Editorial Review

A beloved classic since its initial publication in 1947, this vivid, insightful journal is a fitting memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity. The diary's universal appeal stems from its riveting blend of the grubby particulars of life during wartime (scant, bad food; shabby, outgrown clothes that can't be replaced; constant fear of discovery) and candid discussion of emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one sees my real nature, when will I be loved?). Yet Frank was no ordinary teen: the later entries reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl barely 15. Her death epitomizes the madness of the Holocaust, but for the millions who meet Anne through her diary, it is also a very individual loss. Read more

Reviews (560)

'Anne Frank, better than ever'
'The Diary Of A Young Girl: The Definitive edition' is more or less the un-cut version of the book that was originally published in the late 1940's. it contains approx. 30% more material, and in my opinion makes Anne more relatable than ever, particularly to adolescents.
Diary of Anne Frank
Anne Frank "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Unbelivable story
I have just finished the Diary Of a Young Girl and i have the strong feeling that i was moved back in time, as if it was 1944.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - General    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jews    9. Women    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. History / Holocaust   

Reviews (87)

A review
Chris Bird
READ OR NOT TO READ....
The book Whirligig is by Paul Fleischman. This book will start out a little dull, but it gets
Whirligig review
Whirligig by Paul Fleischman is about Brent a high school senior who is new to town he was at a party trying to gain acceptance from the popular kids especially Brianna the girl he liked. When he tried to talk to her but she just rejected him. Drunk and angry he drove off in attempt to commit suicide by crashing his car into on coming traffic but he fails instead he kills a girl named Lea. Tormented by this tragic incident all he can think about is what he has done. When he goes to court to face trial Lea's mother wants to have a meeting with him. At the meeting Lea's mother asks Brent to make whirligigs that look like Lea in the four corners of The United States. On this journey Brent makes these whirligigs and affects many people without even meeting them which is karass. This book shows the way each person is connected and how you can affect people, Brent affected many people with his creations like a violinist and a holocaust surviver. On his trip he has time to think about what he has done and how he can find himself. At the beginning he has troble with getting over the fact that he killed someone so he keeps to himself and doesn't talk to anyone. But once he realizes that its in the past and he need to get he job done which is building the whirligigs he feels better. When he makes the whirligigs he feels like that he matters and that he is making a difference. He tries to make them look like Lea in remembrance of her. His whirligig creations are very creative and he spends a lot of time thinking about them and making them. This book is difficult to understand from the beginning because of the different settings in each chapter but once the book comes to a close it brings it all together. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Fiction    4. Forgiveness    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Social Issues - Death & Dying    7. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    8. Social Issues - Values    9. Voyages and travels    10. Whirligigs    11. Adventure stories    12. Juvenile Fiction / General    13. Transport technologies   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (30)

BAD
BADCharlotte Cordell
A Good Read
This book is great.
Bad
Bad
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Fiction    4. Juvenile Fiction    5. Juvenile delinquency    6. Law & Crime    7. Social Issues - General    8. Social Issues - Violence   

Editorial Review

This work is perhaps the most complete and enjoyable children's book ever written about one of the nation's most fascinating and important figures, Abraham Lincoln. Russell Freedman covers Lincoln's life and career in a balanced treatment that is enhanced by period photographs and drawings.The book won the Newbery Medal, the Jefferson Cup Award and the Golden Kite Honor Book Award, and earned a citation as Read more

Reviews (16)

Great history book and great biography book
This medium-sized illustrated book on the life of Abraham Lincoln covers the private and public life of one of America's greatest presidents.The book gives good balance to the different stages of Lincoln's life; including his youth, childhood education, teenage years, early days as a country lawyer, entrance into local politics, his marriage, and finally his rise to the presidency and his death.The book does not concentrate on the Civil War, but instead gives a full picture of the man, including his personal traits such as love of storytelling, good humor, and ability to win over people given enough time.Overall, a great book for students in middle school or early high school.

