Reviews
“Teachers will have a field day using the book to discuss the evils of war. Reviewer Rating: 5” –Children’s Literature View →
“[A] good addition to teach elementary-aged children about a lesser known event during the second World War and how one person can make a difference in many lives. Reviewer Rating: 5” –Children’s Literature View →
“Joseph De Castro was a flag bearer in the 19th Massachusetts Infantry on the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. As the final Confederate assault led by General Pickett was rebuffed, De Castro was able to seize the flag of a Virginia unit that had reached the… View →
“Executive Order 9102 changed the lives of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II. This title from the “Read Woke Book” series begins to take a deeper look at an event in the United States history. The text describes the actions that occurred and… View →
“Kiyo Sato’s story opens on her last night of freedom in February 1942. Ever since the Japanese Air Force bombed Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941, Kiyo has felt shunned by her fellow college students. Now, against the urging of his wife Eleanor, President Roosevelt has… View →
SAN DIEGO – Ah, the joys of time travel! San Diego author Marcia Berneger, a retired teacher, uses this device to imaginatively retell… View →
A Scarf for Keiko
“It’s 1942 and America is at war with the Empire of Japan. Sam’s elementary school class is knitting socks for soldiers and Sam is a terrible knitter. Keiko is a good knitter, but some kids at school don’t want anything to do with her because the Japanese have… View →
“The Edelweiss Pirates is indeed an interesting look at a group of resisters that most people have never really heard of, and although they didn’t start out as saboteurs, by 1938, they were beginning to increase their subversive acts against the Nazis. I liked… View →
The Family with Two Front Doors
“How can a family have two front doors? Easy – if they live in 1920s Lublin, Poland, have nine children, and need two apartments – one to live in, the other in which the rabbi/father studies and conducts business. Based on Ciddor’s grandmother Nomi’s reminiscences, this View →
“Eric Kimmel has given us another educational monster/demon book. Think Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (Holiday House, 1994) in ancient Israel. This second book in the Scarlet and Sam series sends the time traveling twins to Jerusalem during the time of King Solomon. They travel… View →
‘Alice + Freda Forever’s’ Alexis Coe on a Shocking, Forgotten Case of Teenage Lesbian Murder Books | By Karen Abbott | October 9, 2014 Karen Abbott, the author of the new Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, and Alexis Coe,… View →
“Goldsmith employs a reasoned tone, setting events within the context of realistic Cold War apprehensions, but allowing facts to speak eloquently for themselves.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →
“Rounding out this literary threesome of resistance and escape is ‘The Whispering Town,’ a picture book written by Jennifer Elvgren and illustrated by Fabio Santomauro. The setting is a Danish fishing village, but one of the book’s charms is how little context you View →
“When Marcel Mangel was a little boy, his father took him to see a Charlie Chaplin movie. Marcel was amazed to see that the comic actor was able to make people laugh out loud even though he did not say a word. This uncanny ability made Marcel want to be just like Charlie, and he… View →
“Spielman’s excellent biography of the Master of Mime engages one from the outset by introducing young Marcel as he is raiding his father’s wardrobe to dress up as Charlie Chaplin and entertain neighbors on the streets of pre-World War II France. We see that Marceau was, from his… View →
“Little Marcel grows up in Strasbourg, on the border between France and Germany, fascinated with the silent film star Charlie Chaplin. He, too, wants to use only his gestures and the medium of silence to make people laugh and cry. But Hitler intervenes when the boy is 16, and… View →
“Marcel Marceau, Master of Mime, by Gloria Spielman, illustrated by Manon Gauthier (Kar-Ben). I confess I have always been a mime-mocker. Walking against the wind? Trapped in a box? Climbing a ladder? Oh cripes, cut it out and say something! But I’m eating my own words… View →
“The noteworthy life of Marcel Marceau, born Marcel Mangel, is explored in this attractive picture book. Adults who are familiar with his famous work as a mime will be interested in his early experiences as a young boy growing up in Strasbourg, France on the eve of World War II. In View →
“As teenage vampires go, Will himself has a world-weary practicality that, while making him far less romantic than some of his more angsty counterparts, feels incredibly authentic for a protagonist who has suffered through plagues, wars, and famine without the relief of death. Fans View →
“The problem: people who see George Washington’s inaccurate image on their currency perceive him as stuffy and boring. The mission: remedy this misconception with three accurate, life-size models of G.W. as a nineteen-year-old surveyor, a forty-five-year-old general, and a… View →
“Accessible to younger children than most books on the Civil War, this would be a good addition to many collections.” —Booklist View →
The Bat-Chen Diaries released in February, 2008, nearly slipped beneath my notice. Perhaps because I love bats or the Chen portion may have caught my eye. Whatever reason, I’m glad that I read this title from Kar-Ben Publish-ing. I know The Bat-chen Diaries have been published in… View →
An American Army of Two
“This easy-reader presents a fresh and feminist glimpse of an unusual event during the War of 1812.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books View →