Young Americans Books

My 3-year old daughter loves Grace Lin books. Kite Flying, Dim Sum and this one are in her current reading rotation (sometimes 10 times a day!) The illustrations are just wonderful.

My two-year-old daughter and I just LOVE Grace Lin's books. With each new Grace Lin book that we buy, it immediately becomes my daughter's favorite, until we get another Grace Lin book! There is so much to see in the book, and the story is adorable. Highly recommended!

Hard to keep a young toddler (or an adult) interested in the storyline...it's mostly a long list of fortunes, but Grace Lin's illustrations are wonderful, as always. My toddler loves just looking at the packed pages of beautiful birds, origami animals, and lots more!

I bought this book for a lesson on Multiculturalism in the classroom. I incorporated a puppet with the story, and the students loved it. This is a must for any classroom.

For older kids, even high school, this would be a great starter story for them to read and then make their own fortune cookies, inserting their own fortunes before the hot smooth cookies harden. A nice end note explains some of the original of the Fortune cookie as Japanese, not Chinese, but the overall charm of the book is its celebration of the traditions of the messages inside the cookies. If you didn't want to make fortune cookies from scratch in a classroom, you might just settle for everyone having a fortune cookie (available in most large groceries) and sharing their fortunes over a cup of nice tea. Also, check out Dim Sum for Everyone, also celebrating cultural food experiences for all ages.

Kennedy Assassinated was an awesome book. I think that this book is very incredible in detail because it gives you all details about how Kennedy survived his life and how he got through it all. I think that this book is awesome for anybody that can read. If you are interested in history then this is your kind of book. Please take this and remember that he was a good person but he lived a bad past. The best story element for this book would also be suspense. It tells you of what happens and how it all happens. Thank you for listening and I hope that it helped you.

Kennedy Assassinated was a great book. It taught me alot of what happened to him. I gave this book five stars because I learned who shot Kennedy and where. My favorite part was when they were operating on him in emergency room one. They kept on trying to bring him back but he is gone. I really liked this book.

This book was very exciting I thought. It tells the story of the day that kennady was assassinated. I really likd this book because it was very exciting aand has a great retelling of the event. It also had great allusion back to the future in a reporters shoes. Thats what I thought of the book.

This is one of the better books I have ever read! This book did a great job of suspense, it was unbelievable! JFK is riding in his convertable along side a Dallas police baracade when he and the governer of Texas are shot. The are both taken to the hospital near by and a young reporter is assigned to the case. This is is first case and it had me on the edge of my seat wondering how he would do on the case. I really recomend this book to you if you like drama and suspense, it is truly a really great book.

Kennedy Assassinated is an awsome book. It is brief yet very interesting. This book allows you to experience Kennedy's death through the eyes of a reporter. I actually began to sweat. If you want to read about president Kennedy, this is a good book to start out with.

General Arthur MacArthur was a colonel in the US Civil War. He served in the Spanish American War and the Phillipne Revolution. He helped create the modern US Army. If you are at all interested in this period of history this is a must read. It is the only biography of MacArthur.
If you were looking for the other General MacArthur, this is his father. Any student of WWII or Korea that wants to understand MacArthur this is a must read, also.

Mr. Young has given us an excellent account of the life of Arthur MacArthur and his turbulent world from the Civil War (where he won the Medal of Honor) to the rugged West to the Phillipines. Well researched and well documented. Never a dull moment and his information of the brutal and deadly war in the Phillipines aroused my curiousity to seek more knowledge of that conflict. The text captured the desolate and often bloody campaigns as well as the rough life of a soldier and his family. A top notch read.

Arthur MacArthur is one of this countrys most forgotten heros if you enjoyed reading Old soldiers never die: The life and times of Douglas MacArthur, you will be astonished by the career simularitys he had with his father. Arthur MacArthur was the son of a judge, he was a hero of the civil war, Millitary Governor of the Philippines, and like his son rose to be the top millitary officer of his generation. History has all but forgotten this soldier, statesman, and father of one of the most unforgetable persons in American history.

