Military & Wars Books - Page 2

The Wall (Reading Rainbow Books)

Eve Bunting

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Bunting, Eve

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Wall by: Eve Bunting 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Loosing a relative can be tough, especially if your close to them, or too young to ever experience or meet them. All you can do is wonder. The book The Wall by: Eve Bunting, is aobut a dad and his son that go and visit the Vietnam War Memorial in memory of the dad's father, or the son's grandfather that died in the Vietnam War. Eve Bunting describes what happens there from a child's point of view. It is very realistic, and makes you feel like you are really there.
This book not only teaches little kid's lessons, but is good for even adults. IT really took me back and made me think. It made me think of how valuable our lives really are, and when we die, who is really affected by it. Also, it taught me that loosing someone you love doesn't always have to be sad, especially if they have died fighting for what they believe in. So, if somebody you know died, think of the positive side. Reading this book may take you back, and let you think of why they were so special.

Editorial Review:

A boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., in a work about memory and loss. Reprint. SLJ. H. AB. C. K.

My Brother Sam Is Dead (Apple Signature)

James Lincoln Collier

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 332 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very good, deep book 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

For one, I would like to start out that I am thirteen and my name is not "Bernease" as it may show up, but my grandmothers. Now that that's out of the way...

I'm really astounded by the amount of ignorant people who are reviewing this book. This book is supposed to be an inside look of what life was like during the Revolutionary War. It does a perfect job of that. I think that James and Christopher did a great job of showing just how bad life was in the era: the scarceness of food and clothes, and of course, the violence. Yes, the book does have some pretty gory scenes, but I wouldn't really call it "action". Most of it tends to be of Tim or a solider describing what he had seen during the war, and without this info we can't really tell how bad the war really was.

Granted, this book was published around the 1970's and the Vietnam War was still raging, so perhaps children at the time were more resistant to the violence portrayed in the book, mabye from the influence of the war.

Also, what is with the people complaining with the plot? The plot is just fine the way it is. Really, the plot isn't meant to portray a story of adventure, it helps the reader understand what life was like during the war. Since most of the readers are about the same age as Tim Meeker, they can probably understand how he is feeling.

Still, the plot does occasionally have some tense parts where you wait, wondering "what's going to happen next" though truthfully after awhile it tends to get to predictable;you know he is going to die. At least some characters defy this logic used a lot throughout the book.

Well, while the book can come to a quick ending(about a day or 2) and the title is quite an annoying spoiler, this book is well worth the five dollars, and will be quite an interesting read.

Editorial Review:

All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father.

The Cay

Theodore Taylor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 596 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

PCE Student Review 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My favorite book is The Cay. The author is Theodore Taylor. The reason why I like this book is because it's all about adventure, and you never know what will happen next. My favorite part is when Phillip gets hit in the head, and when he looks at the sun too long, and he realizes he is blind. The author wrote very good details about what happened to Phillip and Timothy on the cay. I would recommend The Cay to anyone who likes adventure. When I read The Cay I never wanted to stop reading it. It has so many adventures, and things in it. You will never want to stop reading it too.

I was forced to read it!!! 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Oh my God! This book was so boring. I would have rather watched grass grow. The characters were not likable at all. I found myself cheering when Timothy died. There are many dessciptions of Phillip clutched to Timothy's naked body. So many of these referances that my friends and I started calling it "The Gay". The racial thing wasn't that big a deal. Like OMG!! Phillip dosen't like black people, now he does! I'm shaking from the experiance. DON'T READ IT.

Editorial Review:

A tense and compulsive survival story of a young boy and an old man adrift on the ocean, then marooned on a tiny, deserted island. It is also a fascinating study of the relationship between Phillip, white, American, and influenced by his mother's prejudices, and the black man upon whom Phillip's life depends.

Snow Treasure

Marie McSwigan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 61 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

It's still in print! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I read this book as a child over and over again in the 1960's. I read it so often, the spine fell apart and I lost the first 20 pages. I didn't think this small book would still be in print--but it is! My grandparents were from Norway, I have visited there several times and recall conversations with relatives about hardships during the Nazi occupation. The book reflects the national pride the Norwegians feel for their country and the risks they were willing to take to do what was right - not easy, but right. I still have the book--now I can read the first 20 pages! This book is one of the most memorable books I read as a child--and I read alot!! The story has stayed with me.

Editorial Review:

In the bleak winter of 19 0, Nazi troops parachuted into Peter Lindstrom’s tiny Norwegian village and held it captive. Nobody thought the Nazis could be defeated—until Uncle Victor told Peter how the children could fool the enemy. It was a dangerous plan. They had to slip past Nazi guards with nine million dollars in gold hidden on their sleds. It meant risking their country’s treasure—and their lives. This classic story of how a group of children outwitted the Nazis and sent the treasure to America has captivated generations of readers.

