Book Description

Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic--the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again. Based on a true story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes celebrates the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan.

Includes instructions on how to fold your own paper crane!

"An extraordinary book, one no reader will fail to find compelling and unforgettable." --Booklist

* A Puffin Novel
* Black-and-white illustrations
* 80 pages
* Ages 8-12

* An NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
* A Child Study Children's Book Committee Children's Book of the Year ... Read more

Reviews (117)

Sadako and the thousand paper cranes
The book was interesting, because it had a good story line. I give this book three stars. This story was based on a little girl named Sadako. The book was about the past,on war. The story did not have much action in this book. It was a really good story. The cover of the book looked interesting and the name of it souned interesting. It was a sad story, it was about a radiation sickness an atom bomb droped on Sadako's home villiage. I recomend this book to evrey body!

Sadako's Life
I think that "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr is one of the greatest books anyone can read. Now Sadako is one of my favorite books. When I read the book I felt sadness in my heart. If you read this book I don't think you would ever forget it. Usually the books that I get are boring in the beginning but this book is exiting in every little detail. The story is about a little girl that named Sadako, and was two years old when the World War 2 had started. One of the bombs made her sick. Then she had to go to the hospital because of the sickness. I guarantee you that this book is great, aswome, and interesting. But in the end it's sad. So read this book if you want to find out more!!

Very important children's literature
I received this book free as a child when another one of my books (from a school book order) didn't arrive in time. Reading it really made a big impression on me and definitely gave me a perspective of the WWII that I would not have heard about in school. It is a short read, but really gets a lot of great information and emotion in that short space. To me this book is just as important reading as the Diary of Anne Frank.

A Wonderful Story
I read this book called "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" because it was so interesting and please buy this book!!! I thought it was sad and exciting. Sadako gets leukemia and she likes to run and make paper cranes. Sadako likes to celebrate Oban Day and go to Memorials. If you want to learn more about "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" buy it now!!!

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sadako is a fine story and it shows how to do a paper crane in the end it is a very sad story to read and when Sadako almost made it to 1,000 paper crane and only made 644 paper cranes she was a great girl who lived in Japan and her friends helped her make 1,000 paper crane her sprit stilled lived.

By:
Eduardo ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

Most comprehensive telling of the Hunley yet to date!
Civil War buffs, 21st Century scientists, teachers, archaeologists, and readers looking for a good "yarn" alike will be absolutely riveted by this book.In the most comprehensive telling of the H.L. Hunley story yet to date, Walker's extensive research includes a variety of primary sources such as letters, African American testimony from Naval Court inquiries, and family photos to highlight the Civil War era - the "first" part of the story.Next, through a subtle color in pages of the text, Walker continues the story in modern times, detailing the 2000 raising of the sunken submarine.Color photographs showing every step of the recovery and excavation (including new scientific technologies), and thorough explanations by the actual recovery divers make this a unique "you-are-there" kind of book.A poignant end to the story is the facial reconstruction of Hunley's crew, and photographs of the funeral caisson taking the crew members to their final resting place in Charleston's Magnolia Cemetary.

Fascinating, readable, colorful account
This is a great story, and each part separately is great, but, together, they make an amazing whole.
The H.L. Hunley was the first submarine to sink another ship, early in 1864, in Charleston Harbor.Built to help the beleagured Confederacy, she was long, narrow and brilliantly designed.Not brilliantly enough, however.Her successful mission was also her last, and she sank into the deep, facing an even longer wait that the Titanic for rediscovery.
Great photographs, compelling reading. ... Read more

Book Description

During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.

At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.

Farewell to Manzanar has become a staple of curriculum in schools and on campuses across the country. Last year the San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the twentieth century"s 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies. ... Read more

Reviews (112)

A beautiful and heartfelt book
Farewell to Manzanar is an autobiography by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston,who was a little girl when she and her family were placed in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The book begins when Pearl Harbor is bombed. She is seven years old. About a month after, Jeanne and her family are moved to Manzanar, where the government has set up camps for Japanese-Americans, who they fear won't be loyal to America. Jeanne writes about Manzanar as the place where her life began. She describes her life there as a child. As the book continues and her family leaves Manzanar, she writes about the impact of Manzanar on her and the other members of her family.
Throughout the rest of her childhood, Jeanne tries to find herself and understand how to live in the world given her race and heritage. She struggles living up to her father's expectations. She does not find total peace with her own identity until she returns to Manzanar thirty years after she first went there.
The book not only focuses on Jeanne's life, but also tunes into the rest of her family's. It shows how her mother feels disgusted by the camp, the way her brother is transforming from a boy to a man, and about her fathers mental and physical downfall.

American treatment to Japanese during WWII
this book is written in first person by Jeanne Wakatsuki. It starts out when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The FBI then sends all of the Japanese living in the U.S. (or at least that area) to live at a concentration camp, Manzanar. But Jeanne's father is separated from the rest of the family because he's arrested by the FBI. 9 months later, he joins the rest of the family, but has now change, he now drinks a lot, has a bad attitude, and beats his wife. To distract herself, Jeanne tries out baton twirling at camp. Finally, the people at m,anzanar are granted freedom when the United States wins WWII because they bombed Hiroshima. Jeanne's father, mother, and sister don't move out yet, they stay a while longer, until they are forced toleave camp. That is when Jeanne's father decides to move near Long Beach CA, where Jeanne meets her new best friend, Radine, the typical american girl. As Jeanne grows, she realizes how racist people are to her just because she's japanese. Finally, she has her moment of glory, but is then ruined by other's feelings of racism. Years later, Jeanne gets married and goes back to Manzanar to see what's left of it, but it's mostly bad memories. i thought this was a good book because since the authors tells us the story in first person, she can add more feeling and emotions to the book. what i didn't like was that some parts were confusing, i didn't know whether she was telling us what was happening right then or whether she was remebering. overall i say it was a good book. the theme, racism, is very clear throughout the entire book.