Mr. Young has given us an excellent account of the life of Arthur MacArthur and his turbulent world from the Civil War (where he won the Medal of Honor) to the rugged West to the Phillipines. Well researched and well documented. Never a dull moment and his information of the brutal and deadly war in the Phillipines aroused my curiousity to seek more knowledge of that conflict. The text captured the desolate and often bloody campaigns as well as the rough life of a soldier and his family. A top notch read.

The General's General is an interesting and entertaining life of one of the 19th Century's most influential soldiers. Although little remembered today, MacArthur was an heroic lieutenant, an influential middle level officer and eventually the leading General in the U.S. Army.

The book touches on several aspects of U.S. history. In reading the story of the General's father, Arthur MacArthur, Sr., the reader gets a peak into the 19th century politics of Wisconsin in particular and the U.S. in general.

As a young man MacArthur joined the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as an adjutant, a position for which his youth initially proved a distinct disadvantage. MacArthur's first glory came with the assault on Missionary Ridge south of Chattanooga on November 25, 1863. After taking the first level of Confederate rifle pits, which was the objective of the charge, MacArthur led his men on an unordered charge up to the top of the hill, gaining the admiration of all who observed him, from Generals Grant and Sherman on down.

In the post war army, MacArthur made two significant contributions. While commanding at Fort Selden, New Mexico, MacArthur compensated for the absence of a suttler by establishing an enlisted men's canteen, which became the forerunner of the PX system. As a staff officer, he later obtained a change in Army policy which permitted the award of medals to officers. This change in policy resulted in MacArthur being awarded the Medal of Honor.

MacArthur's moment in the sun came with the advent of the Spanish American War. Surprised by his assignment to the Philippines, MacArthur made the most of the transfer to Asia. Over a three year period, MacArthur played a major role in the conquest of the Philippines which had begun with the destruction of the Spanish fleet by Adm. Dewey. The battle began with an defeat of the Spanish troops followed by a long war, first conventional and then guerrilla, against the Philippine Republican troops.

After his appointment as Military Governor of the Philippines, MacArthur began to experience difficulties with the civilian officials sent to rule the Islands, primarily William Howard Taft. The dispute with Taft eventually led to MacArthur's dismissal as Military Governor and his retirement from the army.

In telling this story the reader is introduced into the many stages on which the war was played out. The effect on the political situation in the United States is well developed. The foreign policy debates incited by the conquest of the Islands are explained. The war on the ground bears an uncanny resemblance to the situation which later Americans found in Vietnam.

The introduction of the MacArthur family to Asia is well covered. The initiation starting with the war in the Philippines continues with the Grand Tour of Asia and is capped during MacArthur's role as military observer to the Russo-Japanese War.

This book sheds much light on the development of Arthur's son, Douglas. In it we read of the desolate western outposts in which Douglas spent his youth, the society into which he was introduced and the role his mother played in his development. It was on the Grand Tour of Asia that Douglas claimed to have learned to understand the Asian mind. Douglas' familiarity with Asia would come to play a role in his influential involvement in American policy toward Asia in the middle of the 20th Century. The similarities in the careers of both Arthur and Douglas are laid before the reader. At the time of the writing of the book, the only Father-Son Medal of Honor winners, both would have their careers marred by major conflicts with civilian superiors and would end their days in virtual exile from the services to which they had devoted most of their lives.

The General's General is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the story of this remarkable man and in the Army's role in U.S. history the Civil War through the period before World War I.

As an awkward black girl who went to a private school attended by very few girls who looked like me, I know these stories all too well. Not quite knowing where or how to fit in, immersing yourself in one environment by day and then returning to a rough neighborhood after your last class at 3pm, struggling to be down without getting pregnant or putting yourself in physical danger...Solomon understands. I even teared up a bit when reading Star of a Story. This book breaks your heart...in that good way.

