Student Saturday: Remember World War II: Kids Who Survived Tell Their Stories by Dorinda Nicholson

 

Student Reviewer: Nikita K.

Genre: Non-Fiction

History is a key part of understanding the world and how things have come to be in the world we live in now.

World War Two (WWII) was a terrible time for many people around the world, but is part of our history nonetheless and therefore should be talked about and taught about. Remember World War II by Dorinda Nicholson does just that by going through first-hand accounts of the horrors of this tragic event. These accounts varied from little kids in affected regions and overall youthful children to were affected by this wartime.

Fred Losch, a kid from East Prussia, Germany, recalls a band or group of people called the "Jungvolk", and how he joined at 10 years of age. Fred talked about how he overcame some hikes that were challenging, along with a bike trip. This was until that bike trip was interrupted because the roads were overrun with military vehicles, and he was told to return home immediately. He knew something was up, and a few days after, the war began. Another person also recalled being outside sweeping the street with her straw broom, until she heard the marching of what sounded like hundreds of soldiers. She ran back inside and yelled, "Mother, they're here. The Nazis are here!" This is when Germany began their conquest of Europe, beginning with Poland and school children were forced to learn how to salute with their right arm and say "Heil Hitler!".

 This worldwide event was terrifying, and many people were forced to pick sides or hide. Some people picked the Nazi's side, while others picked the war-torn and affected countries that were being attacked by the tyranny of Hitler. Many people hid, as to not be found and torn away from their families, and that's what I would try to do in that situation. It wouldn't be good to pick a side as one half of the warring countries would see you as an enemy, and attempt to take you away from everything that you love. In my opinion, it would be wise to stack up on supplies and try to wait out the war.

Overall, this book is great at telling the story of World War Two. It is reliable and interesting to read about what people experienced during this time as it used accounts of a wide variety of individuals, both from inside of Germany and out. It is truly a great read and recommended to anyone who is trying to find some information on World War Two and or history in general.

Student Saturday: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

 

Student Reviewer Clayton

Genre: Adventure

"Where The Red Fern Grows" is a story about a ten-year-old boy named Billy Coleman. He has lived in the Ozark mountains with his family.Billy is very intelligent when it comes to the mountains. One day he heard some coon hounds in the mountain and wanted some. A little while later he was walking down by the creek when he found a piece of newspaper, on the paper was a listing for some redbone coonhounds for twenty-five dollars apiece. Billy spends the next two years saving up for the dogs. Once he saved up the money, he had his grandpa send a letter to the seller. The seller told his grandpa that he had just had a litter of puppies and that he had lowered the price. Later that month Billy left home  one early morning heading to Talequa without telling his parents. When he got there, he got his puppies and with the leftover money he bought his mother some fabric and his father some overalls. He got home and immediately started training them. Once they were all trained, they were the best hounds in the country. He went back to that place where the newspaper was found and there were two names carved into the wood. Once said Dand and the other one said Ann.  Knowing that the male was bigger than the female, he named them big Dan and little Ann.

Student Saturday: Spare Parts by Joshua Davis

 

Genre: Young Adult, Nonfiction

Reviewer: Benjamin T.

I enjoyed this book very much as it is filled with some suspense, action, and excellent writing. This book is also based on real events. I am also interested in robotics and technology. I am in TSA (Technology Student Association) which is a competition where you pick events and try to win first place. The main characters in this book are Lorenzo Santillan, Christian Arcega, Oscar Vazquez, Luis Aranda, Fredi Lajvardi and Allan Cameron. Lorenzo, Christian, Oscar, and Luis are all from Mexico. Some of them are in the U.S. illegally so there is some level of suspense in the story. Luis is the strong one of the group, Oscar was in JROTC, Christian is skinnier, and Lorenzo had been a part of a gang. It all starts in 2004, four teens meet up in a robotics-type class and join a catapult hurling competition. They were happy with their results and decided to join an underwater robotics competition. Their teachers are Fredi and Allan that help them in the competition. They decided to go against the best-of-the-best in the competition to prove their skills. The problem is they don’t have much money, materials, or skills. Will they be able to win? How will they win? Can they get enough materials? Are they going to get deported? I thoroughly enjoyed this book as my father gave it to me to read. The story was enjoyable, and I liked the whole plot. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in robotics or stories based on it and you can also watch the major motion picture. If you like non-fiction, this book may be for you. I would recommend this book to them because of its enticing plot and interesting story. Overall, this book extremely exceeded my expectations, I thought it was going to be uninteresting, but I ended up loving it.