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cynthia Kadohata

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE WEAPONS:

a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.

Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant -- and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war -- wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store.

When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.

Told in part through the uncanny point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker! is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler. It's an utterly unique powerhouse of a book by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Kira-Kira.

Fallen Angels

Walter Dean Myers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 285 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Parents of Younger Readers Beware! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent story, but parents of younger kids may want to know that it is realisticly profane. My nine year old son read it AFTER I previewed it for him and had to cross out all of the profanity in it with a black sharpie. Lots of "F" words and various other colorful language was used, as well as some talk of losing virginity.(Had to cross that out too.)
That being said, my son absolutely loved this story. He couldn't put it down. I also enjoyed it. Excellent account of a soldier's journey in Vietnam.

Editorial Review:

A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is even there at all.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (PMC) (Puffin Modern Classics)

Eleanor Coerr

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 179 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Sadako was a great conversation starter for my class 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The 4th graders in my school read this book in their regular reading classes, and so they were ready to have some great discussions in art class about the book. We used this as a starter for an origami crane project, and we are going to donate the cranes to a woman who is struggling to fight cancer. This a a wonderful story and the kids were really interested in learning more about WWII after reading this book.

Sadako is amazing! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
By Eleanor Coerr
Penguin Group
1977 first published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
1999 published by Penguin Group

3.3 Flesh Kincaid reading level
80 pages

Historical Fiction

Plot:
Sadako is an eleven-year-old Japanese girl who lives with her older brother, younger sister, younger brother and parents in Hiroshima, Japan. The story takes place in 1955 after World War II. Like all young children, Sadako attends school, helps her family with chores, and has a best friend at school. Sadako loves to run and is chosen to participate in a race at school. While running one day she feels slightly dizzy. Sadako has heard stories about children being getting sick from the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. She is too scared to tell anybody about being dizzy, so she keeps it a big secret. One day while running Sadako collapses. She is taken to the hospital and the doctors tell her she has leukemia.
While in the hospital, Sadako hears a legend from a friend that gives her hope of getting better. The legend says that if a person folds one thousand paper cranes out of paper they may be healed. Each day Sadako becomes sicker and sicker. However, she decides to fold one thousand origami cranes. Her brother helps her by hanging the cranes from the ceiling. Even though Sadako folds hundreds of cranes, she is unable to finish the project. She passes away having made only 648 cranes. Her friends from school hear her story and they fold the remaining cranes so that she is buried with one thousand paper cranes.

Review:
This book gave me lots of hope. I really loved to hear about Sadako and how she folded so many cranes. I wanted to believe that she would finish the paper cranes and she would get better. When she died in the ending it was very sad. Someone with so much hope and motivation doesn't deserve to die. The book also made me think a lot about why Sadako was sick in the first place. She was only two-years-old when the Americans dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, but she was still eventually killed from it. This book shows the long-lasting effects war has on a country and its people. It really makes you think twice about war.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy read that I had a hard time putting down. Every chance I got I read this book! While it was sad in the end, it was great to hear about Sadako's life and how her friends finished her paper cranes for her. The plot was interesting and exciting. I really like the main character too. Sadako was a very brave, strong person that I wish I was more like. She woke up every day with the will to live and that gave me a lot of hope. I would recommend this book to anyone! It is a must read!!

Editorial Review:

Born in Hiroshima in 1943, Sadako was the star of her school’s running team, until the dizzy spells started and she was forced to face the hardest race of her life—the race against time.

Elephant Run

Roland Smith

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Exciting WWII historical fiction for middle-grade readers 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

ELEPHANT RUN is an exciting, historical adventure novel that will appeal to all middle grade readers (and their parents!). In 1941, Nick Freestone joins his estranged father at the family plantation in Burma to escape the bombs falling on England. Instead of finding refuge, he is plunged into the Japanese invasion of Burma. With the help of his young friend, Mya, Nick tries to learn more about the timber elephants trained on the plantation. Mya, a girl who hopes to become an elephant trainer, or "mahout," barely has time to show Nick around the plantation before Nick's father is taken prisoner by the Japanese. With Japanese soldiers in charge of the family home, Nick becomes an unwilling servant of the Japanese. But there are hidden passageways in the house, and soon Mya and Nick have found a way to escape into the jungle, riding on the back of a much-feared rogue elephant named Hannibal.