Get Down should be required reading for anyone who's ever felt slightly out of place--a bit too smart, too fat, too black, too white--but who's just not sure if s/he should let on. Solomon's capaciously human characters try, and almost succeed, at concealing their secret, shameful squareness: their hopeless nostalgia, their utterly futile crushes, their nerdy earnestness. It is precisely this slightly out-of-sync quality that makes Solomon's characters so captivating. No description, no matter how elaborately hyphenated the adjectives, could ever pidgeonhole them. Because Solomon's wit is so dead-pan, her characters so young, readers might almost just miss her stories' gut wrenching insights into love, adolescence, and identity. The number of times I laughed out loud was equaled by the number of times I got a knot in my stomach. Solomon deftly fills her finely crafted stories with surprising stylistic touches, too: a story written entirely in the second person, turning you--the reader--into the only unbeliever stuck at a Christian summer camp; the moving "choose-your-own adventure" ending of the last story; the title itself, which brilliantly illustrates the complex tone of the book. Spoken with the right amount of coolness, the phrase "Get Down" can capture the life of the party. But who really has the charisma to pull off that pronunciation? In the mouths of the book's self-conscious adolescents (or its real-life reviewers!), "Get Down" takes on its true ambiguity: a cool phrase spoken by someone who's not. And when you find the phrase in the fourth story, it takes on a whole new meaning, which I'll let you discover for yourself. . . .

I came across these stories completely by accident - and I'm so glad I did. I know short story collections don't tend to sell a ton, but these are really great and I hope they do.

For some reason, I've been reading a lot of short story collections lately, and for some reason there are a lot of great ones out there now! ("Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures" by Vincent Lam and "Like You'd Understand Anyway" by Jim Shepard).

First of all, the stories in "Get Down" will take you back to your growing up years - and all the awkwardness that comes with that. Some of these stories are really just touching and heartbreaking. This book reminds me of two books that I really enjoyed: "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfeld and "Black Ice" by Lorene Cary. Like "Get Down," all of these books take us back to that magical time of childhood where the everyday friendships and school relationships could be gloriously exhilerating or soul crushing on any given day.

Any women who wants to read some beautiful stories that will take you back to your preadolescent or adolescent years should buy this book - you'll love it.

This is one sly, deft, funny, and truly moving collection of stories. Solomon has great grace as a stylist and as a chronicler of interior lives. I read the book in one sitting and blushed with recognition and empathy for her deeply realized characters. I also laughed out loud at the wit that studs the entire collection. You're going to love it.

If you're looking for stories that will make you laugh and ache in sympathy in equal measure, then get started reading right away. Get Down is filled with characters who will earn your love even as they make decisions that will have you talking out loud to them while you're reading, trying to keep them from doing things you know are only going to make their lives harder, which will get embarrassing if you're not by yourself. It won't bother you if you're alone, though, because they seem so real that it won't seem strange to think that maybe if you talk loud enough they might listen to you, even if you know you won't be able stop them. A highly impressive debut from someone to keep an eye on.

My grandmother gave me this book in nineteen-seventy-something and I have hung onto it until now. The original copy is still with me, I cherish it and I read it to my two older children who are ages six and four. Lovely story, fascinating, nice illustrations... Thumbs up!

This is a very funny story about a goat that tells the story of how her fur becomes a Navajo rug. If you look close enough at the front cover, you'll notice the book is written by the goat herself. It's a wonderful book for all ages, especially Navajo children.

When I was little (a long time ago at this point!) I had this book and was utterly fascinated by it. I remember trying to dye yarn myself after reading it... (well, that didn't work out so well as I recall-- since this is NOT a how-to book, just an engaging story-- but it was fun all the same.) Now that I'm an adult, I would definately recommend this book to anyone with "creative" children who love to make things.

I was raised on this book and it has always been a favorite of mine. The pictures are delightful and the story has stayed with me through the years. I love how Geraldine decides to eat all the yummy plants they were going to use to dye the wool. OOPS! Now I find it is on the school reading list and being used in the classroom! I highly recommend this book as a favorite for children and parents alike.

This is a gentle book, both the words and illustrations, which guides the reader through the process of making a traditional Navajo rug. Told from the goat's perspective, humor is interwoven with facts. My 5 year old wants to add that the goat ate up some of the flowers the weaver had collected when she wasn't looking.

The last page states: "This is a true story of a weaver and her goat who lived in the Navajo Nation at Window Rock, Arizona." The end plates have pictures of items used in making the rug, including local plants and which parts of them are used for certain dye colors (ex. juniper branches used for brown dye).

My mother lived on a Navajo reservation as a child and so I've purchased this for her childrens book collection so that she can read it to the grandkids when they visit.

