Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A boy travels to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with his father to seek out his grandfather's name. The well-matched text and illustrations are soft but stirring. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-- A boy and his father have come to the Vietnam War Memorial to look for the boy's grandfather's name among those who were killed in the war. They find his name surrounded, but far from lost, in the rows of print that ``march side by side, like rows of soldiers.'' ``I'm proud that your grandfather's name is on this wall,'' says the boy's father. The boy agrees, adding, ``but I'd rather have my grandpa here.'' Before this powerful book is half finished, readers will be deeply moved. Bunting's understated prose captures the meaning of the memorial to the American people, especially to those who lost loved ones, without being maudlin or heavy-handed. Himler's gauzy watercolors are a perfect accompaniment: impressionistic enough for the characters to appear as everymen. A sensitive and moving picture book, and a great discussion book as well. --Catherine vanSonnenberg, San Diego Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A father and his young son come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the name of the grandfather the boy never knew. This moving account is beautifully told from a young child's point of view; the watercolors capture the impressive mass of the wall of names as well as the poignant reactions of the people who visit there. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young boy visits the Vietnam War Memorial with his father, finds his grandfather's name, and leaves a picture of himself at the wall's base. He sees a legless veteran; an older couple weeping together; a boy and his grandfather walking by; a teacher explaining the wall to her class (""The names are the names of the dead. But the wall is for all of us""), and the small offerings left by others: letters, flowers, a teddy bear. The story is told with a spare, highly charged simplicity; Himler's misty watercolors capture the solemnity of the vast reflecting surface and the pathos of the visitors better than any photo of this difficult-to-represent monument--although his decision to mute its somber black is debatable and using the teddy bear on the title page is an unfortunate choice. Still, a moving introduction. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
