Title: The Wall
Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: Ronald Himler
Publisher: HMH Books for young readers
Copyright: 1990
Number of Pages: 34
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Wall by Eve Bunting is a heartfelt story about a young boy and his dad going to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They are going to the wall to try and find where the little boy's grandfather's name is. As the dad is reading through all the names, the boy notices many bystanders who come and go as they are there. Once the dad is able to find the name, he traces the name from the wall to a piece of paper and leaves a picture of the boy for remembrance. It is a sad but surreal story of how the family of those who have died for our country sometimes grieve.
The illustrations of this book of darker sketch like and do a great job of portraying the somber atmosphere of what is happening. Probably my favorite illustration is the one where the book is describing what the wall looks like and it portrays the image of trees and people as a reflection of things around the wall. They are not very precise drawings, but show enough for all the readers to get a feel for the tone being set.
Grade: 2nd - 4th
Content Area: Patriotism
I think this would be a really great book to read around patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day to bring remembrance to those who have died. After reading this book, the class could do a patriotic project where everyone brings in a picture of a veteran they know, have known, or have met. This could be a great chance for students to tell about their family members who have served. It could also be a chance for the teacher to encourage those who may not have family who have served to find someone that is a veteran and ask them for a picture and story of their service. Also the teacher could create a graph where the students are challenged to say "thank you for your service" to any veteran they see while out and about. Throughout the week of the holiday the class could tally up how many veterans they saw and were able to thank. For ELL students, the teacher could have prepared pictures of what soldiers are and include a little background knowledge on what the holiday is celebrated for.
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