The Gettysburg Address

Illustrator:  Michael McCurdy, 1995, Houghton Mifflin

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, gave a very famous speech at a battlefield called Gettysburg in 1863.  It became known as the Gettsburg Address, and in this book of the same title, Lincoln's words come to life through a pictorial account.  I love the powerful words of the address, and I have heard them countless times before, but having pictures to tell the story added to the appeal.  I enjoyed the fact that the pictures were in black and white because it encourages the reader to imagine the destruction faced by soldiers in the Civil War.  The pictures in this book were satisfactory; I thought they were rather bland in many cases, but the meaning behind the words was more important.  The illustrator did a good job of bringing the story to life.

In addition, I enjoyed the foreward by Garry Wills and the afterword by the illustrator.  McCurdy had ancestors that fought in the Civil War, so this took on a special meaning for him.  This is not only a biographical account of a major American battle, it is also a reflection of the sadness and heartache faced by that generation.  Bring the Gettysburg Address to life in your classroom with this book.  It is sure to prompt heartfelt discussion.

Don't You Dare Shoot That Bear!

Author:  Robert Quackenbush, 1984, Prentice-Hall

Everyone needs to read a good "retro" book every now and then, so why not check out Don't You Dare Shoot That Bear!  A Story of Theodore Roosevelt?  This book was published in the mid-1980s, and you can tell how far we have come technologically since then.  For example, the author gives excellent, historically-accurate information about TR, but the illustrations are very bland in comparison to other books I have reviewed.  Two little teddy bears provide some humor on every page, though I can't say I laughed too often.  The humor was dry, and many children may not understand it.  The one positive aspect about this book is definitely the accurate historical information.  I gathered that the author has had some experience writing about famous individuals based on the other books he has written, which are listed on the inside back dust cover.  While this was certainly not my favorite book, I enjoyed it because of the information about our 26th president, who, incidentally, is the inspiration for the beloved teddy bear.

Jack's Path of Courage

Author:  Doreen Rappaport, 2010, Disney
Illustrator:  Matt Tavares

Wow! 

That is all I can say after reading Jack's Path of Courage.  The illustrations are so astounding and so life-like that I thought they were photographs.  We all have images and ideas of the Kennedy family, especially the President, but this book gives a lot of childhood information about our 35th president.  For example, I did not know that President Kennedy suffered severe back pain all his life.  He seemed like he had a lot of vitality, but he was secretly suffering.  Perhaps the most familiar part of the story, his assassination, was only briefly covered in this book.  I was pleased that the author explored more of his early years instead of only focusing on the trauma of November 22, 1963.  This is an incredible source of history, and I would encourage everyone who reads this blog to read this book.  It is thoroughly researched and includes a selected bibliography at the end.  I was surprised at how much I liked it, and I think you will too.

Duke Ellington

Author:  Andrea Davis Pinkney, 1998, Hyperion
Illustrator:  Brian Pinkney

Duke Ellington is a famous jazz musician credited with creating a unique musical sound.  Andrea and Brian Pinkney bring him to life in their biography for children, Duke Ellington.  Duke was ahead of his time, playing at renowned venues such as the Cotton Club in Harlem and Carnegie Hall in New York City.  I enjoyed this story, but I was a bit distressed by the informal tone that the writers used.  No doubt, the book gives excellent biographical information about Ellington, but readers who are unfamiliar with musical terms will feel lost.  I liked the rich illustrations and their almost magical appearances.  This book will definitely take the reader back in time to 1920s America and the struggles that Black musicians faced.  I was pleased to see a bibliography at the end of the book, as well as other resources that the reader can look at.  Overall, this is a good biographical account of Duke Ellington, a forerunner in American jazz music.

Anne Frank

Author:  Josephine Poole, 2005, Random House
Illustrator:  Angela Barrett

Anne Frank has become a name synonymous with Nazi persecution of Jews.  She posthumously became famous as a result of her diary being published, and the world saw how her Jewish family hid from the Nazis until they were caught.  I have read excerpts from her diary, as well as from other biographies about her, so I had a fair amount of background knowledge as I began reading this particular story.  I suppose it would be improper to say how much I enjoyed the story, given the horror and trauma Anne's family faced.  However, I can say that I learned more about her, the Nazis, and Nazi Germany from Josephine Poole's Anne Frank. 

I really enjoy studing World War II, and I noticed how accurate the facts were in this book.  The author does a fantastic job giving background information about Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany.  She describes how Germany went from being one of the greatest nations in the world to the most embarrassed nation following World War I.  Hitler rose to power and began persecuting the Jews with the final goal of exterminating them from the world.  As a result, many Jews went into hiding for months and even years.  Anne Frank's family did so until they were discovered and removed.  Her diary was recovered and became a primary source of the horror she experienced.

This book had beautiful illustrations and enough information to teach the reader more about this time period.  I enjoyed reading the timeline in the back of the book to get a broader understanding of the other world events.  I would recommend this book to any teacher without the slightest reservation.  In fact, I believe this book should be in every library around the country.  It is appropriate for all age groups, and it teaches world history in an informative and interesting way.