If the word history elicits yawns from children, it is not the fault of The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History. Written by Jennifer Armstrong and illustrated by Roger Roth, this treasury is ideal for short read-aloud or read-alone sessions; each story is no more than four pages long, and the illustrations are plentiful and exciting. Arranged in chronological order, it’s a painless, satisfying way to introduce America’s stories to children: from the first city (St. Augustine, 1565) to the 2000 Presidential election. Introduced along the way are not only the biggies like Ben Franklin and Abe Lincoln, but people and events as varied as Sojourner Truth, the O.K. Corral, Lizzie Borden, the Cuban Missile Crisis and PacMan.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
