This book tells you what it was like to live at the time of the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. This book is full of wonderful facts about the Civil War. It is written in a format that was easy to understand and read. Younger children may understand it as well if something is read to them. I really appreciated the way the story is written. One page is written from the South's point of view on how the people felt, how they acted, how they had to respond to the war, etc. . The other page was from the North's point of view. Having written it this way, it is easy for the reader to fully understand how it affected everyone. Even as an adult reading this this book helped clear up a few things I have been having trouble remembering when I study about the Civil War. ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. First, there was a table of contents in the beginning of the book that showed what page specific questions would be answered on. For example, on page 30 the question “Did you continue to go to school in the North?” would be answered while on page 32 “Did you continue to go to school in the South?” was answered. For those who are using this book in order to find specific information, this allows them to find the answer quicker than searching through the entire book. Secondly, I liked the illustrations because they depicted what the people of this time period wore and even what the different locations the Civil War took place in might have looked like. As a children’s book, I especially like that drawings instead of pictures were used because enough detail was added without being overwhelming. With pictures, details down to a button on a coat or different types of trees often cause the eye to travel too many places at once while these illustrations were simple enough to focus on and understand the time period. Also, the drawings fit well with the writing in the book because each piece of information was not very detailed as well yet still allowed the reader to understand what the time period was like. ( )

Summary:
This book explains all the details of the Civil War in a kid oriented way.
Instructional Use:
I would use this book to compliment my Social Studies lessons on the Civil War. Correlates with NAD Reading Standard LA.4.RI.3 and LA.4.RI.11 ( )

Age: 5

Source: Pierce County Library

What it was like to live at the time of the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.

6 copies