A Review of Lincoln a Photobiography
This book is all about Abraham Lincoln from living in the backwoods to the Presidency and the assassination. Before Lincoln became President he was a lawyer and a State and U.S. Congressman. He married Mary Ann Todd and they had four boys.He was a member of the Whig Party until 1856 when he switched to the Repuplican Party. He was elected President in 1860 and ledthe Union to victory over the Confederates in the Civil War.He was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14,1856. He was watching the play My American Cousin at Ford's theater. The next day he died in a boarding house across the street.I give this book five stars because it was an awesome book. I learned a lot about Lincoln and life in the 1800's. Russell Freedman packed the book with a bunch of interesting facts that kept me reading.It wasn't just about Lincoln.It was also about the Civil War and political issues. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about history, Presidents and likes to read biographies.
Great history book for preteens and teens
I bought this book for my son's 11th birthday. He's always been interested in President Lincoln because they have the same birthday (albeit different years!). This book was the last present he opened - after the gameboy, the new game, and several other books. The gameboy went on the table and the book came out. He read for nearly an hour, occasionally stopping to fill me in on tidbits from the book. The book is very interesting reading, even for adults, and is written in such a way to capture the reader's interest from the beginning. I would highly recommend it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1809-1865    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - General    4. Biography & Autobiography - U.S. Presidents & First Ladies    5. Children's 9-12 - Biography / Autobiography    6. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Biography    7. Children: Grades 4-6    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Lincoln, Abraham,    11. President U.S    12. Presidents    13. United States    14. Biography: general    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / General    16. Lincoln, Abraham    17. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    18. USA   

Editorial Review

Late night. The boy listens to the radio and twirls the dial aimlesslyto catch fragments of a talk show, a baseball game, jazz, rock, country &western, a Spanish soap opera, the curtain calls for a grand opera, a sermon, anewscast... Read more

Reviews (13)

I do not reconmend this book
The title of the book that I am reviewing is Seek by Paul Fleischman. This book is realistic fiction. This book is about this boy who is trying to write an autobiograpghy by remembering what happened in the past. When this boy tries to find his father, he doesn't find him through people but through air waves.I did not care for the book. I got kind of lost with all the characters and how after every sentence it changed form past to present. I think this book would be ok for 8th graders but you have to be focused.

exciting throughout the whole book
This book was very exciting and interseting to me. this book is a bout a boy named Rob, and he lives with his mother. In school he is assigned to write a autobiography about his life so far.He starts reflescting back to he early life and he remembers his mother watching spanish soap operas and always telling him what was happening. Also he remembers about how his grandfather use to always teach him about history, and his grandmother always telling him stories.He remebers him and his friends always listening to radios and watching channels to see if they could find his father or even listen to him.He wants to see his father so bad,even though he was the one who abandoned him and his mother before he was born because he didnt want a child.I thought this book was pretty good.I think that it was hard to follow the stories because there was more than one going a time.This book is a good book for anybody to read.

And ye shall find
The idea of writing children and teen books that should ideally be read aloud is not particularly common.Just the same, author Paul Fleischman has excelled at it time and time again.Long ago when I was young and unappreciative of anything that didn't involve "The Phantom of the Opera" (don't ask...it was a faze) I was given Fleischman's lovely Newbery Award winning, "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices".I didn't really take to the book, partly because I was a little old for it when it first came out.Looking back at it recently, I could acknowledge that it was a lovely idea wrapped up in a succint little book.Fast forward some thirteen odd years later to the publication of "Seek".A particularly daring young adult novel, Fleischman has written a tale that is so flexible that it can either be read on the page or heard in a form of Reader's Theater.This is perhaps the first book I've read that was meant to be read on the radio.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Family - General    4. Family - Parents    5. Fathers and sons    6. Fiction    7. Fleischman, Paul    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Radio    10. Social Issues - Adolescence    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Performing Arts / Television & Radio   

