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Long out of print, Toward Morning is a gripping and emotional tale of the turbulent days surrounding the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. We follow Janos, his friends, younger sister Teresa, and younger brother Belo, as they become immersed in the battle for freedom. Since much of the story is based on actual events, the story is all the more intense. Will the Russian soldiers capture and torture their brother for his activities? Where can he hide? After reading this book, you will have a greater appreciation for your freedom.

You may be able to find a copy in your local library. It is defintely worth looking for.

I really like it when authors of children's books remember that details of how things work are fascinating to children. Gail Gibbons is definitely one of those authors. Her book is filled with very simple illustrations and text about trains, but the various parts of the trains are labeled and the text explains things like how the trains link together and the differences between gondola cars, hopper cars, boxcars and tank cars.The back page contains a chart of signs and signals relating to trains. Appropriate for preschool or kindergarten age children.

What would you say to a historical novel filled with action and adventure? What would you say to a book written with boys in mind by an author famous for his morally strong and upright heroes? What would you say to a book that gives the “other side” of the story?

Well, I would say – “sounds wonderful; bring it on!”

And this book, True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War for Independence, by G. A. Henty fulfills all these descriptions. His book is filled with action and adventure, from pre-Revolution events to post-Revolution occurrences. The book is definitely written with boys as the implied audience; and yes, his main character is morally strong, upright and virtuous. Further, this book is written from a loyalist viewpoint; his main character is Harold Wilson, the only child in a family of loyalists living in New England during the Revolution. Wilson serves under British officers fighting the fight as only the British can.

George Alfred Henty (1832-1902), a novelist and “special correspondent”, was an avid imperialist – he felt that Britain’s conquering of the world was a great goal. Henty wrote this novel in 1885 in the heyday of Queen Victoria’s empire building. The ideal of British imperialism permeates True to the Old Flag. Snippets of the author’s British prejudice do creep in such as:

…it is probably that these terms (of compromise) might have been accepted (by Colonists wavering between loyalty to England and independence) had it not been for the intervention of France. That power had all along encouraged the rebellion. She had smarted under the loss of Canada, … she was glad to assist in any movement which could operate to the disadvantage of this (England) country. (pg 261)

We first meet Harold Wilson when he is visiting his maternal relatives out “west” in the wilderness of 1774 Michigan. Here the first thing Wilson does is save a young cousin from capture by some Indians; an act of bravery and intelligence that wins the heart of his young cousin and the gratitude of his aunt and uncle.

When the war starts a couple of years later, Wilson can only fight on the British side. His family members (his father is from England and his mother, although born in America, accepts her husband’s ideals) are loyalists and still have many ties to England. Wilson, now a young man of 18, goes off to fight with Howe, Clinton and Cornwallis.

Wilson sees it all and throughout the novel helps the reader see the major battle-fronts. From Lexington and Bunker Hill to Trenton and Saratoga; from Savannah to Cowpens and Guildford Court House the history is told through the eyes and ears of the young hero. The reader crawls through enemy lines with Wilson, spends time in an American prison with Wilson and goes to England with the now-defeated Wilson.

This is a great book for a living history study of the Revolution from an out of the ordinary point of view. The reader needs to remember that this book was written in 1885 when prejudices and bigotry were still prevalent – some of the descriptions of the African-Americans, Native Americans and others would not be allowed in a book written today. Another small quibble is that the author occasionally loses the story in his desire to describe the battles; the voice becomes that of an outsider rather than Wilson, and the book turns a bit textbook-ish at these points.

This book is definitely a great read for 4th-8th grade readers wanting to know a bit more about the American Revolution and how some Americans could take up the old flag against the new.

Recently republished by New Hope Publications, the lay Dominican community in New Hope KY, Truth Was Their Star by Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, OP offers a gentle introduction to various Dominican saints. Naturally, since she is a Dominican, she would be interested in sharing the lives of several Dominican saints. While not talking down to the child, the text is written as though speaking to a younger child. Each chapter is really an introduction to a particular saint offering a vignette about his or her life, or encapsulating a series of popular stories about the saint. These stories do not offer an in-depth analysis or completely cover the details of their lives. Each chapter is accompanied by a lovely paper cut silhouette, which Sr. Mary Jean is very famous for.

My one and only complaint with the book is the inaccurate statement in the book that people thought that the world was flat during the time of Christopher Columbus. This can be easily corrected by pointing out to the child that this is untrue. Christopher Columbus believed that the world was round, and therefore was hoping to go to the east by sailing west.

Originally published in 1947, this paperback is 124 pages with a beautiful silhouette on the cover. The suggested reading level is Gr. 6 to adult, but I think a younger child - advanced 3rd grade, 4th or 5th - would enjoy the book. It would also make an ideal read aloud to a younger child.