It's Magic: A Father's New Calling Brings History to Life
Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame Puts a Boy and Historic Figures Together
The Redmond Reporter
September 13-26, 2006
Page 7
Excerpts from a Story by Mary Stevens Decker
Newspaper Cover Illustration by Tek Chai
American dreams. When's the last time you contemplated what it means to be an American? Or how fortunate we are to live in this land of opportunity?
It's easy to gripe about things we don't like and easy to forget that past generations of Americans weathered their own storms. America is not - and never has been - perfect.
But even the most jaded might find a breath of fresh air by opening a book created by a Seattle-area dad, Michael S. Class. Beautiful enough to be a coffee table book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame uses advanced digital photography techniques to place a modern-day boy next to some of our nation's greatest heroes - from famous astronauts, athletes, and inventors to humble immigrants and soldiers.
More than just a photo album, it's a history book with meticulous attention to detail and countless recommendations for further study. But it's not meant to be a text book. Geared to young adults and grades six through twelve, it's designed to enhance curriculum or simply stimulate interest in history.
"I started out thinking I'd do a 60-page book for kids. I originally thought of just including photos and a short paragraph under each," said Class.
Then he talked to his children, Angela and Anthony, and their friends, "and I started to realize they didn't have a handle on history lessons - certainly not the deeper lessons that we learned from history," he said.
Class considers the 225-page Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame to be "not a history book, per se. It's factual, but because Anthony is inserted as a time traveler and observer of history, we learn through him about heroism, courage, and the desire to chart your course in life."
The book's chapters aren't arranged in chronological order, and any chapter can offer a standalone learning experience.
Chapter 2 tells the story of the United States putting men on the moon in 1969, while others leapfrog back and forth between World War I and II, the Great Depression, and scientific breakthroughs, such as the invention of the light bulb and the development of the polio vaccine.
"I didn't pick the historic figures from a list of their importance," Class emphasized. "I picked them based on moral lessons that relate to what's going on in the world today."
For example, he described the story of World War II as a classic tale of good and evil, very much like today's War on Terrorism. Lou Gehrig's story contrasts his clean-living and honorable character with the often scandalous behavior among today's major leaguers.
The facts are real, the photos are real - plus, the book offers thorough checklists of other media than can serve as springboards for additional learning.
"The lists started with me being a history buff," said Class. "But also, one day, when my daughter, Angela, attended public school, I visited her classroom and found the kids watching Finding Nemo."
"I started wondering, 'Why are they watching this?' There are so many great educational movies kids should watch - like Jimmy Stewart in the Charles Lindbergh story, The Spirit of St. Louis. Over the next four years, while putting the book together, my family watched classic movies about important Americans."
From movies, they went on to music, books, and places to visit, such as national parks and monuments.
Kevin Davison, who teaches Christianity and Culture to seventh-grade and eighth-grade students, was impressed by the book "because of how relational it is - it looks at history through a child's eyes and family's eyes, and it offers an unabashed view of history; it doesn't try to clean it up."
The stories of World War I and Ellis Island especially resonated for Davison.
"People often don't want to take a close look at World War I because it was grisly, and most history books look back at it from a British or American perspective. Class looked at it from an Italian perspective, because that was his family's experience," he said.
Davison added, "A lot of people just saw Ellis Island as a stopping point. They don't know about the deplorable conditions the immigrants faced. His family's story could be other people's stories that they never got to tell."
Angela said she especially liked learning about World War II.
"We contacted the National Holocaust Museum and found a man named Alan Zimm, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Virginia. He gave us a firsthand account of what it was like," she said.
Contacted by phone, Zimm sighed, "The young generation, they don't know or want to know about the concentration camps. Many things I went through in five years, you could not begin to write about. You would need to fill ten books."
Zimm, and his wife, who was not in a concentration camp but only survived the Nazi oppression in Warsaw because someone gave her fictitious papers saying she was a Christian, have spoken about the Holocaust at colleges and churches for twenty-five years. They were interviewed by professors at Yale University in the 1980s and First Lady Laura Bush mentioned Zimm's name at a speech in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
"History repeats itself. There's always another Hitler that arises," said Zimm. "That's why kids need to know about World War II."
California Governor and film star Arnold Schwarzenegger is among celebrities moved by the book: Class said they sent him a copy, pointing out the immigrant experiences of his grandfather, and Schwarzenegger responded with a kind letter.
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and Senator Patty Murray have also praised the book - Anthony and his father met both of them and presented the book - along with President and Mrs. George W. Bush, who sent a kind letter after receiving the book.
(Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, ""The book's vivid narrative and captivating photographs transported me through space and time: I felt that I was once again standing on the surface of the Moon in 1969. Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame tells it like it really was in America's early space program - the adventure, the risks, and the rewards. I almost believe that Anthony was there! I think that parents and teachers will appreciate the inspiring message this unique history book holds for America's next generation. I recommend this book to all young Americans, may they take us to the stars and beyond.")
Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame won an Independent Publishers' Outstanding Book of the year Award for 2006: "Most Innovative Concept."
What's next?
"Next step, I really want to do a movie," said Class.