Reviews (6)

kids at work
This is a nonfiction photographic essay book that will touch any reader's heart. Mr. Freedman seems to know the facts and life of Mr. Hine very well. There is an extensive bibliography at the end of the book as wee. The information at the end seemed hard to believe but true. The book is only 11 years old so the facts aren't that dated. There are many saddening facts in this book. It reveals the truths about child labor in the text and photos.
Hate school? Your life could be so much worse...
Freedman has collected dozens of black and white photographs taken by Lewis Hine during the first decades of the twentieth century. Hine worked as an investigational photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). The NCLC wanted the United States government to pass laws concerning child labor, and thought that photos of the work children did would be more effective persuaders than mere speeches and statistics. Hine traveled the nation with his camera taking photographs, sometimes despite risk to his person. The meaning of tough
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    3. Child labor    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Employment Of Youth    7. Hine, Lewis Wickes,    8. History    9. History - United States/20th Century    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Photographers    13. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    14. Social Science - Politics & Government    15. Social Science - Sociology    16. Social reformers    17. United States    18. Adolescents    19. Employment & unemployment    20. Historical figures    21. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / United States / 20th Century    22. Physical abuse   

Editorial Review

Paul Fleischman offers a glimpse at the Trojan War through modern day newspaper headlines. By equating such events as Agamemnon offering sacrifice to the Greeks before sailing to Troy with George Bush's declaration of a national day of prayer after sending troops to the Persian Gulf, or the massacre of the Trojans by the Greeks to the My Lai incident in Vietnam, Fleischman helps young scholars understand the myth through present-day events and attitudes. Each page of text is enhanced by a collage of newspaper clippings relating to a particular piece of the myth. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Not appropriate for grade schoolers
My 11-year-old son brought this book home from the grade school library and, upon first glance, I thought it would be an interesting book. However, as I flipped through the book and saw the newspaper clippings the other reviewers mentioned, I was somewhat startled.Some of them read: "Japan Admits WWII Use of Sex Slaves," "War Protester Burns Herself To Death Here," and "Newborn Found in Dumpster."There were several other, similar articles.This may be fine for young adults of junior high age or higher, but not for grade school kids.

Are modern humans and institutions like Ancient Greece?
I have read, both in my childhood and adulthood, many different versions of the Trojan War. The version in this book is well written for both adult and younger audiences. Dateline: Troy
Dateline: TroyRead more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Folk Tales / Mythology / Fables (Young Adult)    5. History - Modern    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Juvenile literature    8. Mythology, Greek    9. Social Science - Folklore & Mythology    10. Trojan War    11. World politics    12. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / General   

Reviews (1)

At least one in five was hungry

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Subjects:  1. 1929    2. 20th century    3. Children    4. Children's 9-12 - History - General    5. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. Depressions    8. Freedman, Russell    9. History    10. History - United States/20th Century    11. Juvenile Nonfiction    12. Juvenile literature    13. Social Issues - General    14. Social Science - Sociology    15. Social Studies - Sociology    16. Social conditions    17. United States    18. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (7)

"The day I killed my brother's girlfriend started with me hand picking leaves off our front lawn."
Sixteen-year-old Anna was driving her (drunk) best friend home from a party when she collided head-on with her brother's girlfriend's car.Now a beautiful high school senior is dead, Anna nearly lost an eye and suffers from PTSD with crippling nightmares, her best friend Ellen is in a wheelchair, and the family is at odds with one another.Wrecked opens with the car accident and its aftermath, but, as a whole, the book is an exploration of the fabric of an entire family.
Short but, excellent.
This book cannot be put down. I read this book in 5 hours, I am in [...]honors so this book was easy for me, I absolutely adored this book. I love how it went into flashbacks of times with her and Jack. Excellent book, purchase!

