World War I

Reviews / Votes

In the You Choose series, kids get to make their own decisions about ways to spend their time during the world wars. At the bottom of many pages, you are asked to make a decision about what to do or where to go. Subsequent decisions take you to the adventure's end, at which point readers may choose to go back and begin again and find out where an alternate path might have led. This tried-and-true formula works quite well, giving kids a sense of what it was like to be in a situation where every decision had an impact. World War I kicks off with an overview of the war's beginnings. It then moves to Belgium where student nurses must decide whether to stay at their hospital or flee. Later, a British teen has to choose whether to enlist or wait, and several intense choices take readers right onto the battlefield. World War II on the Home Front poses some interesting challenges. For instance, readers are asked to decide if they will help a Japanese friend or run away. If you run away, what kind of remorse do you, as a Jewish boy, have? Will you hide your friend when he is about to be put in an internment camp? With most events based on real-life stories, the books in this series do an excellent job of giving background information to illuminate the you-are-there situations. Well-chosen photos also help bring events closer. A good deal of back matter helps kids learn more. * Booklist * So far the books have accomplished two things in my library: they have attracted more readers to the nonfiction section, and they are serving as springboards to other history books. That makes me one happy librarian. * Nonfiction Book Detectives blog * I remember reading these interactive books as a teenager, and this brought me right back. . . .It is educational, but in a fun and exciting way. * NetGalley Review * Vol. 60, No. 3; Page 58 In the tradition of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels, this fact-based title gives readers a handful of scenarios that play out according to choices readers make as they go up against German soldiers, poison gas, the flu, and other dangers. Occasional illustrations add interest. * School Library Journal, "America to the Front" (Focus On: World War I) * The You Choose Books series is a definite recommendation of mine for all students... * Baldwin Borough Public Library, PA *
 
In the You Choose series, kids get to make their own decisions about ways to spend their time during the world wars. At the bottom of many pages, you are asked to make a decision about what to do or where to go. Subsequent decisions take you to the adventure's end, at which point readers may choose to go back and begin again and find out where an alternate path might have led. This tried-and-true formula works quite well, giving kids a sense of what it was like to be in a situation where every decision had an impact. World War I kicks off with an overview of the war's beginnings. It then moves to Belgium where student nurses must decide whether to stay at their hospital or flee. Later, a British teen has to choose whether to enlist or wait, and several intense choices take readers right onto the battlefield. World War II on the Home Front poses some interesting challenges. For instance, readers are asked to decide if they will help a Japanese friend or run away. If you run away, what kind of remorse do you, as a Jewish boy, have? Will you hide your friend when he is about to be put in an internment camp? With most events based on real-life stories, the books in this series do an excellent job of giving background information to illuminate the you-are-there situations. Well-chosen photos also help bring events closer. A good deal of back matter helps kids learn more. * Booklist *
So far the books have accomplished two things in my library: they have attracted more readers to the nonfiction section, and they are serving as springboards to other history books. That makes me one happy librarian. * Nonfiction Book Detectives blog *
I remember reading these interactive books as a teenager, and this brought me right back. . . .It is educational, but in a fun and exciting way. * NetGalley Review *
Vol. 60, No. 3; Page 58 In the tradition of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels, this fact-based title gives readers a handful of scenarios that play out according to choices readers make as they go up against German soldiers, poison gas, the flu, and other dangers. Occasional illustrations add interest. * School Library Journal, "America to the Front" (Focus On: World War I) *
The You Choose Books series is a definite recommendation of mine for all students... * Baldwin Borough Public Library, PA *