From: steven at westlinn.lib.or.us <steven>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 96 12:24:03 -0800

It's been a good year for children's history books. Among others, Rhoda Blumberg's "Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad" was excellent, and I really enjoyed "Accidents May Happen" by Charlotte Jones and John O'Brien (fifty mistakes that led to inventions). But my favorite was Jim Murphy's "A Young Patriot: the American Revolution as experienced by one boy". He takes the memoirs of a fifteen-year old patriot and makes the experience of the war come alive. Murphy weaves in just enough background information, but uses Joseph Plumb's own words throughout the book. Joseph is honest, and insightful; he also has a delightfully sarcastic sense of humor. The reader really sees things through his eyes. Reading books like this makes me resent the boring textbooks I had to plough through when I was in school. But recommending Murphy, Blumberg, and others to kids is a great way to spark a lasting interest in history.

- Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, Oregon
  steven at westlinn.lib.or.us
Received on Wed 04 Dec 1996 02:24:03 PM CST