A story as relevant today as ever
When I first read this book 2 decades ago, I read it to learn about a history that I hoped our government would atone for. In fact, later, the US government did make reparations, and I had hoped that that would be the end of that story.

But today post 9/11, the same issues have arisen. This time, it is not Japanese-Americans, but Americans of Middle-Eastern descent. Today, the US Supreme Court announced its decision in "Hamdi v. Rumsfeld" in which a US citizen of Middle-Eastern descent was being held prisoner indefinitely by the US government even though there has been no trial and Hamdi has no access to a lawyer. The Supreme Court wisely said that this was unacceptable. In many sections of the opinion, the Court kept referring to the lessons we learned from the Japanese-American internment experience that is described in this book.

When times are stressful and we feel like we are being attacked by the enemy, it is easy to conclude that anyone who looks like the enemy should be detained, even without any evidence that that person did anything wrong. I hope that all people who feel that racial profiling is appropriate (or that all Middle Eastern people are suspect) read this book. Maybe this book will change their minds.

Jeanne Wakatsuki A Japanese American
Farewell to Manzanar was written by a Japanese American named Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and her husband James D. Houston. They wrote this book about how her life was in the Manzanar camp. They wrote the book in memory of her father Ko, her mother Riku, and her brother Woodrow M. Wakatsuki. My favorite character in this book was Jeanne's mom Riku. She was a very strong willed and strong minded person. Riku, the mother, reminds me a lot of me because she does some things that I did for my husband when I was still with him.
I can relate to Riku because she was with an abusive and alcoholic husband. I also was with an abusive husband who used drugs. I don't see how we put up with it, but her husband changed and my husband just got worse; I ended up leaving him. I also don't think I can relate to the other characters in the story because I have never been in a camp that had so many rules and boundaries.
I like this book very much because I like learning and reading about different cultures and how they live their lives. Some stories don't have a happy ending but I think this one has a pretty good ending to it. My favorite part of the book was when Ko Wakatsuki had and interview at Fort Lincoln. The reason I enjoy this part is he was being a smart-alecky person about the whole interview and it made me laugh. Ko is asked questions more than one time, and after a while he began asking the questions and it makes the interviewer very mad. My least favorite part about the book is when Mama is being abused by her husband. I don't see how she stood by him that long.
I don't think I would change any part of the story. This story happened in real life to the Wakatsuki family and we can't change what really took place. The story pretty much has a good ending. They got out of Manzanar camp with their dignity.
I highly recommend people read this book about Japanese Americans because it is very interesting to know what happened. It is not easy to hear, see or read about how the different cultures were treated.

Powerful story of an American family's struggle
"Farewell to Manzanar" is by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. In a foreword Jeanne Houston notes that this book, which tells about the internment of a Japanese-American family during World War II, is a true story. "Farewell" is a rich and fascinating chronicle. The Houstons follow the lives of the members of the Wakatsuki family before, during, and after the experience of internment.

The narrative is full of compelling details of the family's experiences. It is particularly intriguing to watch how the internment camp evolved into "a world unto itself, with its own logic"--a "desert ghetto." During the course of the book the authors discuss many important topics: religion, education, anti-Asian bigotry, the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack, the military service of Japanese-Americans during the war, and more.

The Houstons write vividly of the dislocation, humiliation, and injustice faced by the Wakatsuki family. Also powerful is the narrator's struggle to come to terms with her own ethnic identity.

For an interesting companion text, I would suggest "Desert Exile," by Yoshiko Uchida; this book also deals with the internment experience, but from a somewhat different perspective which complements that of the Houstons. I was moved by "Farewell." The book is a profound meditation on both the hope and the tragedy of the United States, in which the "American dream" can become intermingled with American nightmares. I consider this book an important addition to Asian-American studies in particular, and to the canon of multiethnic U.S. literature in general. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

What it was like for kids to live during World War II
"World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities" really has three key components. First, there is a history of World War II from Hitler's rise to power in 1933 to the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. Second, Richard Panchyk provides excerpts from actual wartime letters written to and by troops on both sides along with personal anecdotes from people who lived through the war. Finally, there are 21 activities that can show young readers how it felt to live through World War II, both on the battlefield and on the Home Front.

Actually, the first function is the least impressive part of "World War II for Kids," although Panchyk provides a solid history of the war. It is just that the personal writings and recollections, along with the activities, are where Panchyk goes beyond what you would find in your standard American history textbook, which is why this is an excellent supplemental volume. Teachers can certainly use the activities and quote from the letters found in this volume to give students more of a sense of what it was like to live during that time.

The 21 activities are fairly interesting and cover a variety of subjects. Some are fairly complex, such as substituting a potato for an incendiary bomb and following the instructions on how to extinguish it, or staging a radio adventure program, while others are relatively simply, such as drawing a recruiting poster. There is an exercise in code breaking, learning how to camouflage, making a ration kit, going on a reconnaissance mission, figuring oat a coastal defense, the physics of dropping bombs, and a game that helps demonstrate the difference between mortar and howitzer fire versus anti-tank and anti-aircraft fire. There are also "Home Front" activities like making a bandage, putting together a care package, growing a Victory Garden, sending V-Mail, and extending butter, as well as a couple of activities having to do with the Holocaust by making a Jewish star and trying to find good hiding places in your home for the student and an adult helper.

