~ MMGM Arlington National Cemetery ~

~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE
MONDAY NON-FICTION FEATURE

IN HONOR OF MEMORIAL DAY ~

-- 'ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY' --

AUTHOR BOB TEMPLE

 LEARN MORE ON GOODREADS

ABOUT THE BOOK:

This lower middle-grade non-fiction book including historical and contemporary photographs was published by The Child's World  in Mankato, Minnesota, copyright 2014.

Link to Excerpt Courtesy of Publisher  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: {from the Publisher's Website} 

Bob Temple, who also writes under the name Carl Emerson, is the author of more than 20 nonfiction books for children and young adults, and seven Internet-related titles. Bob holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of St. Thomas and is an award-winning journalist who has enjoyed a 16-year career in newspapers and online journalism. He is also the president of an editorial services and Web content firm based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Bob and his wife, Teri, are the parents of three school-age children. He enjoys traveling and playing golf.

MY REVIEW:
Coming from a family with three generations of military veterans, I wanted to share a special book as a tribute to these brave individuals on Memorial Day. I found what I was looking for in this book. 

The text of the book is appropriate for lower middle-grade students to comprehend as a read-aloud, and I feel it would be grade-level appropriate reading material for upper middle-grade students. As new vocabulary words are introduced, they are printed in rust-colored ink. This color coding signals to the reader that the word is included in the Glossary at the end of the book.

The narrative explains the purpose of this cemetery before presenting the history of these hallowed grounds. There is an historical photo of Union soldiers on the property during the Civil War along with several contemporary photos of the grounds and monuments found at Arlington.

I thought I knew a lot about this sacred place, but I learned several significant facts as I read the text.

-- The bodies of many Civil War soldiers could not be identified and they were called Unknown Soldiers. In 1866 more than two thousand bodies were buried there in a memorial. This monument is called the Tomb of the Unknown Dead of the Civil War.

-- The United States government paid one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the Lee family, the owners of the property, in 1822. {Read the book to learn all the details!}

--  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier includes the remains of four soldiers. One soldier from each of these wars:  Wolrd War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

--  There is a special monument honoring the crew of the Challenger space shuttle disaster in January, 1986.

--  Experts project the cemetery will be filled by 2020.

Besides the Glossary, the back matter includes a 'Find Out More' section including resources for other library books and website links so young readers can learn more about this honored place.

Highly-recommended for teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, scout and youth groups, and military families!

I borrowed this book from the children's section in the local public library.

To learn more about Arlington National Cemetery and how they observe Memorial Day each May, follow the following link:
Link to Arlington National Cemetery's Website

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COMING UP SOON ON 'READING, WRITING & STITCH-METIC':
-- Tuesday, May 29th: Book Blast for 'A Gentle Heart'. Blast includes a $50 giveaway. Event hosted by I Am A Reader.

-- Wednesday, May 30th:  Book Spotlight for 'A Thousand Sleepless Nights'. Tour hosted by Singing Librarian Books.

--  Friday, June 1st:  Blog Tour Stop for 'Bounty Beyond Reason'. Stop includes an author interview with Kari Trumbo, book spotlight, and giveaway. Tour hosted by JustRead Publicity.

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