Spotlight on America: Westward Movement: Grades 5 & up Book

History was never my strongest curriculum area. It was just list after list of names, places, and dates that tended to jumble together as the lists grew. Nothing was ever "alive" enough for me to gain an actual understanding of the events--what happened, who was involved, and, most importantly, why things happened.

Steve Sheinkin has changed that, first with King George: What Was His Problem? and now with Two Miserable Presidents. Combining historical fact with little-known anecdotes, quotes from letters and journals, and bits of trivia, he has--for me, at least--caused Civil War names to evolve into actual personalities, turned the places into more than background scenery, and changed a list of "events leading to the Civil War" into "ohhh, that makes sense, now I get it." And trust me, that is quite the accomplishment.

I would finish a chapter, then look at my husband and ask, "Did you know that more Americans died in the one-day Battle of Antietam than have died on any day in history before or since? Did you know the Emancipation Proclamation didn't actually free anyone? Do you know why Southerners hate William Tecumseh Sherman with a white-hot, passionate hatred?" Because I didn't know those things. You probably do, but I didn't.

Now, if I, as class Valedictorian (huzzah, huzzah) can struggle with understanding major American history events like the Civil War, it is possible that some of our students today struggle as well. They need someone to help them genuinely understand that history if they're really going to learn it. Sheinkin's collection should be placed firmly in the hands of every Social Studies and History teacher. And if you know a kid (from age 9 to 99) who is studying the Civil War, buy him or her this book. Read through it with him; you'll both enjoy it. Some of the stories are humorous, some heartbreaking, but all memorable. And with every page you turn, your student's understanding will grow.