Memorial Day Books

I just read this book to my class today. They loved it!! A little boy is going to a Memorial Day parade and finds out that there will be a surprise there. We go through the parade and he thinks that each parade event is the surprise, the thrown candy, the firetrucks, the band etc. only to find out that seeing his grandfather (a war veteran) in the parade. The mother gives a great explanation of the holiday. The book shows veterans in wheel chairs and uniforms. Great illustrations. This is also a great multicultural read.

It's tough to teach young kids about the reason we celebrate Memorial Day. The subject is one they may have trouble grasping amid barbeque parties and parades. This book sums it up perfectly and makes a wonderful lesson for young children. The various fun things Marco gets to experience lead up to the real surprise when he finds his abuelo among the honored veterans in the parade. Children will be able to identify with Marco as he watches the parade, and the excitement building to the surprise will keep them interested throughout the story.

This is a wonderful, sweet book. It is the story of a little boy who goes to a Memorial Day Parade with his mom. She tells him that there is a "big surprise." As each event in the parade unfolds, from the marching bands to the free candy, he asks if that was the surprise. Each time, his mother tells him that the surprise is even more special. At the end of the parade, people stand and begin to clap. The little boys wonders why, then spys his beloved grandfather, a veteran, being pushed in his wheelchair at the front of the group. The sense of expectation builds with each page and the illustrations are very bright and cheerful. My children loved this book. What a wonderful way to introduce children to the Memorial Day holiday and the people who are at its heart!

This is hands down the best book about Memorial Day for younger children. I have a 6 and 5 yo and they got so much out of this book. The wording was so much better than the ones I found at the local library. It discusses the Civil War a lot so you can use it again when that topic is introduced. I homeschool and I found this to be an excellent source of info!

The History of Memorial Day is so often overlooked, untaught, misunderstood. This book does an A+ job of teaching our children the history and the meaning of the day. I wish there were more like this. ... Buy. Read. Pass it on to others. Give as a gift. Let us not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day.

This father and son team has produced for all generations a fitting and touching tribute to those who have lost their lives while serving in the armed forces of our nation. This is history with a personal, stirring touch. The delicate subject is handled with the utmost reverance and grace. The reader stands, as it were, in hushed solemnity at the funerals themselves. There is so much not-to-be lost history to be gleaned as well. Particularly outstanding is the way the Fletchers interlace so powerfully yet so tenderly the powerful threads of Christianity at its pristine best.

Thanks so much for a most eloquent tribute to our fallen.

I have followed with interest as Robert A. Fletcher (illustrator) has put together a splendid arrangement of paintings to honor our veterans in America's Wars. It honors those unnamed thousands who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country with a nice write-up and beautiful paintings showing U.S. military funerals from centuries ago until recently.

An interesting tidbit is that Robert A. Fletcher is in fact a Korean War veteran. So, by buying some great art and acquiring a great conversation starter for your coffee table, you are also supporting a veteran by your purchase.

Thank you to our veterans for your service to our country!

If, during a quiet moment, sometimes the memory of that love from long ago enters your thoughts and suddenly you begin once again to reflect on where you are and where you would like to be....if only...then you will enjoy and connect with this book.

Vince Flynn is an exceptional writer. The only thing I would like to say here is that as good as his first book was, he has gotten better and better with each writing. It is as if we have watched him evolve into a first class author every bit as good as Clancy and the rest. I can't put his books down. Thanks Vince

Flynn uses the same protagonist (a counterterrorism expert) in this novel as he did in "Transfer of Power". This one is not nearly as good, it lacks depth, especially with the characters. Flynn is not at the level of Clancy, Higgins, and others of that genre, as some have espoused. Even so, "Memorial Day" is still an exciting read----a page turner, action packed, full of technical weapons, and you don't need to think too much.

Centered around political espionage and a Muslim terrorist plot on the United States. The assassin, Mitch Rapp is back again to save the country.

Flynn uses his novels to get out sound political messages: how should we be treating terrorists?; torture?; is the terror war a law enforcement issue?; should not the professionals be allowed to do their work?

Wish you well
Scott

This one really slowed down in the middle. I would say at about the 3/4 mark it picked up and I enjoyed it from that point forward. This one is not as strong as some of Flynn's others like "Consent to Kill".

Scary but realistic story but not for me. I'd rather escape if I'm going to read fiction. However if you like hard hitting, current event based action and intelligence genre novels, you will love this.