Wrecked review
The Book Wrecked by E.R. Frank, and published by Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books September 27, 2005.There are 256 pages in this book.This book is fiction.This book is about a young girl who accidentally kills her brother's girlfriend in a car accident.She deals with the ups and downs of having the girl's death on her shoulders, which is very hard for her to cope with.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Death    5. Family - Siblings    6. Fiction    7. Grief    8. Guilt    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    12. Traffic accidents    13. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Death & Dying   

Reviews (4)

The blend of visual and history will appeal to elementary grades 3-5
If your family came to America 100 years ago, what was life like for them? Newbery Medalist Russell Freedman provides insights which pair with vintage black and white photos to describe work challenges, living conditions and more. The blend of visual and history will appeal to elementary grades 3-5, but many an older reader will find it equally unusual & compelling.
Immigrant Kids - A Must Read!
This wonderful non-fiction book will be a hit with students at the 4th-6th grade level.The real life pictures of immigrant children in the neighborhoods of New York during the late 1800's and early 1900's that appear on almost every page of the book should hold the interest of even the most reluctant readers.However, while the reading itself is not too difficult for most 4th-6th grade students, much of the vocabulary explaining the era of that time will be unfamiliar to them so covering this book as a read-aloud may be most beneficial.Immigrant Kids provides a wonderful way to introduce students to immigration in the past and show how it has changed over time.It lends itself well to a discussion in history class on the various cultures that became part of the giant "mixing pot" we now call our country.Because this book is set in New York it can further be used to teach about the city of New York and its early beginnings.Possibly the one thing that will interest students the most about this book is that it is written from the perspective of children like themselves.Overall the historical content of this book is very well defined and accurate and the photograph driven text provides readers with a very non-threatening approach to information books.It is a must read in any 4th-6th grade history curriculum and can work as a wonderful addition to a reading curriculum when used in accompaniment with other books both fictional and factual dealing with the topic of immigration.

Welcome to America...
What a wonderful tribute to our country and to those people that left all they had, to join us here! The pictures and stories are amazing! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children of immigrants    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. City and town life    5. Emigration and immigration    6. General    7. Juvenile literature    8. United States    9. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (6)

my review of eleanor roosevelt
I learned that eleanor roosevelt was a very kind loving person who had a very odd child hood, she was known as the ugly duckling.Her mother did not treat her right and made eleanor afraid of everything.
A highly readable reference on a remarkable woman
This Newbery Honor Book, subtitled "A Life of Discovery," covers Eleanor Roosevelt's life in 11 chapters and nearly 200 pages.The biography covers Roosevelt's childhood, education, courtship, marriage and motherhood, entr�e into politics alongside her husband, and her humanitarian work independent of FDR.The text itself is straightforward and easy to read, presented in a scholarly fashion rather than the sort of fictionalized manner of some biographies.While certain events are dramatized, no dialog is invented - the words the reader encounters are those of the figures themselves, from journals, letters, and speeches.The best passages are the friendly and informative explanations offering children some background knowledge about the time, such as this account of courtship at the turn of the century, seamlessly woven into the chapter on "Cousin Franklin":
Woman of the century
To my mind there are two biographers that write for children and that can do no wrong.On is the ineffable J. Giblin (author of "The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler") and one is Russell Freedman.Freedman is best known for his well-rounded and intensely researched biography of Abraham Lincoln (entitled "Lincoln: A Photobiography"), winner of the Newbery award.Turning his sights to a slightly more modern personage, Freedman examines the life and times of Eleanor Roosevelt.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1884-1962    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    4. Biography & Autobiography - Political    5. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Biography    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. First ladies    8. Juvenile Nonfiction    9. Juvenile literature    10. Presidents' spouses    11. Roosevelt, Eleanor,    12. United States    13. Women    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Politicians & political leaders   

