Altman, Linda Jacobs. The California Gold Rush.

Altman, Linda Jacobs.  The California Gold Rush.         Enslow, 2012. 128p    $31.93   ISBN 978-0-7660-3953-7     ms       VG-BNS                    

This book begins with John Marshall’s discovery of gold in California and then proceeds to describe the race westward, the growth of California and its justice system and inequalities, and finally, the plight of women who ventured there.  In her well-organized and well-written book about the California gold rush, author Linda Jacobs Altman accomplishes several things: she conveys the excitement of the gold rush, demonstrates the inequalities and injustices of the times, and provides a thorough overview of the topic.  Her writing style is exciting, descriptive, colorful and inviting!  For example, she describes the man who discovered gold, John Marshall, as a quirky loner who believed he could communicate with the dead, while John Sutter was a charming rascal who could sell sand in the desert. Her characterizations and wealth of information prompt the reader to keep turning the pages!  Her main character, Sarah Royce, guides the reader through the story in an interesting fashion.  The book is divided into seven chapters, each one filled with a wide variety of information.  Altman includes the journey to California, greed, the justice system, inequality among the diverse cultural groups that settled there, and the plight of any female who was courageous or crazy enough to make the trip.  In the chapter entitled, “California Bound,” the reader learns of the journey by ship, which was boring but included high adventures that made the travelers’ journals fascinating to read.  The dangers of malaria in Panama, treacherous travel conditions near Cape Horn, and the threat of scurvy were just a few of the obstacles awaiting the gold seekers.  The overland route contained even more brutal realities, like the hostility of native peoples, starvation, and diseases like cholera.  Middle-school teachers cannot ignore vocabulary acquisition, and Altman covers that well, with vocabulary words like “interloper” and “emigrant".  The photographs support the text and add to reading enjoyment.  The book ends with a timeline, chapter notes, lists of resources, and a thorough index.  This book is certain to add to the social-studies curriculum or enhance a student's knowledge of a unique event in American history that changed the face of the nation.  The series “Stories in American History” provides a look at nation-changing events, such as the Underground Railroad, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Alamo, the Manhattan Project, and the California gold rush.  Each book presents the background information and details about the ways the event changed American history.

Subject: California Gold Rush           

Martha Squaresky

Altman. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Altman, Linda Jacobs    The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising     

Enslow      2011  128p  31.93 978-0-7660-3320-7 

 ms/jr E-BN        

 Features the people who led the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during the Holocaust. With photographs of events and artifacts along with diary entries and personal letters, students will learn about the heroes who resisted the Nazis. Grades 7-12.       

The Warsaw Ghetto was set up to contain Jewish people during the Holocaust. Yet the Jewish people found ways to smuggle supplies and weapons into their prison-like compound. When the Nazis came into the ghetto, the Jewish people fought a guerilla style warfare and managed to destroy many Nazi soldiers. Each chapter features either a male or female leader of the Jewish people who aided in the struggle. Even the lead Nazi,  General Jurgen Stroop is given a chapter explaining his background and his beliefs that led Nazis to treat Jewish people so inhumanely. Personal narratives are woven seamlessly into the text to give a first person viewpoint of their struggles. Chapter notes, glossary, further reading, index and timeline complete the book. A first resource to understand conditions in the ghetto and the valiant fight put up by the Jewish people during their captivity.     

     Holocaust Through Primary Sources contains four books that  focus on the people responsible for both the horror and liberation of many Jews during World War II. Well illustrated and written  with personal narratives seamlessly woven into the text.        Lois McNicol

 

Altman, Linda Jacobs African Mythology Rocks!

Altman, Linda Jacobs    African Mythology Rocks!       

Enslow      2011  128p  31.93 978-0-7660-3896-7 

 ms/hs E-BNS        

   The stories in this book show how the different African cultures have used their myths to explain the natural occurrences of nature. Because there is no one single African culture, you will have many variations of the same myths.       The book covers a myth from the countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Southern Africa, and Ghana.
   The format of this book is very useful for schools. Each chapter covers a tribe. It is further divided in four parts: explanation of the tribe, the myth, questions and answers, and expert commentary.
  This text is crisply written and fully illustrated with a low reading level accompanied by full color illustrations. The inclusion of several lists, where to obtain more information, web sites, a glossary, and index make this a useful research tool.
     This book and others in the series will appeal to both young and old alike. The student will look at it with curiosity while the adults chuckle with memories.
       This book is one in the  Mythology Rocks! (Enslow).  The series consists of __8_ books at this time. The general theme of the series is __fashion____.   African mythology Linda McNeil

 

Shattered Youth in Nazi Germany.

Altman, Linda Jacobs. Shattered Youth in Nazi Germany.

Enslow 2010 128p 31.93

True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust(Enslow)

978-0-7660-3268-2 ms/hs VG-BN

Examines the lives of children and teens living in Germany before and during the Holocaust, including the rise of Nazism, growing persecution of Jews, and the Hitler Youth. Using primary source recollections integrated with the narrative, readers learn of the horror, suffering and brutality experienced by teens in Germany and surrounding countries that were part of Hitler’s empire. The political origins of the events that put the “Final Solution” into operation are discussed in the opening chapters, thus setting the context for reign of terror that targeted Jews, non-Aryans and gentiles alike. Each recollection is set off from the text by a different font, which emphasizes and elaborates upon the narrative. The focus stays true to the title by examining how Hitler’s policies destroyed childhood innocence and ripped families apart. Fractured friendships, interrupted education and life and death choices were only a few of the effects of Hitler’s propaganda and the Nazification of German society. Even German Aryan youth were affected, as the chapter on the Hitler Youth shows both young teens who joined Nazi youth organizations and those who rebelled against it. The subject of this book, specifically teenagers who “saw horrors that no….boy should ever see” fills a void in the non-fiction, non-biographical titles of the Holocaust as seen and experienced by teens. For years Anne Frank’s diary has been the most compelling testimony of a young life destroyed. The recollections in this title are just as compelling. Zajko, Rosanne

Escape- Teens on the Run.

Altman, Linda Jacobs. Escape- Teens on the Run.

Enslow 2010 128p 31.93 True Stories of Teens in the Holocaust(Enslow)

978-0-7660-3270-5 ms/hs E-BNS

This insightful book presents primary source information about the Holocaust. Altman offers firsthand accounts of children and teenagers from across Europe who managed to escape the Nazi death machine through luck, determination, self-reliance, and, sometimes, the kindness of neighbors and complete strangers. Each chapter tells the story of a young person’s circumstances embedded in a succinct discussion of historical background. A different font delineates their own words from the text and maps, sidebars, and black-and-white photographs of the youngsters and their families enhance the story.
Well-researched and clearly written, this book provides an excellent discussion of one of mankind’s darkest periods. Altman uses a balanced content of narrative and primary source material to present this description of individuals caught up by the Holocaust. She discusses the effects of their experiences on the survivors. She presents her information in a well balanced, concise, and lucid manner. The book is library-bound and ends with a timeline, chapter notes, a glossary, bibliography of books and Internet addresses, and an index.
Ogintz, Susan