This may be my favorite Rapp novel. I like the threads and how they weave together. I read this one the quickest of all Flynn's books, so that is a very strong endorsement.

Dry Wells, Nevada is a withering one horse town where there is little else to do but drink and fight.

But that's about to change.

Mick Callahan was a successful psychiatrist with a promising future in the City of Angels but when the stresses of the limelight finally caught up with him, Mick finds himself unemployed and bordering on the desperate.

Being out of work, Mick jumps at the opportunity to return to Dry Wells to make a quick buck filling in for an old friend and radio personality, Loner McDowell. Back in his hometown, Mick is quick to realize that one can never be completely free from one's past.

Upon his return, a dapperly dressed man is found murdered in an alley, killed mobster style and the coincidence is not lost on the longtime lawman, Sheriff Bass who had many memories of the juvenile Callahan return, suddenly too fresh in his mind.

Before long Mick finds himself at the heart of a web of deception and murder, torn between the prospect of salvaging his career and the moral dilemma of helping root out a ruthless killer or killers before another life is lost...

Even if that life is Mick's own.

Memorial Day is a fantastic mystery colorfully written and fun to read. Harry Shannon creates a perfect environment in Dry Wells as the backdrop for an ever changing murder mystery rounded out nicely with a slew of possibilities as to the identity of the killer(s) for the reader to consider. Every turn the story takes confounds the seemingly straight forward way in which the reader decides who the guilty party is, but does so without disrupting the simplicity of the ultimate outcome.

Harry does a bang up job with Memorial Day and has a true knack for creating characters we can all identify with in one way or another and making subject matter somehow personal. So whether you love a good mystery or thriller, curl up on the couch with Memorial Day and enjoy the fireworks from the comfort of your own living room!

Over the past few years, I've read Harry Shannon's short stories, both in the horror and crime fiction genres, published in various e-zines. For a few venues, we've been table-of-contents mates. Memorial Day, the debut Mick Callahan mystery, then was a genuine treat to read.

For starters, I cite its originality in the narrator/protagonist. Mick is an ex-boozer, ex-TV personality, and head shrink who has a deeper vein of compassion and generosity than he seems ready to admit. But he's not really the reluctant or ambivalent hero. He's smart enough not to take himself, just his investigative work, too seriously.

This yarn is set in the fictitious town of Dry Wells, Nevada (population: 278). As the novel's title implies, it's the Memorial Day weekend. Mick is filling in temporarily on the local radio station, doing his call-in help program. A troubled girl phones in, saying she's in trouble and fears for her life. Dubbing her "Ophelia", Mick can't extract more information from her.

After the radio show on the way back to his motel room, Mick stumbles on a grisly murder in a dark alley. The sheriff is on the scene and makes Mick promise to keep the murder quiet over the weekend -- a most strange request. Thus, the novel's intriguing premise is set up.

Mick's AA sponsor is Hal Solomon, a wealthy, retired businessman who happens to be in London. They communicate via phone and email to discuss the investigation in Dry Wells. Mick's unusual sidekick Hal earns a second mark for originality.

I found much to enjoy in this novel. The prose is energetic and sharp. The desert setting is crisp and vivid. The dialogue between the characters is seamless and natural. Memorial Day has echoes of James Crumley and James Lee Burke, but it remains as an original.

Memorial Day is an excellent mystery. Mick Callahan is a wonderfully flawed hero but he isn't so flawed that we have to spend pages upon pages wallowing in his angst. This is a tight book without any chaff. The bad guys were very well done; I detested every one of them.

If you like Harry Bosch and Dave Robicheaux then you will like Mick Callahan.

This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys mysteries. Its main character, Mick Callahan, is the best of Clint Eastwood and Dr. Phil rolled into one. You don't know if he's gonna shrink the people he meets or just haul off and beat 'em up. Great fun! I liked it enough to buy Eye of the Burning Man too.

I heard about this book while reading the reviews of another book and thought I'd give it a try. I was not dissappointed. The book started out a little slow for me, but quickly picked up speed. In fact, it was almost impossible for me to put the book down while reading the last 100 pages. The story itself was interesting and somewhat unnerving. Mick Callahan is a great character. Extremely flawed but very likable. Hopefully, we will find out more about him in future books.

This book is comforting and gives you some hope when you read it every day.