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.
