Rebecca Christiansen

This book would be good to do a shared class reading for kindergarten and first graders. It tells the story about a young boy and the life he has to live with his father in the military. it discusses all the events his father has to miss and what is father is doing to help the nation. Most pages end with the line "...but that's not what makes him a hero" which is great for children to join in and participate in choral reading as a class. The book could be used to help show how different families live or for a time of year such as Career Day or Veteran's Day. Concepts that can be taught with this book are point of view as the story is narrated completely by the child in first person or vocabulary as many words are used and defined such as sacrifice, camouflage, and bravery.… (mehr)

I loved that I finally found a book that featured a military family. Coming from a military family, I have often found it hard to relate to stories about families because my family was so unique as a result of my dad's job. One reason I liked this book was the page in the front of the book for a picture of a dad that said, "My Dad's a Hero." The last page also had a spot for a picture that said, "I am a Hero." I loved the fact that readers could put pictures of themselves and their dad because it relates the book back to the reader directly. Readers can see their own lives reflected in the story but also picture themselves actually in the story because of this feature. I also liked the language of the book. No scary words such as, "guns," "war," or "fighting," were incorporated. Instead, the authors explained military terms in a positive way. The language was comforting instead of anxiety inducing. I found it to be very kid-friendly because it explains aspects of a job in the military while staying away from words about war, which is very hard to do. The main message of the book is that the troops are our heroes because they sacrifice so much for our freedom.… (mehr)