Obviously some of these activities are going to be more practical and more beneficial than others, but Panchyk has made an attempt to come up with different ways of giving his young readers an idea of what it was like for kids and adults during World War II. Again, while young readers can certainly read this book and try the activities on their own, "World War II for Kids" is even better suited as a resource for teachers to use when teaching the pivotal events of World War II. Comparing what life was like for their grandparents during that war as opposed to the rather limited impact on their lives today during the war on terrorism could be quite an eye opener for young readers.

7 year old loves this book
My 7 year old son is a WWII fanatic and loves this book. It discusses not only events in the war itself, but also the impact of the war on life in the U.S. The activities encourage kids to think about far-reaching effects of war, not just the exciting battles. ... Read more

Book Description

"Think of it as a game, Jack.
Play the game right and you might outlast the Nazis."

Caught up in Hitler's Final Solution to annihilate Europe's Jews, fifteen-year-old Jack Mandelbaum is torn from his family and thrown into the nightmarish world of the concentration camps. Here, simple existence is a constant struggle, and Jack must learn to live hour to hour, day to day. Despite intolerable conditions, he resolves not to hate his captors and vows to see his family again. But even with his strong will to survive, how long can Jack continue to play this life-and-death game?

Award-winning author Andrea Warren has crafted an unforgettable true story of a boy becoming a man in the shadow of the Third Reich.

Reviews (14)

A boy in the Nazi Death Camps
Surviving Hitler, by Andrea Warren, is a story about a boy named Jack Mandelbaum. He is a Jewish boy and lives during the time of WWII. He is separated from his family and lives in a concentration camp. He has to survive in them. He is very determined to survive in the camps because he wants to meet with his family after the war.
During his time in the camps he meets a man named Aaron who gives him vital information about the camps. He also tells him that if he cannot work, the Nazis will kill him. He tells him about the ovens. What I think is the most important rule that Aaron told Jack was that this was just a game that Hitler was playing. Jack was in that game. If Jack lost, he would die, but if Jack won, he would survive the Nazi death camps and live after the war was over.
I recommend this book because it had a lot of good description, great quotes, and a very interesting and unpredictable plot. I would rate this book a 4 1/2 out of 5 and not a 5 out of 5 because it didn't give many details about his life after the war or about the other characters lives after the war. This was an all around good book that I enjoyed very much.

Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps
Boy Survivor
Are you interested in World War II and the Nazi death camps and what it was like for the Jews? If you are, you should definitely read this book. It is a true story about a Jewish boy named Jack. Jack lived a normal life with his family in a Polish village called Gdynia. His family was well off and happy. He loved the beach and got into trouble. He was a normal boy. He didn't really practice Judaism. He didn't understand the war and he didn't care, until the Nazi occupation. That changed everything. Jack and his family are forced into a ghetto and later separated and sent to concentration camps. As Jack is moved from camp to camp, he meets new friends and he finds himself changing. All he wants is to survive. All the time he is wondering what happened to his family and when the war will be over. He is always worrying about sickness and what is happening to his family and where they are. Are they even alive? Sometimes he thinks he should just give up and die, but each time he manages to get through, right? You'll have to read and find out!
I loved this book. I have read a lot of books this year, a few were about World War II, and this was one of my favorite. This book really helped me understand what the concentration camps were like. I had always wondered what is was like and I tried to find a good book but none of them was as descriptive and real as this one. One of the reasons was that this story is true. The depth of this book really gave me a great idea about World War II. I got lost in it and never wanted to stop reading. I definitely recommend this book. I would only recommend it to people who can handle detail and gruesome facts. It has to be in detail, it's true! It may be detailed but it is still one of the best books I've ever read.
This book showed what kind of courage, hope, mental strength and faith it took to survive the camps. The most physically strong person could be the first to die, but the strong in heart were the last survivors.

A boy at camp
Surviving Hitler was about a boy named Jack who was jewish. Jack lived with his mom,sister,brother, and dad. Jack's dad heard that the nazi's were coming for the jews. Jack's dad sent his family to live with his father in a small village. Jack's dad did not go because he did not have enough money. Before Jack and his family left Jacks sister went to stay with her aunt so she could help her aunt with the baby she just had. Jack and his family finally arrive at there grandfathers house. They stay there for a while then the Nazi's come and put all the jews in little houses with more than one family. Jacks father still has not came back to them. One night in the middle of the night Nazi's came and made the jews immediately leave. Jack and his family waited in line and when it was there turn jack showed the soldier that he had a nazi work stamp. Jack thought it would get his whole family through , but it only got him through. Jack was seperated from his family. Jack was moved to several different camps for his good labor. Then he met a really good friend and they were moved to be camp cooks. Jack would have died a couple of days later if he had not worked in the kitchen. You will have to read the book to see if Jack survives or if he will be reunited with his family.

Holocaust Surviving
Surviving Hitler is a wonderful survival story depicting courage, and friendship in a great, breath stopping story about a boy in a Nazi death camp. Jack's faith, courage, and friendship with Moniek help him get through the hard time in his life and survive Hitler. This story is interesting to me because Jack is about my age and sometimes what happens to him can relate to life now. The story taught me about the Holocaust in a way that I could learn it better than usual. Jack can be an idol for people who are going through very hard times in their lives to show them that they can survive it. This book is so good that it is now one of my favorite books of all.

