Act and government control of Indigenous lives in Canada (health, infrastructure etc), the numbered treaties, oral traditions and storytelling, knowledge keepers and who has the right to traditional knowledge, cultural appropriation, and more. The Case of the Burgled Bundle would be a great read-aloud in a Social Studies class studying the Numbered Treaties.

This short story is about a group of Native American family members who solve mysteries. This seres not only educates kids about Native tribes but on their history. I would recommend this series based on the student's understanding and reading level.

What I appreciate about this series is that Hutchinson takes on important conversations that are happening in the Indigenous world with each title and makes it something that kids or outsiders can understand. In this case, it's the controversy over people (especially authors) sharing sacred knowledge that isn't meant to be shared. He also takes the opportunity to talk about treaties and what that means for different nations -- or at least what that _can_ mean for different nations, since each nation is unique. The Muskrats continue to be a really good group of kids, working well with their Elders and bringing their own backgrounds to the story. The mystery is a good one, as well, with constant reminders not to leap to conclusions. Very well done.

Wait, this is book 1? Well, ok -- so it does drop you in the middle of things, and it reads like a sequel rather than a first book. However, it's a great story, the community on the Reserve is close-knit and interesting to read about. The Muskrats are a great crew and I love that they all have different talents. Really enjoyed that half the story was about their older cousin staging a protest and attempting to become a water protector, even if the resolution was muddy. The push and pull between needing jobs and protecting the environment is always going to be muddy. Very Canadian/First Nations specific.

I'm really impressed with this book -- there aren't many books for kids that tackle the topic of indigenous adoption, and this does it very well. I also appreciate that the mighty muskrat books do a good job of portraying what it is like to be a young person who's parents aren't available for constant supervision. I can't remember the last time I read a book for this age group in which a group of older elementary kids were left on their own to explore a city. It's clear that the family members they are staying with are loving and attentive and are paying attention to the their comings and goings, but it reflects a level of independence and responsibility that many wealthier kids don't experience until they are older. There are some really scary moments that happen because of this situation, but just like I remember from being a kid in the 80s, there's a lot more expectation that you take care of yourself.

I also liked the storyline -- I liked that they managed to navigate several research and governmental systems in order to find their missing auntie. I was frustrated with the withholding behavior of one of the characters, and deeply moved by the eventual virtual meetup of the grandfather with his sister's adoptive family. This is not an easy story to read, but it is a very important one.

Atim, Samuel, Chickadee and Otter form the Mighty Muskrats. In this volume, elders and members of the Cree Nation are gathered for an Assembly. But the Treaty 12 bundle, an important legacy of the nation, goes missing. The kids try to figure out who might have taken it: the local toughs, the grumpy Lone Man, or the young men tasked with guarding the bundle? The author's note explains that he did not try to explain the details of the bundle or of the Assembly, so some readers may be confused by the cultural and technical references. I would encourage readers outside of First Nations culture to lean into experiencing the aspects of indigenous culture and try not to worry about what they don't fully know.

The Case of the Burgled Bundle stands as a particularly strong entry in author Michael Hutchinson's Mighty Muskrats series. It offers a gripping, tight mystery that I think really speaks to Hutchinson’s deft ability as a writer. Complete video review at https://youtu.be/hJ5VHj_BzWw

(I received a digital advance copy of this book through NetGalley)

A laugh out loud book about sailing. Very, very funny.

The "Mighty Muskrats" are a group of young people who solve mysteries and The Case of the Missing Auntie is their second series-outing. They're on their way to attend an Exhibition in the city, but they've also learned that, years ago, their grandfather's little sister was adopted by strangers through a process referred to as "scooping." These children were adopted without their families' consent and they essentially disappeared - forever separated from their families and communities. So even while excitement looms for the city's offerings, the Mighty Muskrats decide to try and solve what happened to Grandpa's missing sister. Along the way, they learn some hard lessons about betrayal by someone they trust, as well as gain some unexpected allies. This book would be a great option among students who enjoy reading genre fiction, especially stories in which the mysteries are tackled by a team of sleuths.

(I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley)

This is a well-written, informative book about one of my favourite subjects, the brain. However, the version I read was from 1986, and I kept feeling that the book was somewhat out-of-date. I now see that the latest version is from 2014, so others can read that one.

I am myself using Bill Harris´s brain synchronization programme, Holosync, with some success, but there was no information on that, obviously, the edition being so old.

We´re told of brain experiments with rats showing how, when placed in an “enriched environment”, they become smarter, and whose brains increase in size. (Not that I approve of animal experimentation.)

Then we´re introduced to various, fascinating machines which were shown to stimulate the brains of humans, including those with a variety of neurological problems, including Down´s syndrome, mental retardation and learning disabilities; the subjects were shown to have “astonishing recoveries of mental abilities or sharp increases in a variety of brain values”.
The focus of the book is about examining these tools as a means of stimulating already healthy brains and provoking them into greater-than-normal growth and higher-than-ordinary capabilities. The author states that “the ultimate creative capacity of the brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”

We are informed about the work of Ilya Prigogine, a scientist Bill Harris was much inspired by. Prigogine discovered that order arises because of disorder, not despite it, and life emerges out of entropy (“a quantity expressing how much of a system´s thermal energy is unavailable for conversion into mechanical work”), not against it.

However the chapter on Prigogine´s theory of dissipative structures, for which he received the Nobel Prize, was somewhat difficult for me to comprehend, and it was not terribly clear what all this had to do with the subject on hand, apart from the fact that the brain apparently is a dissipative structure (dissipate = to disperse or disappear), and neither was it clear to me what dissipative structures actually were, except for the fact that the brain apparently is one. So I will refrain from attempting to explain the matter.

The author refers to the second law of thermodynamics without explaining what this is, neither does he define “dissipative structures”.

When stimulated, the brain is pushed into a higher level and spontaneously “transforms itself into a new state, more ordered, more coherent, more complex, more interconnected, more highly evolved than before”.

I found Michael Hutchison´s explanations abstruse and lacking in definitions, thus making the material hard for the non-scientifically gifted reader to comprehend.

The author himself tries various exciting brain-enhancing machines and presents us with his experiences. These machines were 1) a transcutaneous Electro-Neural Stimulator (a TENS unit), which caused the brain to release large quantities of pain-killing, euphoria-causing endorphins, 2) the Alpha Stim, mostly used for pain relief, but which also provides “electronarcosis”, characterized by deep relaxation, heightened awareness and a sense of euphoria”, 3) the CAP Scan, where one oneself can observe the brain and interact with it, changing various colours in order to produce various positive effects, 4) the Mind Mirror, where five patterns can be identified – high beta activity, symmetrical alpha rhythms, “alpha blocking”, symmetrical alpha and lesser-amplitude theta, and finally “the awakened mind, lucid awareness, the fifth state”.

Then there is an exciting chapter about Robert Monroe´s renowned Hemi-Sync. Monroe was the definitive investigator into out-of-body experiences as described in his three thrilling books. The author of the present book attended a seminar at the Monroe Institute and listened to many Hemi-Sync tapes every day, each one taking the participants “progressively further away from ordinary consciousness into expanded awareness”.

Further chapters deal with the Synchro-Energizer, the Graham Potentializer, Tranquilite and the Flotation tank.

To sum up, I found this book to be in part immensely gripping and stimulating, and will now google the various mentioned apparatuses to see if they are still available, which I assume they are. The only problem was that the text was in part not easily comprehensible, and necessary definitions and an index were lacking.

I would recommend the book in the newest edition for all those interested in brain development and such machines as assist in this.