I read this book as a child - I am now 46 and still touched by it. I was asked the other night what some of my favorite books were. I rattled off a list of books that I have read in the last 20 years or so that made some impact on me. Then, as I was driving to work this morning, I remembered this book. I did a websearch and was happy to find that Amazon had reviewers of it. The thing I find most treasurable about this book was how engrossed I became with the story. I found myself right there, in the fields, on the dirt roads, with the dogs - it's as if I had been transported into the pages. Fantastic writer, now that I remember the book, I will be sure to read it again, and to look for other titles by the author.
I recomend this book for the young and old alike.

You know you've read a GREAT book when almost 7 years later, you remember the whole thing and where you were when you read it.
Green days is the book, not just for Caribbean born folks ( I am one!) but for any one who have love and lost and loved again. It desires to be bought.

The characters were very universal. Even though I am a trinidadian woman and can relate to the story better than most, it is still a book that every one should read. The main character was the type of young man that you just wanted something good to happen for him. He possessed alot of the characteristics of human nature. He wants a young woman, then he doesn't want her then he does again, then you're not sure what he wants. Life is like that. This story is the perfect theme of innocence to experience.

I just love Green Days By The River. All my friends at school love the book also we read it in Literature class. and in our end of year we get a Test on this Book and others. I love the book I am only just so sorry that shell could not have married Joan.In english Class I got an assignment to write on wheter Mr.Gidharee was trying to lure Shell into a trap.What do you think if you figure something please e-mail me at nhs@cwjamaica.com please! It is to be brought in tommorrow morning. And tell me your reviews also.

A classic West Indian novel, this book is way ahead of its time in its depiction of inter-racial relationships in a rustic country village. This tale puts a new twist on the time old story of star crossed lovers. It will keep you gripped to the climatic finish. This is a realistic novel, which will allow you to experience life in rural Trinidad.

regardless of how amicable my ex and i worked to make our divorce, it still was an adult situation that our daughters had to contend with. this book was found by my then 8 year old daughter on our local library shelves. i will admit to being skeptical since it was part of the American Girl library. but, after MANY overdue fines and countless rereads, i finally opted to purchase this book. it does a great job of simply and clearly explaining a wide variety of topics without talking down to the reader. she revisits the pages often, reads them with me and shares information with her younger sister. at the risk of sounding over the top, i'm very grateful that this book is a part of my daughter's library and our lives.

There is so much horror in divorce. It's bad enough from the adults' perspective, but as a child who is catching only bits and pieces of a larger picture, it can pull the rug out from under her feet. My six-year-old daughter clung to this book for weeks, reading and absorbing the honest information on the pages. She learned how to take care of herself emotionally, how not to get pulled into a needy parent's net, how to answer questions about her parents' divorce and how to accept her new circumstances and move on with grace and dignity. Now, a few years later, we still bring it out to deal with new issues and remember how to handle old ones.

This book is an absolutely excellent resource tool for any professional who wants to help a young girl to better cope and understand divorce. I am a psychotherapist and I give my young clients this book and I have gotten excellent feedback. Enjoy.

After Separating, I realized things were becoming increasingly difficult for my daughter. I knew I needed help. So when I saw the title 'HELP!' I bought this book immediately. I have never been so impressed with a book. It asks the questions that kids have, but often are afraid (or unable) to ask and gives parents a way to answer - without too much information. HELP! assisted my daughter in breaking the silence with her therapist and to sort out some issues she had with her mother and me. It acts as a guidebook - informing children of some ways to speak up if they feel that their feelings are being squashed or if basic child/parent rules are being broken. HELP! even describes what some of those basic rules are. I'm actually purchasing one for my Ex-wife that she can read with our daughter. One of the best things that has come from this book is that my daughter now keeps a notebook and writes down questions for me in it, I respond to her and we bring those in to her therapists office. This approach lets us all know what important issues are on her mind, and how best to HELP! her through these difficult times. The best review though - I can't go more than a few days without being asked to read from the book.

A wonderful book! It explains what and why girl's are feeling and thinking the way they do in a manner that is FAIR to all parties. It doesn't show bias to any individual (Mother/Father/Step Parent/Child). This book can help show a child that they are not alone and that it is normal to think and feel the way they do. It also explains when/how a parent is putting the child in the middle and how that shouldn't happen. And how a child plays both parents and shouldn't. The book stresses that the child should talk about their feelings with their parents. This book is a must have for any girl that has experienced divorce, whether it is happening now or happened 10 years ago.