True Holocaust Story
Surviving Hitler is one of the best Holocaust books I have read. I love to read about it and this book makes you feel as if you are acually there with him in the death camps. I like the saying,"This is all a game.You must win to live."It is both dramatic as well as a little bit scary.I hope that people will read this book and realize what life was like for the Jews in concentration camps.This is clearly the best non-fiction book I've read. ... Read more

Book Description

Much more than a biography of Lincoln or a history of the Civil War, this portrait of Lincoln makes our sixteenth president accessible to young readers as a human being, rather than as a historic icon or paragon of virtue. The author, renowned for his award-winning books on great leaders, shows how a principled but imperfect man -- full of intelligence but also of sorrow,logical and determined but also cautious and prejudiced grew under the pressure of personal tragedy and national crisis to become our greatest president.The book is written in a quick-flowing, engaging style, detailed but easy to read. The author effortlessly uses eyewitness accounts -- letters, speeches,diaries, newspapers, poems, songs, memoirs -- to create setting, to show personality, political climate, to give voice to the attitudes and hopes of everyday Americans. The treatment of slavery is especially vivid. All the important events of the war are here, but the emphasis is on people, personalities, human feelings and behavior.As the historian Barbara Fields made clear in the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, the issues of that war are still with us. Perhaps never more than now do young people need to be exposed to the unfailing humanity, honesty, and political sagacity that allowed Lincoln to hold together a country racked by secession, racial hatred, and other divisions. Lincoln had that most uy76precious of all human qualities -- the capacity for growth. His life reminds us that any person can learn from experience and rise above poverty, prejudice, and limitation; and that a political leader can and must embody a profound respect forthe plain peopleand the democratic processes that elevate us all. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Human Side of Lincoln
For the first time, I came to know Lincoln not as an iconified hero, but as a funny, direct, engaging and committed human being as I read this book. The author has thorough notes of very detailed research and tells a story that others omitted or overlooked. It made me want to read much more about Lincoln, especially more of the piercing wit and emotional perseverance shared in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Richie's Picks: HITLER YOUTH
"To continue reading their favorite books, the Scholl children formed their own clandestine reading circle and shared forbidden books with others.Hans found himself in trouble again when a Hitler Youth leader caught him reading a book by a Jewish author.The leader ripped the book from Han's hands.'This filth is forbidden,' said the leader.
"On the night of May 10, 1933, in many German cities, university students and Storm Troopers carried flaming torches and marched behind trucks and oxcarts filled with banned books.In Berlin, Bert Lewyn watched as the Storm Troopers and students tossed the books onto a huge pile and then poured gasoline over it.They touched the pile with their torches.'The whole thing exploded into a column of flame many feet high,' said Bert.'I was too scared to say a word.'
"The work of Heinrich Heine, a German poet of Jewish origin, burned among the books.One hundred years earlier, Heine had warned, 'Where one burns books, one will, in the end, burn people.' "

I grew up in suburban Long Island with quite a few Jewish friends.A bunch of them had parents who stuck them in Commack's experimental Extended School Year Program in the mid-Sixties, as my mom did with us. We were tracked together in high school, worked together on Student Council and National Honor Society, and got together for rock concerts, birthday parties and cast parties.To varying degrees we were all pretty good students and all a little bit wild.

"Although a poor student himself, Hitler had definite ideas about education.For Hitler, education had one purpose: to mold children into good Nazis.As soon as the Nazis came to power, they took control of the public schools, called National Schools.They threw out oldtextbooks and implemented new ones.They rewrote the curriculum from top to bottom, so that it only taught Nazi-approved ideas."

They also threw out any teachers who wouldn't get with the new curriculum, as well as all the Jewish teachers.

Being just one generation removed from the days of WWII and the Holocaust, I have always had a desire to understand how a whole nation could seemingly be accomplices in the murder of six million Jews, some of them close relatives of guys I'd spent weeks camping with and girls with whom I'd often shared saliva.

"In April 1933, the Nazis passed the Law Against the Overcrowdingof German Schools.The new law placed a limit on the number of Jews allowed to attend elementary schools, secondary schools, and universities.'They [the Jews] have no business being among us true Germans,' explained one Nazi teacher to his students"

HITLER YOUTH doesn't totally solve the mystery for me of how you convince a country to commit such unspeakable atrocities and for the world to condone the evolving process for so long.But as with Susan Campbell Bartoletti's previous award-winning books, HITLER YOUTH is an impeccably researched and eminently readable informational book that goes much farther in explaining the inexplicable than any book I've ever read.Much of the power of HITLER YOUTH comes from the author beginning the book with initial presentations of a dozen young Germans from those days--with photos and thumbnail bios--and then presenting significant amounts of the story in the words of those twelve people.

Included among those twelve are a real hero and heroine, two young siblings who would eventually help form the famed White Rose resistance group:

"Without doubt, his father, Robert Scholl, was proud of his son.He had once told his children: 'What I want most of all is that you live in uprightness and freedom of spirit, no matter how difficult that may be.'
"Those were words that Hans and Sophie Scholl would never forget.Over the years, the brother and sister grew deeply disillusioned with National Socialism.They resented the loss of individual rights and personal freedoms.They wanted the right to make their own decisions and lead their own lives.
" 'I must go my own way, and I do so gladly,' Hans once wrote to a friend.'I'm not anxious to avoid a host of dangers and temptations.My sole ambition must be to perceive things clearly and calmly.'
"Sophie said it another way.In her diary she once wrote, 'After all, one should have the courage to believe only in what is good.By that, I do not mean one should believe in illusions.I mean one should do only what is true and good and take it for granted that others will do the same.' "

The Hitler Youth was established in 1926.They were kicking Jews out of school in 1933.I can't help but feel that if you were an adult or young adult and hadn't figured it out by then, you had to be racist, extremely ignorant, or both.That includes a number of American journalists of the time who gave the Hitler Youth movement rave reviews.That people inside and outside of Germany did not raise their voices in outrage during the rise of Hitler cost the world those six million innocent Jewish lives, the lives of six million other "enemies of the Reich" (including homosexuals), as well as the millions and millions of additional deaths and scared lives from among those who fought in WWII.

