The Blue and the Gray

Rating:
Summary: This one moved me to tears....
Review: I have just finished reading the book through for the second time. A co-worker gave it to me to look at from her local library, and I am using this visit to Amazon to order it for my children. What a *beautifully* written book! I am a professional songwriter, and as such I have a special appreciation for the flow of language and story, the movement from the sensory information of the present to the jarring contrast of the past. Your children will understand the Civil War in a very human and very tragic way - the way it should be understood. They will more fully understand why the angels wept....

Rating:
Summary: Bittinger is One of the Best!
Review: The Blue and the Gray gives a very modern look at the Civil War, through the eyes of two young boys -- one Caucasian, one African-American -- who are friends and neighbors where a house is being built for one of the families. On this very spot where bloody battles were faught over 100 years ago, right there in Northern Virginia. The father of one of the boys explains in simple terms what the fighting was for, tells them how the soldiers might have experienced things at that time. Bunting, as always, is a genius with her choice of words, but just as impressive are the beautiful oil paintings for the book created by Ned Bittinger. Having had the privilege of having Mr. Bittinger speak and do presentations of his art work in the Library System where I work as the Youth Services Librarian, I have an even stronger appreciation now for the value of this wonderful picture book. A great way to introduce children to the concepts of friends fighting friends and brothers disagreeing with each other to fight a Civil War where many opinions and ideals struggled to be free. (Be sure to look for the hidden pictures Bittinger clever crafts into the "shadows" of some of these pages -- particularly the general on his horse as the boys are sledding down a hill!) One of the best picture books ever, particularly in this subject area.

Rating:
Summary: This book brings the Civil War home for kids
Review: This is one of the finest picture books I have ever come across. It involves a father telling his young son (and the son's friend) about the Civil War -- of which several battles took place on the land where the house is being built.

This book was in poetry form which would probably make it easy for even some of the youngest readers to read and enjoy. The pictures were some of the best that I have ever seen (as vivid as Chris Van Allsburg - THE POLAR EXPRESS, JUMANJI). The paintings of the Civil War battle scenes (which appear as almost in a dream-like state) were vivid enough and realistic enough to make any reader stop and take in the view for a considerable amount of time before going on to the next page. One of the remarkable things that quickly impressed me about this book was its stance on the subject and principles of war. One of the lines spoken by the father really puts the theme into an interesting perspective:

"...though every war is sad, and most are bad..."

Another very touching point in the book was when the young boy asks his father if the Civil War was as hard for the men fighting it as it was for him in Operation Desert Storm.

The topic of this book is a universal one. I think that as long as a child is old enough to walk and talk, then they are old enough to be taught at least a little about their nation's history Civil War - whether that history include a revolution or a civil war or slavery.

Rating:
Summary: This book brings the Civil War home for kids
Review: This is one of the finest picture books I have ever come across. It involves a father telling his young son (and the son's friend) about the Civil War -- of which several battles took place on the land where the house is being built.

This book was in poetry form which would probably make it easy for even some of the youngest readers to read and enjoy. The pictures were some of the best that I have ever seen (as vivid as Chris Van Allsburg - THE POLAR EXPRESS, JUMANJI). The paintings of the Civil War battle scenes (which appear as almost in a dream-like state) were vivid enough and realistic enough to make any reader stop and take in the view for a considerable amount of time before going on to the next page. One of the remarkable things that quickly impressed me about this book was its stance on the subject and principles of war. One of the lines spoken by the father really puts the theme into an interesting perspective:

"...though every war is sad, and most are bad..."

Another very touching point in the book was when the young boy asks his father if the Civil War was as hard for the men fighting it as it was for him in Operation Desert Storm.

The topic of this book is a universal one. I think that as long as a child is old enough to walk and talk, then they are old enough to be taught at least a little about their nation's history Civil War - whether that history include a revolution or a civil war or slavery.