For readers who've already exhausted the many books about WWII in Europe, this book offers a view of the war in Asia. While the book is mainly about Nick and Mya, readers will see multi-dimensional Japanese, Burmese, and British characters and learn more about life in Burma before and during the war. Issues of colonialism, foreign exploitation, and the desire for Burmese independence are introduced by the various characters who people the story, but the novel is focused primarily on Nick and Mya's need to escape from their Japanese captors. The elephants are part of the story as well, with Hannibal and Miss Pretty representing some of the many elephants trained to work British plantations in Burma.

Fast-paced action drives this story forward, with historical details supporting the action. Nick's father is sent to work on the infamous Japanese railroad, and the story provides a look inside the labor camps. History never slows the action, but information about the Japanese invasion and Burmese reaction abound in the story. Teachers may want to use this story to draw reluctant readers into learning more about World War II in Asia. Be sure to have a map or atlas handy as you'll want to look up the places named in the story. Readers will be sure to want to learn more about elephants and "mahouts" after reading this novel. War Elephants makes good companion reading.

If you like fast-paced adventure novels, stories of World War II, or historical novels, you'll enjoy this exciting novel. My only complaint was the quick resolution at the end -- I would have liked to read more about Nick's actual escape and journey to Australia, but that would take another novel. Let's hope the author is planning to write more about Nick and Mya!

Editorial Review:

In 1941, bombs drop from the night skies of London, demolishing the apartment Nick Freestone lives in with his mother. Deciding the situation in England is too unstable, Nick's mother sends him to live with his father in Burma, hoping he will be safer living on the family's teak plantation. But as soon as Nick arrives, trouble erupts in this remote Burmese elephant village. Japanese soldiers invade, and Nick's father is taken prisoner. Nick is stranded on the plantation, forced to work as a servant to the new rulers. As life in the village grows more dangerous for Nick and his young friend, Mya, they plan their daring escape. Setting off on elephant back, they will risk their lives to save Nick's father and Mya's brother from a Japanese POW camp. In this thrilling journey through the jungles of Burma, Roland Smith explores the far-reaching effects of World War II, while introducing readers to the fascinating world of wild timber elephants and their mahouts.

Hattie Big Sky (Thorndike Press Large Print Literacy Bridge Series)

Kirby Larson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Hattie Big Sky 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

For upper elementary school children who are studying American history this gives a vivid picture of what Montana was like for homesteaders. The story is captivating yet eye opening. It is easy to forget the attitudes of early settlers toward Germans during WWI. The vocaulary is good, some new words, yet not too many.

Editorial Review:

Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim.
For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper.

Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.

Stepping on the Cracks

Mary Downing Hahn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 56 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

a historical fiction book to go down in history 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

BOOK REVIEW

Have you ever wondered what it must've been like being a teenager during WWII? Do you know what it was like having a brother in the army during the war? If not then read Stepping On the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn. This is a very interesting historical fiction novel about a thirteen-year-old girl named Margaret and her best friend Elizabeth who are living during the time of WWII. Both Margaret and Elizabeth have brothers fighting in the war. Both girls despise the school bully, Gordy, who in turn despises them, until they uncover one of his darkest secrets. Throughout the story, the girls learn to like Gordy, and help him out, all while risking their lives to help him. If you are just dying to get your hands on a good historical fiction, then this is the book for you.

One reason I absolutely loved this book is because the characters relate to me so well, that I can almost imagine that the entire story is happening to me. The characters are just average middle schoolers like myself who like to go on adventures and live on the edge every once in a while, which I think is really cool. An example of something that I can relate to is when a bully at school teases Margaret. I hated it when people used to do that to me, so I know just how she feels.

Another key factor in the greatness of this book is the Vocabulary. The author writes this entire book as if she is a new author trying to make a name for herself. Every single detail is described, and described very vividly at that. For example the author turns what could be an ordinary sentence, into something spectacular: The sun emerged from the depths of the night, just like the petals of a rose in bloom. It's sentences like that one that makes this book great to read.

The final thing that I have to evaluate on this book is the fact that the author was not afraid to write about what was really happening. She wasn't afraid of telling you how things really went down inside the book. For instance, when she talks about Gordy's father, she is very frank and says that he is an abusive, white trash husband and father.

In conclusion, this historical fiction novel is a wonderful piece of literature, and should be enjoyed by all.

Editorial Review:

The poignant story of World War II back home at last

Finally, the paperback edition of one of Mary Dowing Hahn's most gripping and personal stories. Culled from her memories of growing up under the shadows of WWII, this story has touched young readers for more than fifteen years. We are so excited to have it back with us in paper, with a fantastic new cover, available for young readers for many, many more years to come.

Margaret and Elizabeth support everything about the war: the troops, the reasons for going to war, even the food rations. After all, this is the good war and the Americans are the good guys.

But when the girls stumble upon a classmate's secret, their feelings about the war begin to change. Is it really a good war? Is there ever such a thing?