The lesson for me has always been to cherish my own First Amendment rights and to shout out about prejudice, about invading other countries, about book burning, and about questionable political agendas involving public schools.

It is my hope that readers of HITLER YOUTH will perceive connections with today's and tomorrow's current events and that the book will inspire them to similarly shout out when they perceive intolerance in their world.
... Read more

Book Description

History explodes in this activity guide spanning the turmoil preceding secession, the first shots fired at Fort Sumter, the fierce battles on land and sea, and finally the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. Making butternut dye for a Rebel uniform, learning drills and signals with flags, decoding wigwag, baking hardtack, reenacting battles, and making a medicine kit bring this pivotal period in our nation's history to life. Fascinating sidebars tell of slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad, the adventures of nine-year-old drummer boy Johnny Clem, animal mascots who traveled with the troops, and friendships between enemies. The resource section includes short biographies of important figures from both sides of the war, listings of Civil War sites across the country, pertinent Web sites, glossary, and an index. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A concise history of the Civil War and 21 activities
The two main elements of "The Civil War for Kids: A History With 21 Activities" work independently of each other. In the main text Janis Herbert provides a concise history of the Civil War that provides a more in-depth look at that period of American history than what young students are likely to find in their textbooks at school. Herbert begins with the turmoil preceding succession and the first shots fired at Fort Sumter, the battles fought on land and seas, up to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. The text is supplemented with dozens of sidebar stories providing details on everything from Lincoln's beard and Johnny Clem to what Army engineers did and what "Chickamaugua" meant. The book is illustrated with historic photographs and drawings, as well as battlefield maps. There is a time-line of the Civil War up front and a glossary, guide to officers, list of resources, bibliography and index in the back.

The other key part of this book are the 21 activities that are scattered throughout its pages and provide a wide variety of experiences to give young readers in or out of class. Some of the activities are fairly detailed, such as making a North Star Safe Quilt or your own soldier's uniform, and acting out the battle of Antietam (really, but you need 30 kids). Others are fairly simple, like making a coffee can drum and having a Rebel yell contest. Several of the activities are specific to the fighting of the war, such as creating a code, signaling with a wigwag, measuring the depth of a pond or river, building a lean-to- shelter, and making battlefield bandages. A few of the exercises are duplications of things people would have actually done during the war, such as making berry ink, a housewife sewing kit, homemade butternut dye, and hardtack. Teachers would not be expected to use even half of these exercises, but those teaching a unit on the Civil War can certainly find a couple of choice activities to use with their students. The same is true for all of the other books on history and the arts with 21 activities that you can find.

BOUND TO IGNITE A FEW SPARKS
This is a great book my kids love ( maybe I should give it 5 stars just for that alone ). Lots of fun things to do - we've yet to try the butternut dyeing but as soon as their mum goes to work..... ??? This is just the book to get fathers banned from the kitchen, and probably the whole house as there's so many fun activities to rekindle the childhood we forgot we didn't have ? Hell, just buy it, better value than a family meal at McD's, and the starving would give a real War experience beyond the scope of this fine book.

OUTSTANDING!
After buying Ms. Herbert's gorgeous "Leonardo da Vinci for Kids," I bought this book. Notwithstanding my high expectations for this book, I was not in the least bit disappointed. Ms. Herbert has again written an interesting and informative book with entertaining activities that enhance and reinforce the educational value of the book. As the previous reviewer noted, a small number of the activities in this book really need groups of children to make them effective, but overall the book can be recommended for all.

An interesting aside -- adults who enjoy this book should check out the author's first (and adult) book, which was written under the name Janis Martinson. In "The World Don't Owe Me Nothing: The Life and Times of Delta Bluesman Honeyboy Edwards," the author took the exact words of Mr. Edwards and constructed an fascinating autobiography that is also quite an interesting history lesson.

Great hands on activities
We are using this book for a homeschool unit on the Civil War with eight-year-old twins. The chapters give them an interesting overview of this history of the war, but the hands on activities have really made them excited about what they are learning. We have made hardtack (recipe included in the book), facsimile uniforms, lean-tos, and quilts. Most of the activities can easily be accomplished by one or two kids, but some are more appropriate for an entire classroom. The graphics and photographs are exceptional. I am eager to use other books by Chicago Review Press to supplement our study. ... Read more

Book Description

"This is the story that I tell my grandchildren at Christmas. I hope that this book will bring the tradition of sharing history to families all across America."
-- Lynne Cheney

Christmas night, 1776, was a troubled time for our young country. In the six months since the Declaration of Independence had been signed, General George Washington and his troops had suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of the British. It looked as though our struggle for independence might be doomed, when Washington made a bold decision. He would lead the main body of his army across the Delaware River and launch a surprise attack on enemy forces.

Washington and his men were going against the odds. It seemed impossible that the ragtag Americans could succeed against the mightiest power in the world. But the men who started across the icy Delaware loved their country and their leader. Under his command they would turn the tide of battle and change the course of history.

