Review: Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read and seen movies about the famous Tuskeegee Airmen, but I was unfamiliar with the Triple Nickles, America's first Black paratroopers. This book is filled with lots of great photos, and lots of good information that almost reads like a novel. The bravery of the men in and off of the military bases shines forth within these pages. The author lets the reader know a little of the prehistory of race relations in America around the time World War II begins, and how narrow-minded most people in the military were during the war. The author follows these men to the present, and lets us know what they are thinking today as they look back on their experiences.

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Review: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an impressive book that uses real young people that happened to live in Germany during the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime. There are many photographs that follow these young people, and we hear their stories told in their own voices. I think the book is best for 7th grade and up, and is a perfect accompaniment for books like The Book Thief, and Daniels' Story, or even The Diary of Anne Frank.

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Review: Gaby, Lost and Found

Gaby, Lost and Found by Ángela Cervantes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gaby Ramirez Howard is a typical 6th grader- she loves cats, and she has a great best friend. But, Gaby is living with her dad now, after her mother was deported back to Honduras for being in this country illegally. Gaby misses her mom terribly, but is thrilled when her class decides to volunteer in an animal shelter. Gaby is great at writing really clever ads for the pets, and a lot of the animals are being adopted. But, there is one cat that Gaby has fallen in love with, Feathers, and she will do anything to not have it adopted by the wrong people. I liked Gaby, and her best friend Alma. This is a very real story, and I think 6th grade chicas will love it.

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