Editorial Review

At the discretion of the social welfare system, a 5-year-old boy namedAmerica trustingly leaves the safe haven of his foster home for a visit with hisdesperate, drug-addicted mother. And because of that one lapse in adultjudgment, a child is lost within the system until almost 11 years later when hetries to end his own life. It is the patient therapist Dr. B. who must coax anembittered and damaged America into revisiting all the dark alleys of thatlonely suicide road in order to face down his fears and dare to be found. "I'mnot that little kid anymore.... I'm not white and I'm not black and I'm notanything, but I'm a little bit of everything.... I look down and it's just me."Searingly raw and so painfully honest it nearly draws blood, young-adultnovelist E.R. Frank's powerful sophomore effort about a boy nearly broken byneglect and abuse will dampen every eye and brand every heart. Reminiscent ofHan Nolan's Read more

Reviews (26)

Life or Death
What does it take to get to the point were life is better than death. This is the life of America, the son of a crake head mother and an unknown father. After year of treatment that no child should ever,suffer he ends up in a mental institute for teens. Now suicidal, his new therapist Dr. B. tries to unlock the life and memories in the abyss of America's mind. This is a great story for young adults, but isn't for the faint of heart.

My Personal Favorite
I have read literally TONS of young adult fiction novels and I would have to say that this is my favorite along with When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams and Ms. Frank's other book, Life Is Funny.I am fourteen years old currently but at the time I read this I was twelve almost thirteen and it has still resonated with me.I stayed up an entire night to read the book which was over two hundred pages but I couldn't stop.I felt a great desire to know what was happening next and I couldn't stop.
Cathy is, once again, wrong.
Cathy says AMERICA uses gritty language authentic to the experience of the protagonist. She's right about that.Then she says it's not appropriate as a library book.On this point, she is dead wrong.In a perfect world, characters like Frank's chronically abused America would only exist in works of troubling fiction. But as the author understands, there are thousands of kids living America's life in our free nation every day.Some do not suffer to the degree America has in the broken foster care system. Some only suffer a taste of abuse.But every teen that believes he or she is the ONLY one living this kind of life will find great comfort and kinship within the pages of America, in part because Frank doesn't shy from the authenticity Cathy finds "offensive."Well, in a way I agree with her. It is deeply offensive that children must endure the kind of pain America and real kids like him have to endure.But telling their stories is NOT offensive.Telling their stories can, in fact, save lives.America may not be for all readers, but that is for each parent to decide for their OWN children. It's not Cathy's decision to make. And as long as Cathy has the intellectual freedom to say it does NOT belong on library shelves, my right to see it safely shelved is protected as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Emotional problems    4. Emotionally disturbed children    5. Family - Orphans & Foster Homes    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Racially mixed people    9. Social Issues - Adolescence    10. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    11. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    12. Social Issues - Special Needs    13. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Orphans & Foster Homes   

Reviews (3)

Just wished I could have heard her, too!
I was not too familiar with the life of Marian Anderson, so it was
If the planet Earth could sing
Writing a biography of a private person who led a public life is, by definition, difficult.So it only stands to reason that writing a children's biography of a private person who led a public life would be ten times as hard.Children's biographies cannot speculate over the sex life of the subject.They can't delve into shoddy rumors or dredge up conspiracy theories related to the person's sordid background.None of this is to say that Marian Anderson had such sketchy rumors floating about her person, of course.By all accounts she led an exciting life, had a fabulous career, and is regarded as a great American hero.But she was also a private person, which places Russell Freedman in a difficult position.As the author of, "The Voice That Challenged a Nation", Freedman's job is to tell Anderson's story while relying on as many good, strong, clean facts as he can get his hands on.Fortunately, we're talking about the premiere biographical children's author here.Alongside fellow genius James Giblin, Freedman knows exactly how to present a life this interesting and detailed.The book will not charm every child assigned it in school.But if you've a kid who's open-minded and able to get into Marian's struggle, this is an excellent resource.Even if, prior to this book, they couldn't tell Marian Anderson from Ella Fitzgerald.
Richie's Picks: THE VOICE THAT CHALLENGED A NATION
"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, 'My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.'