50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 18, 2017

Review

First published 15 years ago, this is the 2nd, revised edition of the top 50 Americans all kids should know. There are actually 58 people because many of the people are duos (Bill and Melinda Gates, Wilbur and Orville Wright). The book begins with a Tribute page which seems like it was more relevant 15 years ago as it references the events of September 11, 2001 without any real explanation. There are many young readers who might know about 9/11, but as it recedes into history for many readers today, it can't be assumed that the young reader will understand this reference. The Introduction offers a philosophy behind the book and the selection of the included "heroes" and challenges the reader to submit names of real heroes in their own lives to a website. The book lists the heroes alphabetically, but the heroes covered range in time period, gender, and discipline; the included diversity was impressive. Each hero receives a double-page spread with their birth and death dates, their claim to fame, a quote, and a very short write-up about what made the person or people heroes. All of the pages include a "Dive In!" box with a book to read for further information about the person and all of heroes have an "Explore Some More!" section with a challenge to the reader to think about the context of the hero within his or her lifetime. An interesting source for a biography unit in which each student could select a hero and start with this book and then, using the suggested resources on the page, find out more about the hero. It does run the risk of going out of date as the websites and sources age and will need to be continuously updated with future editions. Other than that, with its large pages, bright colors, clean layout, bright photographs, and easy-to-read prose, it is a book that upper elementary/early middle school students will enjoy browsing.

Overall Book Score: good