Eye Witness to History

The Roman philosopher Seneca wrote of his day at the Coliseum watching the Gladiators. Pliny the Younger recalled in a letter how he barely survived the Pompeii disaster of 79AD. Sadie Frowne told of immigrating to America from Poland and Lady Bird Johnson recorded her memories of the day JFK was shot. All these juicy tidbits from history have been collected at an amazingly well organized site, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com.

Browse fascinating written eyewitness accounts from the making of a mummy to Nixon leaving the Whitehouse. But there are also recorded voices, fascinating photos and amazing videos available too.

Warning...addictive browsing. Very bookmark worthy.

Ages 9 and up
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War Horse

This book caught Shannon’s eye at her school’s book fair. It follows a horse from an English farm to the battlefields of France during World War I. We sympathize with Joey as he is transported with troops over the English Channel, is ridden into battle and experiences trenches, mud, tanks, barbed wire, machine-gun fire, hunger, cold, and being surrounded by death. It sounds gloomy but the story is balanced with warmth through Joey’s relationships with people along the way and with another horse, Topthorn. This book will give your child a taste of what war is like without giving them nightmares. Kudos to Michael Morpurgo for his crisp, clean writing style, excellent dialog and for providing a happy ending. War Horse is an enjoyable read for all ages.

Ages 9-12
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