Best-selling author Lynne Cheney tells the dramatic story of the military campaign that began on Christmas night in 1776. When Washington Crossed the Delaware will teach the young about the heroism, persistence, and patriotism of those who came before them. ... Read more

Book Description

The fascinating story of Roald Dahl's life continues in Going Solo, a marvelous evocation of the author's wartime exploits. As a pilot in World War II, Roald Dahl had some wonderfully exciting— and frighteningly near-death— experiences including encounters with the enemy, battles with deadly snakes, and incredible dogfights. Told with the same irresistible appeal that has made Dahl one of the world's best-loved writers, Going Solo brings you directly into the action and into the mind of this brilliant man. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Roald Dahl Review "going solo"
In the book "Going Solo" Roald Dahl describes every fun and depressing part of his experience as a teenager to adulthood. Its in his hilarious style where no word is boring, and the language is easy to read, lots of photographs took by Roald Dahl himself, and the ending is satisfying.
Everyone dislikes going on wars but Roald Dahl enjoyed it. He thought that it was a free travel and it was interesting. The story is about Roald Dahl's first career in Africa (Sudan) working for the Shell Oil company. When the second world war broke up he joined the royal airforce throughout middle east and the coast of Greece. some of the things he gets himself into and out of are incredible...like when he captures the war's first prisoners, or crash-lands in the desert, or flys in the Battle of Athens...the list goes on and on.
Throughout the book you follow a period of his life, experiencing both the positives and negatives sides of his adventure. You also get to find out how he begins to build ideas, and these ideas become great children books that are so memorable today.
Best parts: all the flying missions, of which Dahl writes so enthusiastically, by a 6'6" pilot crammed into the tiny cockpit of a Hurricane.
Worst: I cannot believe how the RAF could send so many practically untrained flyers into combat in aircraft they had never even flown before

Going Solo was, like all of Dahl's books, wonderful. I only wish he'd have written a third about his later adulthood. unfortunately he died before he could do that.

This is so much better than watching it on Biography!
If you want to show your kid or student that an biography is fun to read, well, in "Going Solo" Roald Dahl describes every fun and depression of his experience as a teenager to adulthood. It is just as fun reading "Matilda" and "The Witches". The language is easy to read, lots of photographs took by Roald Dahl himself, and the ending is satisfying.
The story is about Roald Dahl's first career in Africa (Sudan) working for the Shell Oil company. When the second world war broke up he joined the royal airforce throughout middle east and the coast of Greece.
Throughout the book you follow a period of his life, experiencing both the positives and negatives of his adventure. You also get to find out how he begins to build ideas, and these ideas become great children books that are unforgettable to this day.
This is not just a great read for the Roald Dahl fans, but everyone who loves for adventures and wild creativities. Go get it and start reading!

Great
Great read, moves along very well, good adventure and reflections on author's time in Africa and WWII.

This may be even better than Harry Potter!
Going Solo talkings about Roald Dahl being from an tennager to an adult. In the book, Roald Dahl talks about his experience in Africa working for the Shell company
He also talks about WWII as a raf fighter pilot
His biograph isn't boring like most but very exciting!
I would reccommend this book to most readers who have finished reading the first part of Roald Dahl's biograph, which is called Boy Tales of Childhood
If you haven't read that yet, I suggest that you don't read Going Solo.

gOING sOLO IS GREAT!!!!
tHIS BOOK IS GREAT!!!
Roald dahls bio is actually like a story!
Instead of writing boring stuff about life, Roald Dahl will make u very intrest and will make want to read more
You would n't put the book down until you finish it
And even after finishing, you would dream of it and want to read it again
Another book reccomende is Boy, tales of childhood ... Read more

Book Description

Heroes, traitors, and great thinkers come to life in this activity book, and the concepts of freedom and democracy are celebrated in true accounts of the distinguished officers, wise delegates, rugged riflemen, and hardworking farm wives and children who created the new nation. This collection tells the story of the Revolution, from the hated Stamp Act and the Boston Tea Party to the British surrender at Yorktown and the creation of the United States Constitution. All American students are required to study the Revolution and the Constitution, and these 21 activities make it fun and memorable. Kids create a fringed hunting shirt and a tricorn hat and reenact the Battle of Cowpens. They will learn how to make their voices heard in "I Protest" and how Congress works in "There Ought to Be a Law." A final selection including the Declaration of Independence, a glossary, biographies, and pertinent Web sites makes this book a valuable resource for both students and teachers. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fun activities for teaching the American Revolution to kids
"The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities" sets up the two complementary halves of Janis Herbert's book right in the title. On the one hand we have a fairly detailed history of the American Revolution for young students, with much more of a sense of the ebb and flow of the war itself, in terms of the specific battles, than they will find in their history textbooks. On the other hand there are almost two dozen activities, which will give kids a chance to make this particular period of American history come alive.

The seven chapters start with George III becoming king of England in 1760 and end with the ratification of the Constitution: (1) Sons and Daughters of Liberty looks at the taxation issues that sparked revolution; (2) Who Were the Colonists provides a sense of what these early Americans were like and what they did; (3) "We Must All Hang Together" details the early part of the war through the Declaration of Independence and the battles of Long Island and Trenton; (4) An Eventful Year covers 1777 and the pivotal battle of Saratoga and the winter at Valley Forge; (5) "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" looks at who the soldiers were on both sides and what military life was like for them; (6) "The World Turned Upside Down" covers the end of the war with the surrender at Yorktown; and (7) A Good Peace, a New Nation starts with the Treat of Paris and ends with the Constitution being adopted.

Many of the activities are things colonials would have actually been doing back then, such as brewing a batch of root beer, making Liberty Tea Punch, creating a sampler or papyrotamia, baking Boston Brown Bread and Churned Butter, or playing various colonial children's games (Skin the Snake, Stool Ball, and I Sent a Letter to My Love). Several of the activities are specific to the Revolution, such as making a tricorn hat or fringed hunting shirt, creating a power horn, and trying to get ready in a minute. There is even an activity for reenacting the Battle of Cowpens (requires far less bodies than doing the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War volume of this series). However, there are also activities specific to more contemporary concerns, such as protesting current issues of public concern and making a law. I cannot imagine that any class or individual student would take advantage of all of these activities, but certainly teachers could find a couple that would spice up a class unit on the American Revolution. What you find here can also inspire teachers and students to come up with their own activities.

