At the Battle of Yorktown: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure

At the Battle of Yorktown: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure (You Choose: American Battles) is another very strong entry in the You Choose series, this one written by Eric Braun.

I came across this title while searching historical fiction books on a required reading list. This was not on the list, but as so often happens, it popped up under the also bought suggestions and I realized it was a new title in a series I previously reviewed and loved.

One of my challenges is to find books that present accurate but engaging history for children. The two require balance. You can write a very detailed factual account of history, but if kids find it dull and boring, it isn't terribly helpful in engaging them in wanting to learn more about history. The other side is a wonderful story that sadly misleads kids about events because the research is sloppy. This series is both engaging and factual.

The reader is presented with 3 characters to choose from to follow the events that unfold during the Battle of Yorktown, a French soldier, an African American slave hoping for freedom, and a woman following her husband's enlistment in the Continental Army.

I like the attempt to add diversity to the choices because it provides a more rounded look at the war. Too often we don't look beyond the big names we've all come to know from history to the actual people who lived during the time period.

I am on the fence about the French soldier, though. I understand the desire to help students realize the Americans had the assistance of French military during the war and to include that perspective in the story. However, to do that, they had to leave out what I thought was an important perspective and that was the British soldier who was to suffer the ultimate humiliation when the Battle of Yorktown was lost and they had to surrender to the Continental Army. I think that weighting the option of including the French soldier or getting the perspective of the losing side through a British soldier I would have chosen the British soldier.

All three stories were compelling. A reminder to teachers and parents, this is a story about war and not every path leads to a happy ending. There are deaths depending on the choices one makes, even when those choices seem compassionate. As always I suggest previewing a book before presenting it to a child to read and be prepared to handle the reactions to those outcomes.

After the Fall How Humpty Got Back Up Again

I am always looking for alternate fairy tales and nursery rhymes. When I saw Dan Santat's After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) I decided to borrow it from the library to see if it was worth adding to my list of alternate titles.

This is actually a different kind of tale than the ones I usually write about for my alternate tale reviews. Other than changing the premise that the King didn't have the resources to put Humpty back together again, the story doesn't try to change the basic premise that Humpty liked to climb and fell. It instead is aimed at teaching children how to cope with a painful, scary accident that can lead to someone not wanting to do something again.

In this story after his fall Humpty doesn't want to resume wall climbling even though prior to his fall it was a great passion. He simply can't face the thought of the damage he could do to himself again. The author doesn't push Humpty up the ladder again, but instead leads Humpty there by acknowledging that his fears are logical and giving him some time to heal by exploring a new interest. Mind you this is a picture book so it isn't a long healing process, but it does give the reader enough time to understand that Humpty isn't giving up climbing forever, but he needed time to deal with his near death experience and to realize accidents do happen, it is just a part of life. There is no way to live an accident free life. Through his new hobby, Humpty comes to terms with the reality that nothing he does will be safe from accidents and he resumes his climbing.

This book packed a powerful message and it would be good to share with children because at some point most kids deal with fear, frustration, accidents, and failures. This book isn't the solution, but it is a way of talking about how hard it is to want to try again and how with time it is possible to overcome fears and challenges and to try again.

Friends of the Marlborough Public Library Book Sale April 28

The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library are holding their Spring Book and Bake Sale on Saturday, April 28th. The sale is open from 9-3 PM. The library is located on 35 West Main Street in Marlborough, MA in the Bigelow Auditorium, located in the lower library.

This sale is especially good for parents and teachers as the children's section is sorted into sections making the books easier to locate. The sections include board books, hard cover picture books, soft cover picture books, leveled readers, holiday themed books, early chapter books, and then chapter books by genre. There is also a section for non-fiction materials. Not something you find at most library book sales. While books do get jumbled during the sale, every effort is made to keep the sections together as long as books remain in those categories to help parents, teachers, and children make selections. This is the largest selection of non-library discard donations we've had in several years.

Young Adults have their own table with sections for science fiction/fantasy, manga, mystery, fiction, historical fiction & classics, and non-fiction.

Adults have a wide selection of books in fiction and nonfiction, hard cover and paper and includes a section for large print.

Another reason to visit, the prices are the best in the area. Children's soft cover books are $.25 Hardcover books $.50. Young Adult and Adult books are $.50 for paper and $1.00 for hard cover.

For best selection, arrive early. If you miss this sale, please stop by the ongoing sale located on a cart inside the Children's Library. While it won't be available during the sale on Saturday, it should resume the week after the sale ends. The prices are the same and new items are added weekly. Adults can find an ongoing sale on a bookshelf inside the doors at the entrance of the upstairs library. That will be available during the book sale.

AAA Discounts for Legoland Discovery Center Boston

As I was pricing a family outing to Legoland Discovery Center in Sommerville I began to look for discounts to reduce the cost. I had only casually looked before at AAA and hadn't noticed any discounts available, but since our outing was just a someday, I wasn't giving it a serious look. However, once a set date was in place I searched in earnest to find the most affordable option for our day.

You may see two offers for Legoland Discovery center on the AAA website, however, only the one I'm linking works for Boston. The other is for Westchester. The AAA discount is located here. The discount says you can use it with your card to purchase a walk up ticket for a flat rate of $15.95 per person at the door or online in advance. Legoland is a not a huge attraction and it books 15 minute entrance times to keep crowds moving through the first floor exhibits, sending people to the more open second floor where you can spend as long as you wish. If you have a specific date and time in mind and you want to make sure you have a slot, buying e-tickets through triple AAA in advance is a good option. I understand during vacations and some weekends slots can fill quickly.

Don't be confused by the starting at prices on their website. Why would I pay $15.95 when the website says tickets are $14.95? Well if you do what I did and open up two windows, one with AAA and one with Legoland, you quickly realize they are serious about the starting at price. The $15.95 turned out to be a significant price savings over buying my e-tickets directly through Legoland. Don't trust me try the experiment for yourself. If you are a AAA member, open two windows one with Legoland and one with AAA and compare the costs.

We had a great trip and the cost savings will go to other outings.