Secrets of American History World War I

I keep coming back to the Secrets of American History titles to review because I find myself drawn to a history series that tries to write independent readers for children to read about history on their own and dives into areas often not found in other children's books on the topic.

Fearless Flyers, Dazzle Painters, and Code Talkers!: World War I (Secrets of American History)has probably the best introduction to the time period I've read in the series to date. World War I is a tough topic to cover with children. Clearly within a leveled reader format much has to be condensed and left out, but I thought this book did a good job of picking and choosing what to write about in the introduction to World War I.

From the introduction the author moves on to a discussion of camouflage. The author discusses the difference in needs between army camouflage which was already being employed and the needs of the Navy who were struggling to avoid German U-boat attacks. The writing was quite engaging and while reading I texted a family member with information on the book as her sons have been fascinated by this topic and would enjoy reading the book. The author describes various experiments that failed and then describes how zebras and Picasso led to a break through. I'm not going to give it all away. You need an incentive to check out this book. While I'm well past the target age, I rather enjoyed it.

From Dazzle Camouflage we move on to Choctaw Code Talkers. This is one of the many things I love about reading and reviewing history books, there are always new things to learn. I've always associated Native American Code Talkers with World War II. However, it turns out the original Code Talkers solved a communication problem the American command was having with intercepted messages. The first recruits were from the Choctaw tribe. By utilizing their own language and creating a code for words that didn't exist in their language they were able to communicate in a code the Germans couldn't understand. I was so interested in this story I went online to read more.

The last story reflect the diversity the series has been known for and it tells the story of Eugene Bullard, an African American pilot who flew for the French since he was not allowed to fly for the Americans. His story is an amazing one, but again what I love about this series, one not often found in a children's series on World War I.

I believe this is the strongest book in the series I've read to date. The introduction was tighter and the individual stories remain strong and engaging.

Secrets of American History: Heroes Who Risked Everything for Freedom

I'm continuing to read and review Ready to Read's leveled reader history series because I do think it is important to have independent reading resources available for children that provide interesting engaging accurate material.

As I read Heroes Who Risked Everything for Freedom: Civil War (Secrets of American History)I continue to find the same strengths and weaknesses. When the book tries to discuss the large topic, in this case the causes for the Civil War, it does the series a disservice in oversimplifying the topic. It would have been best to focus on what they do well in telling the individual stories. The series continues to focus heavily on spies and intrigue, which I'm sure engages even some reluctant readers to pick up the book to find more.

The important part about these stories is they are engaging, but they fill gaps not always found in traditional books on the topic. While there are many books written on the amazing work Harriet Tubman did with the Underground Railroad, this book covers that material less often found in children's books about her war work as a spy and guide using her knowledge of the South to gain valuable intelligence for the Union. The section on Harriet Tubman alone makes this book a great read.

The book continues on to discuss the contributions of a several other African Americans who risked much for the Union cause and to promote freedom for slaves. Mary Touvestre is credited with stealing plans for an ironclad ship and bringing them to the secretary of the Navy in Washington, D.C. The book goes on to tell the story of Mary Elizabeth Bowser a freed slave, who risked her freedom by posing as a slave in the home of Jefferson Davis. She was a member of a spy ring formed by the woman who freed her. The next story is of a husband and wife who worked together, the husband gathering intelligence through his job as a cook and the wife using her laundry as a means of communication. The last story I found to be the most daring. Robert Smalls, a slave in South Carolina worked on a Confederate warship and through careful observation of the officers was able to steal the ship while they were ashore.

I'm still impressed with this series as a means to introduce early readers to history. The general history is weak, but the individual stories are gems. They bring the history alive. The limited format of a leveled reader clearly creates challenges, but I still think better editing could improve the general history portions of these books. However, the individual stories in this book are stories most younger readers won't find in books written for their age group and for that reason I continue to like this series.

Secrets of American History World War II Secret Agents! Sharks! Ghost Armies!

Secret Agents! Sharks! Ghost Armies!: World War II (Secrets of American History)is a Level 3 Ready to Read non-fiction book.

I am always pleased to see authors taking on the challenge of providing accurate age appropriate history books for children. Ready to Read has developed the Secrets of American History series to address this need. This is the first one I've encountered and I was interested to review it.

The leveled reader format is always a limiting one, as it forces the author to control the reading level, vocabulary, and format of the material. With that in mind this book was strongest when it focused on limited topics. The introduction to the war was weak as it was hard to explain within the limits of a leveled reader format. However, the sections that explained the attempts at shark repellent and the Ghost Army were strong. I recently read an adult book about the Ghost Army, I haven't seen much in children's lit that addresses this so I found the information presented here quite interesting and it was written in an age appropriate manner that students could understand.

The section on the female spy Virginia Hall was strong because it took the limited time it had to focus on one spy instead of spying as a general topic. It also addressed a topic not generally found in children's literature women in World War II, which makes it a unique resource for World War II literature for children.

Sadly, the book ends on a weaker note going off topic with a page about sharks and then trying to move back on topic about with two more short biographies of Josephine Baker and Roald Dahl's spying during the war. If I'd been an editor I'd have left out the sharks and increased the information on Baker and Dahl, which was relevant and interesting.

While I think the series could be improved with some editing, I am pleased to see a move towards more non-fiction leveled readers. It gives children access to material written at levels they can read. I do think with editing these books can get better and be an even better resource for educating children about a variety of non-fiction material.