Still, you want to remember that this book is also informative, and teachers can find additional information to work into their classes as well as the activities. Sidebars throughout "The American Revolution for Kids" are devoted to key figures, topics, and issues from the period. The back of this volume includes a Glossary, A Guide to Officers on both sides, short Biographies of key political and military figures, the Declaration of Independence, a list of Web Sites to Explore, Revolutionary War Sites to Visit, a Bibliography, and Index. You can find additional books combining history and activities on the Civil War and World War II as well as significant art movements such as Monet and the Impressionists and Dali and the surrealists, all of which are worth at least a serious look by anyone teaching this material to younger students. ... Read more

Book Description

Hunter Scott, an 11-year-old boy in Pensacola, Florida, was watching the movie Jaws, listening to Captain Quint tell the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of World War II. “Eleven hundred men went into the water. Very first light, the sharks come cruising. . . .” Hunter had a simple question: Was this a true story?

The story of the USS Indianapolis, the worst naval disaster in American history, is indeed true. So is the story of the shameful court-martial of the ship’s captain, shameful because the loss of the ship was not his fault, and the Navy knew it. Hunter Scott became the catalyst for the survivors’ efforts to clear their captain’s name and set the record straight. This is the story of the ship, her brave sailors, their wronged captain, and a young man’s crusade to right an old injustice. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Left for Dead- A must read
The USS Indianapolis. If this name doesn't sound familiar to you...then you might want to consider reading Left for Dead.
Left for Dead is a Book based on a true story about Hunter Scott, a Florida Schoolboy who did a History Fair project on the USS Indianapolis. This doesn't really sound significant at first, but the book tells you the history of the ship.
The ship was piloted by Captain Charles Mcvay III. It was a cruiser ship, and one of the fastest in the navy. The Ship was always considered lucky, until it was severely damaged by a kamikaze plane. The ship luck ran out, it got torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank. The captain was court-martialed (brought to military court) and he was the one held responsible for the ship sinking.
There were quite a few injustices. It was not the captain's fault the ship sunk, and the navy ignored the SOS signal. The navy also even had the audacity to bring in the sub captain that sank the ship, and purposely translated incorrectly what he said to defend the navy.
Hunter Scott then found out all about this. His project got National attention and him along with the survivors cleared Mcvay's good name.
That is only a very brief summary of the book. The book has lots of neat things in it that kept my attention while I read this incredible story. It gave explicit detail of the sinking, trials etc. Form some of the survivors' points of view. In the book was also the story of how and why Hunter Scott chose the Indianapolis as his History Fair project. The book also has some pages (about 20) of Hunter Scott with the survivors with the survivors, pictures of the survivors during WWII, a picture of the Japanese submarine captain, a map of the area near where it sunk and even a picture of the ship.
History isn't the only thing in this book that caught my eye. There was a lot of interesting scientific information that really wowed me (this is coming from a kid not too interested in science.) All sorts of stuff was in the book about trauma, the nervous system and psychic injury. It was very interesting stuff, and it explained to me a lot of things about flashbacks. The Stuff about the dreams relating to reality fascinated me to. These along with other scientific facts explained why the sailors had flashbacks and bad dreams about the sinking, there was also some very interesting stuff about how things like Sun damage and exposure killed sailors who weren't killed by sharks.
This book incorporated all of this stuff and makes it Interesting and entertaining. If I read about stuff like this in a history textbook, or if it were like stuff you'd find in a history book, I would probably be so bored to death I'd fall asleep and when I woke up I'd want to burn it. The science stuff was also made very interesting as well, and was also explained in a way that didn't boggle my mind or keep me up all night with my eyes wide open trying to figure out what all of it meant. I know I'm only 14, but I know unless you are a scientist any adult would get confused if the scientific knowledge wasn't explained the way it was.
This is a great book. Pick it up and start reading it.

Left for Dead(An amazing story of men aboard the U.S.S Indy)
Left for Dead was the best historical book I have ever read. Men aboard the U.S.S Indionapolis died in numbers for many days. 350 men survived a wreck of an enemy sub's torpedo out of 1400. Men were starneded in the middle of the Ocean for days. The U.S. Navy found them after 5 days and needed to blame this devastation on somebody. They chose the captain, Captain McVay of the Indy. The surviving crew tried to clear his name from his court-martial but never got through th Navy. They know it's not their captain's fault. A boy comes along named Hunter Scott. Would a boy be able to clear McVay's name? Will His history fair project lead a wrong in Navy history to a right? This is a book that you'll read for hours at night without puting it down about the men's history aboard the Indy and Hunter Scott's epic tale of how he cleared McVay's name.

Superb book, especially for youth
Not as graphic as "In Harm's Way" by Doug Stanton, this book is perfect (and written for) youth 12 and older. The best part is the detailed description of Hunter Scott's fight to help the survivors exonerate Captain McVay, six decades later. You feel as if you are right there when the Navy official is struggling to explain and make sense of a senseless verdict. Wonderful color pictures of Hunter's journey to find out the truth and eventual victory. These men and this boy are to be remembered as heroes.

A true story
Left for Dead is a very well written book, one of the better ones done by Pete Nelson. This book takes place around the time of Pearl Harbor and tells how it came to be. The Indianapolis is the main ship and on a secret mission. After being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, several hundred sailors survive the attack as sharks pick them off one by one. After not finding the ship for at least a week, the U.S. Navy needed to blame someone. They choose Capt. McVay of the Indianapolis. The crew knows it's not his fault, so they must clear his name. This book was based on true events. Pete Nelson does a great job in making it feel like you're actually there. Will McVay's crew clear his name? If you want to find out what happens read the book for yourself and hear about the significant memories of the crew and Hunter Scott.

