The Wall (Reading Rainbow Books)

The Wall is an amazing memorial to see in person. This story of a boy going with his Dad to see the wall is a very good way to describe it for children. Everyone should know and understand this part of history. Memorials are to help us.

So many things are accomplished in this haunting story of one dad and his son making that long trip to visit father/grandfather, whose name is etched into the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Eve Bunting and Ronald Himler are respectful, reverent, and nostalgic in telling this story in "The Wall."I've been there and wondered how the pair would depict the memorial. What they put on paper is exactly what happens at the Wall, exactly! To make the experience wide-eyed and innocent, the author relays the story through this little boy's perspective. He's been prepared: he knows they have come to locate grandfather's name as one of 58,000 killed and missing in action.Bunting chooses to by-pass the location catalog and simply use 1967, the year Grandfather died in the war. Once they find his name, Dad takes out paper to use with pencil to rub his father's name as a keepsake. They leave a picture of the grandson below the deceased soldier's name. The boy has already explored some of the items that relatives and friends leave at the base of the Wall.The pair encounter four types of visitors: an elderly couple obviously visiting their son's name, a grandfather and grandson visiting the soldier-dad's name, and a group of girls on a field trip. Their behavior is proper, but not reflective of loss such as the others experience. The last visitor becomes the most deeply moving encounter. A man in a wheelchair with a blanket folded over where his legs should have been, an obvious veteran with a decorated ribbon, and obviously a Vietnam vet, rolls in. It is a chance meeting the boy will never forget.When they leave, the boy is sad, but wiser. He's been to the memorial erected in his grandfather's honor, as well as the 58,000 companions. He would like a grandpa as the other boy had, but he is proud to know his grandfather served his country.As an interesting side note, the father-son duo look to be Native American in an honorable tribute to an under-recognized minority who also participated in this war.Not one sentence of the story is overstated, not one illustration false. Script and art work in tandem in presenting a quiet little story concerning an utterly cosmic wound in the American psyche.

I was looking for a book to read to a K-8 school for Veterans Day and this was a great option. Supplies information in a beautifully illustrated book.

I purchased this book to teach my daughter about the importance of Veteran's Day.. This is a great book. Very well written and easy for children to understand. The pictures are beautiful and the story is simple, but leaves a very lasting impression. We have read it several times. My daughter is 9 and can easily read this book by herself. We have had some wonderful discussions while reading the book. It is a great teaching tool. It prompted us to learn more and we ended up using this book as part of our Veteran unit study in our homeschool. I highly recommend it.

Bought this to give to my great grandson on Memorial Day. In today's world, most don't realize what Memorial Day really is. I used this book to teach my 8 year old great grandson that Memorial Day is not a long week-end celebrating the start of the summer season, nor is it a day to remember our Armed Forces veterans, but a day we remember all those died getting and then keeping this a free nation. I'm a Vietnam veteran and had him read the book to me and then discussed the story. Explained that when I went to Nam I had three children, and if things were different, he might be visiting The Wall to see my name. Also gave him a "Freedom Isn't Free" sticker and planned a trip to The Wall. It was a great experience for both of us. The book gave us an excellent story and illustrations that helped keep his interest and it started a great discussion that has lasted for weeks after the reading.

I first chose this book because of the author, Eve Bunting. She writes in a way that my third grade students can understand. Then I chose it because it was about the Vietnam War Memorial, a lesser known war/memorial.I previewed the book while I was at Morning Duty. I had tears in my eyes as I read it! So touching. Thoughtful illustrations.Then I read it to my third graders. They were silent. They were moved. It was wonderful!Great for sequencing. Great for discussion. Great for 8 year olds!

As a teacher, this is the perfect book to read to help kids understand more about Memorial Day. It's also a great book to use to help teach kids how to make inferences. I love books by Eve Bunting but this is probably my favorite!

As a fifth grade American history teacher, I look forward to reading and discussing this book with my students. I gave it four stars because when reading it on the Kindle app some of the words do not show up on the page, and even though it is possible to decode what the words are from context, I would prefer that all of the words be there! This book will be a great discussion starter for us on Veteran's Day.