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We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History
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About We Were There, Too!: Young People In U.S. History
Product description "This may be the most exhilarating and revelatory history of our country. It is must reading for today's youth-as well as their elders." --Studs Terkel From the boys who sailed with Columbus to today's young activists, this unique book brings to life the contributions of young people throughout American history. Based on primary sources and including 160 authentic images, this handsome oversized volume highlights the fascinating stories of more than 70 young people from diverse cultures. Young readers will be hooked into history as they meet individuals their own age who were caught up in our country's most dramatic moments-Olaudah Equiano, kidnapped from his village in western Africa and forced into slavery, Anyokah, who helped her father create a written Cherokee language, Johnny Clem, the nine-year-old drummer boy who became a Civil War hero, and Jessica Govea, a teenager who risked joining Cesar Chavez's fight for a better life for farmworkers. Throughout, Philip Hoose's own lively, knowledgeable voice provides a rich historical context-making this not only a great reference-but a great read. The first U.S. history book of this scope to focus on the role young people have played in the making of our country, its compelling stories combine to tell our larger national story, one that prompts Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, to comment, "This is an extraordinary book-wonderfully readable, inspiring to young and old alike, and unique." We Were There, Too! is a 2001 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. Amazon.com Review Quick--name five noteworthy children in U.S. history. If you're like most, you probably stalled after Sacagawea and Pocahontas. Young people have always gotten short shrift when it comes to the record of American history. And yet, wouldn't the study of history be far more compelling to students if they could relate to figures their own age? Author Phillip Hoose believes so. He found that behind every major event in U.S. history were young people--brave, fearful, poor, rich, adventurous, clever, tragic, curious, and strong. We Were There, Too! examines the lives of dozens of youth who helped shape our nation: Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the very same thing. On one of Columbus's voyages to the New World, 56 (out of 99) crew members were 18 or younger. In 1814 two sisters from Massachusetts, Rebecca Bates, 19, and Abigail, 15, routed approaching British soldiers by playing "Yankee Doodle" on fife and drum. The British, believing an American army was congregating for an attack, turned and fled. And in contemporary times, 13-year-old Ryan White, infected with AIDS, stood up to a school district that wanted to prevent him from going to school, eating in the cafeteria, and having a normal life with his friends. Every story in this beautifully written volume is a heartening example of the spirit of young people. Each essay is accompanied by photos or illustrations, as well as sidebars with fascinating related tidbits of information. Readers of all ages will find a multitude of new heroes to respect and emulate. This is one history book that should be on every shelf. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter From Publishers Weekly Hoose's (It's Our World, Too!) impressive survey places young people at the center of every event that shaped America, from 12-year-old Diego Berm£dez who sailed with Christopher Columbus in 1492 to high school junior Claudette Colvin's refusal to give up her seat in 1955 Montgomery, Ala., nine months before Rosa Parks. The diverse contributions of these gutsy children and teens include 16-year-old Deborah Sampson, who masqueraded as Private Robert Shirtliffe and fought in the Revolutionary War, and 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall who, in the absence of many major league players-turned-soldiers, pitched for the Cincinnati Reds during WWII. Readers will appreciate the brief epilogues that explain what happened to each person in adulthood. For instance, Chuka, a nine-year-old Hopi Indian subjected to assimilation in white schools in 1899, "struggled to live in two worlds" throughout his life, and high school junior Peggy Eaton, who rode the rails in 1938, continued to live a life of adventure as a missionary and mountain climber. Informative sidebars provide additional, and sometimes humorous, historical asides to the biographical profiles (e.g., a story problem in a Confederate math book during the Civil War calculates the death toll of Yankees). Pictures, maps and prints help bring these stories to life, but it is the actions of these young people that will inspire readers to realize that they, too, can play a part in making America's history. Ages 10-up. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Gr 6 Up-A treasure chest of history come to life, this is an inspired collection. Readers could easily get lost in it by simply dipping into one compelling story after another. The selections are arranged chronologically, beginning with 12-year-old Diego Berm£dez sailing to the New World with Columbus and ending (66 stories later) with 9-year-old Kory Johnson, who started Children for a Safe Environment. There are famous figures such as Pocahontas and Sacajawea, and less famous, such as Billy Bates and Dick King, both of whom escaped from Andersonville, and Enrique Esparza, survivor of the Alamo. Each story ends with a brief paragraph describing "What Happened to-" the person after that moment in history. The writing is a bit stiff, but it rarely gets in the way of the stories. Because the book is packed with historical documents, evocatively illustrated (with black-and-white photographs, engravings, drawings, maps, and the like), and full of eyewitness quotations, it should prove valuable to young historians and researchers. Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Booklist *Starred Review* Gr. 5-8. In his book, It's Our World Too! Stories of Young People Who Are Making a Difference (1993), Hoose touched upon some of history's young "orphans," among them, the "newsies" who formed a union against the Hearst and Pulitzer papers. Here, Hoose gives those children voice bringing them front and center, along with many other young people who helped shape our country. Using mostly primary sources--journals, diaries, interviews--he takes readers on a ride through American history, starting at the very beginning: he introduces the cabin boys who sailed with Columbus and the young Taino Indians who greeted them. More than 60 young people of all races and religions are profiled: Phillis Wheatley, a slave and poet; Sybil Ludington, who outrode Paul Revere to warn the colonists about the British; Bill Cody, later Buffalo Bill, who as a young teen rode for the Pony Express. There are other famous names, too--Pocahontas, Cesar Chavez, Bill Gates--but most are young people who made their mark, then faded from memory. This attractive book reintroduces them. Black-and-white photos, maps, and memorabilia illustrate the text; and sidebars add information about everything from baseball to the reasons the Mormons went to Salt Lake. The only disappointment is the sourcing. Books are listed for each chapter with asterisks designating those appropriate for children, but that hardly seems enough. What's needed are more specifics about where the information and quotations came from. Teachers will find numerous ways to use each profile, but children will just enjoy flipping through the pages; they'll find themselves touched in many ways. Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review “A treasure chest of history come to life, this is an inspired collection. Readers could easily get lost in it by simply dipping into one compelling story after another . . . Because the book is packed with historical documents, evocatively illustrated . . . and full of eyewitness quotations, it should prove valuable to young historians and researchers.” ― Starred, School Library Journal About the Author Phillip Hoose is an award-winning author of books, essays, stories, songs and articles. Although he first wrote for adults, he turned his attention to children and young adults in part to keep up with his own daughters. His book Claudette Colvin won a National Book Award and was dubbed a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009. He is also the author of Hey, Little Ant, co-authored by his daughter, Hannah, It's Our World, Too!, and The Race to Save the Lord God Bird. We Were There, Too! was a National Book Award finalist. He has received a Jane Addams Children's Book Award, a Christopher Award, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, among numerous honors. He was born in South Bend, Indiana, and grew up in the towns of South Bend, Angola, and Speedway, Indiana. He was educated at Indiana University and the Yale School of Forestry. He lives in Portland, Maine.