This is a fantastic book to use in college classrooms. I had great success teaching it to three of my classes! The students related to the 20-something characters. The writing is just beautiful! Not only is it a presentation of Arab American lives, but a lovely ode to Brooklyn. I highly recommend the author's website to keep updated on his latest events. He's a fantastic reader and left an impact on my students who went to see him live: [...]

As Americans become more engrossed in our current political stresses, a book like this seems more timely everyday. And in our post-9/11 society, I think it is becoming so important to be aware of how Arab Americans are being used as scapegoats and discriminated against in a way that seems acceptable to many Americans.
I felt that Bayoumi did such a good job of connecting the modes of past prejudices to our contemporary situation, driving home the point that this country is far from over racism. The stories of the people whom the author follows are at points touching, and nothing makes a stronger example than the lives of actual people.

By taking us inside the lives and minds of young Arab Americans living in Brooklyn, a microcosm of the diverse United States, Bayoumi helps us understand what it means to be young and arab in America today. The short stories covering seven different personalities make the narrative very accessible and the book an easy read. The characters themselves are extremely diverse affording the reader a good coverage of different strata of the Arab American society. From a religious young girl in veil fighting against discrimination, to a marine, a patriotic American fighting in Iraq torn between the Arab and American cultures, to a young grocery store worker inspired by the American dream... each story is unique and heart filled.

What Moustafa Bayoumi captures in his latest work is what many have been yearning for since 9/11 in the Arab American community: an encapsulation and presentation of the voice of the unheard. Too often, our history--even as it unfolds--is told by our neighbors, by our news stations, and by those who seek us harm for perceived personal or communal benefit.

I believe the concept of this book is as important as what fills its pages. Shedding light on the lives of the castigated, Bayoumi engages the outside world with human stories seen through a human lens. Bayoumi masterfully graces the page with a rich and unique style of description, making this read not only intense, but enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking understanding into the mindset of many Arab Americans today.

As someone who has worked almost 10 years with young Arab-Americans, I found this to be a very insightful glimpse into the lives of a little understood community. So many people talk about young Arab-Americans - a population often described as a "homegrown threat" or somehow radical - yet how often do we hear what they think, in their own words?

In this book, Bayoumi is granted unique access into the lives of these young people, allowing him to tell each story colorfully and to share their most innermost feelings. The internal conflicts they experience as Arabs and Americans are instructive, as they reflect the greatest political and cultural challenges facing our world today.

I am a former fifth grade instructor, a National Board Certified Teacher, and a college professor in Teacher Preparation. I highly recommend the Grandmother Stories series to elementary and early childhood instructors and parents who are homeschooling their children. The books have appropriate vocabulary and tell stories that explain nature in a creative manner. I learned several things I did not know about nature and its interactions from these books. Children love to have the books read to them and to read them to themselves. Duvall and Jacobs are a wonderful creative force as they merge their talents to produce books that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

This review by Melanie Tait appeared in the Spring, 2005 issue of the Journal of the Association for Childhood Education International: This is a delightful retelling of a Cherokee legend explaining how the rabbit lost his long, luxurious tail and how the otter learned to love swimming. It also teaches valuable lessons about pride, deceit and justice. The story is told in language simple enough for young independent readers, but would make an entertaining read aloud as well. The beautifully detailed black-and-white illustrations capture the essence of the story and set the scene for the traditional tale. Even the cover background and endpapers are intriguing. This book would be of particular interest to young people learning about or celebrating Native American cultures. Ages 6-12.

Stories abound in the Native culture about how the rabbit lost its tail, but few are so elegantly presented as this one. The dialogue and the story line keep a child's interest piqued, page after page, and the illustrations are a feast for the eyes. And of course, there is a happy ending for Ji-Stu the Rabbit. Now he can run through the woods much faster "without that troublesome tail!"