Left for dead the USS. Indianapolis story.
Left for dead the USS. Indianapolis story. The book I read was called ?Left for Dead?. Pete Nelson wrote it with a preface by hunter Scott. This book is a true story about one of the biggest mistakes made in the NAVY. Lets start from the beginning; this story is about the boat the USS. Indianapolis called the indi for short. The indi was a proud flagship for the U.S. pacific fleet it had been through many important battles and won many medals for her crew. The indis next mission was so secret that even the captain of the vessel did not know what it was only what he was supposed to do the captains name was captain Macvay. What the indi was caring was the A-bomb it was to take it to the U.S. airstrip were it would be flown to drop on Japan. On the way pack to pearl harbor the India was hit by an I-58 sub torpedo well the indi sank after that and out of her 800 crew only 350 made it off the ship. The surviving crew survived in the shark-infested waters for 7 days with out food and water. When they were finally rescued there were only 50 people left. The captain was wrongly curt marceled because the NAVY wanted to hide the mistake it made even though the crow tried to clear his name they couldn?t Intel a boy named Hunter Scout did the India story for a history project did he find something to clear the captains name. You will have to read to find out what. I didn?t like the book because it was to slow for me.
NICK LAKE ... Read more

Book Description

New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!

Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the life and times of the medieval knight and his followers. Superb color photographs of everything from suits of armor to the lord and lady of the manor in full costume offer a unique "eyewitness" view into the lives of medieval people at peace and during wartime.See a horse's armor, medieval siege engines, how armor is made, how a castle is attacked and defended, how a knight put on his armor and the weapons of a Japanese samurai. Learn the rules of jousts and tournaments, the language of heraldry, how the sections of a suit of armor were joined together, how a falconer trained his hawk and why the Crusades were important. Discover who treated the wounded on a medieval battlefield, how knights hunted for deer, the way the first guns worked and how a knight recruited his followers, and much, much more! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Got out of knights
It was pretty good, but it was kind of showing out of the knight period. They wrote a lot about castles and it was titled knights. This bothered me. I really liked how it showed what a knight has as his duty.

Interest your children in REAL history
DK eyewitness books are some of the greatest non-fiction books around. The distinctive white background and high-quality photography gives this book an edge over any other nonfiction picture book. And -- these pictures are real! They're beautiful museum-quality photos of all things related to knights, accompanied by informative captions and text.

Learn about medieval life, knights, armor, etc. If you know someone (young or old) who is fascinated by medieval times and knights, then you must introduce them to this book!

Captured his interest for days! He keeps going back to it.
My 10 year old son is fascinated with all things midevil. This book shows the armor, weopons, and lifestyle of knights. The photos are excellent and the copy is interesting. Your child may need a little help with some of the vocabulary.

Not the best.
Boring, boring, boring. This book wasn't good. It had anlmost no imfo. I didn't like this book.

For grown-ups AND kids alike
I own several books from the Eyewitness Series and I am imprssed with them all. Why weren't these used as textbooks when I was in elementary school :)

The pictures are quite vivid and there is so much content inside the book. You WILL come away with a greater knowledge and better appreciation of history of knighthood! ... Read more

Book Description

First-hand accounts that include diary entries and personal letters describe the experiences of boys, sixteen years old or younger, who fought in the Civil War. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Very good book
This book is very good & understandable. I like it mainly for the pictures.

Wonderful intro to young soldiers lives in the Civil War
Read this aloud with my children about 2 years ago. It sparked my son's interest in Civil War historical fiction. He is not an avid reader, but has read several civil war books including "Red Cap" by Clifton Wisler and just picked up "Across Five Aprils" for his sixth-grade historical fiction assignment. Jim Murphy is a fine writer, weaving quotes, diary entries and anecdotes into a lucent and revealing account of the lives of youths who participated in the Civil War. A fine book! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Greatest Vietnam Book for Young People!
This book is great for adults too. It takes quotes and information from several books written for adult audiences and uses them to augment and develop the history of American involvement in Vietnam. Many books on the Vietnam War are so confusing I can't understand what happened. This book was clear, succient and introduced the opinions of people who were involved in the war. I came away from reading this with a better understanding and it was even more important now that we have gone into Iraq.

Great book!
I read this book for a school project. I had to learn about the culture in Vietnam. The book went into great detail about the culture and the way people live there. It told true stories about the people who went through the war. Great book for young readers who want to know about the war.

Wow!
For a history book, this was really good! I thought the quotations were well chosen and the bok as a whole was engaging and made me want to read more. It leaves a lot of questions, but for interesting and the Vietnam War, you can't do much better!

Voces de vietnam
I liked the book because talked about what really happened in the war of vietnam. Also the author did a good job discribing the war. It wasn't that excited but it was a good book.

worth the read
This book was a short, concise way of explaining the Vietnam war. I enjoyed it because it speaks to an audience that doesn't know much about the war. A good read for teens and 20-somethings. ... Read more

Book Description

Chronicles the history of Japanese Americans from immigration to the World War II internment, as told through the eyes of a young girl and her grandfather. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A timely book in light of today's political turmoil
Collaboratively compiled by Kimberly and Kaleigh Komatsu, In America's Shadow is a very personalized retelling of the injustice the United States of America perpetrated upon more than 120,000 members of the Japanese-American population during the World War II era, when they were compelled by the American government to live in relocation camps. Powerful black-and-white photographs and the wistful captions tell the story of a young girl and her family's experiences. A timely book in light of today's political turmoil, and very highly recommended for readers of all ages, In America's Shadow is vivid and unforgettable photography book highlighting one of