Deborah Duvall and Murv Jacob have brought the old Cherokee animal tales back to life with their How Rabbit Lost His Tail and their other titles in this series from the University of New Mexico Press. The old tales, recorded previously in mostly pedantic prose for dusty scholars to peruse, have been rewritten by Duvall in lively and very readable English for young readers and old alike, and they are lavishly illustrated by Jacob. The tales involve Ji-Stu, Rabbit, the Cherokee Trickster, who embodies all the characteristics of man: pride, arrogance, greed, deceit ("The path to the dance grounds followed the river that ran through the Cherokee lands. In some places where the river curved, the water formed deep pools that reflected the river bank above. Each time he passed such a pool, Ji-Stu stopped just long enough to look at his reflection, for he was very proud.") He even occasionally shows courage.
You can't go wrong in picking up How Rabbit Lost His Tail or any of the other beautifully illustrated books in this series, for you will enjoy them, your children will marvel at them, and you may even learn something about Cherokee culture or about human behavior from reading them. (...)

The Grandmother Stories are eloquent, beautifully illustrated tales that recapture the imagination of Native America. Debbie Duvall and Murv Jacob have done a brilliant job of revisiting the mythic world of Rabbit, Bear and Otter, and introducing them to a contemporary audience. These characters are timeless, as are their stories, and readers of all ages will delight in their antics and unique insights. - Teresa Miller, Center for Writers and Poets, OSU Tulsa

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of America's greatest heroes and this is a collection of his wonderful writings and speeches. Often people stop at "I Have a Dream" but this shows the complete evolution of Dr. King. A wonderful read that has been part of my library for the past 10 years -- and I've read it three times and often use it for reference and store it next to the Bible.

Reading the speeches of Dr. King are inspiring. You get a glimpse into his mind and to genuinely understand the struggle he was up against. I'm not just refering to the Civil Rights movement. you also get insights into the responsibilities and pressure he felt as the leader of this movement. He was a man who changed history. This book offers glimpses into his humanity as well as his motivational and inspirational speeches. A must for anyone interested in American history, the Civil Rights movement or in biographys. It will continue to effect you long after you have put the book down.

"I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World," by Martin Luther King, Jr., is a fine collection of texts by this important figure. The book has been edited by James M. Washington. Coming in at less than 300 pages, this is a concise but meaty book.

Washington includes King's most important texts: the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"; the "I Have a Dream" speech; his Nobel Prize acceptance speech; "My Trip to the Land of Gandhi"; "A Time to Break Silence," his 1967 speech criticizing the United States war in Vietnam, and more. These writings and speeches cover King's great themes: nonviolent resistance, the African-American civil rights movement, etc.

Those seeking a more comprehensive collection of Kings' work should seek out "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr." also edited by James M. Washington. At more than 700 pages, this is a truly monumental collection, and includes much material not found in "I Have a Dream": the 1965 "Playboy" interview, transcripts of television interviews, and more. But for those who want a shorter text that cuts to the heart of King's life and work, "I Have a Dream" is perfect.

"I Have a Dream" reveals King to be a true Christian prophet, and a man with a global vision. As literature, these texts also show King to be the heir of such American thinkers as Henry David Thoreau and W.E.B. DuBois. Highly recommended.

This collection of Dr. King's writings includes all the major speeches -- such as I Have A Dream and I See the Promised Land, as well as important writings such as Letter from A Birmingham Jail. It also has great essays on the lessons Dr. King learned from Ghandi and a wonderful introduction from Mrs. King. This is a great collection to get started learning about Dr. King -- from his own pen. I highly reccomend it.

Dr. Martin Luther King's collection of writings and speeches, "I Have A Dream", brings aspiration to light. The events that surrounded the life and death of this true hero reveals the shameful fact that no matter how great the United States of America is today, it is one country that was nurtured with inhumane machinery: slavery, racism, injustice, Mickey-Mouse freedom, and Mickey-Mouse democracy. I hate to think about it, but it is an honest fact, which we should all come to terms with. Nobody can rewrite history.
The 256 pages that is "I Have A Dream" was enough to highlight the wickedness and the violence that were deliberately sustained in America, for a full century, after a bloody Civil War ended her tenacity on slavery.
One question that will always beg for answer is: How on earth did U.S. Presidents who presided over the ruthless color-bar era qualified for those Nobel Peace Prizes that they received? Knowing what life was like in the U.S.A. just a couple of decades ago melts my heart. "I Have A Dream" is a big eye-opener!