Ann Byers

A selection in the Library of Astronaut Biographies, this book shows middle grade readers how Neil Armstrong made his dream of flying come true. Tracing his early years as a test pilot, the narrative goes on to discuss his NASA missions, and the lunar landing watched around the world. Illustrations and photographs sure to please space-loving youngsters enhance the text. The book includes an index, a glossary, suggestions for further reading and for more information, and a bibliography.

Highly recommended.… (more)

What people of whatever religion, nationality, sexual orientation, age, etc went thru in those labor and death camps is beyond anything I could ever imagine. I could and would not survive a day. Being beaten, forced to stand naked outside in the snow, having your head shaved, and a thousand other brutalities and indignities, yet the stories that are told are so matter of fact or with slight fear, not with voices of agony which one would expect if someone told you they went thru this for a week, let alone a few years.

Perhaps the will to survive is stronger in these victims than what is in myself and that is why there stories are not written with too much horror and agony.

I myself would have just run, let one of them shoot me and be done with it, I could not live month after month being beaten, having to take my clothes off, not showering, not eating.....

Maybe this is why some people do not believe it ever happened. Oh, it happened, look at the photos of all the dead bodies being dumped into mass graves. Too horrible to even imagine.… (more)

Compared to The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, another book in this series, this book is more disjointed. The action of the events wasn’t presented as seamlessly as managed with the [Warsaw Ghetto Uprising].

Byers expanded from the rescue itself to cover other resistance activities of the Danes. That was good information, but contributed to the choppiness. One seriously weird and awful fact is that Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte, who led the Red Cross rescue of 15,000 German prisoners to Sweden, was later shot and killed by Israeli extremists who disagreed with his mid-east peace efforts between Jews and Arabs.

The bibliography in this book is much richer than the other title.… (more)

The Holocaust Overview by Anne Byars

Concise test, captioned period photographs, and maps trace the rise of anti-Semtitism, the four "E's " of the Holocaust-expulsion,enclosure, and extinction and their aftermath.

The range of accuracy of the book coupled witha lower reading level Holocaust book would make wonderful resource material.

The factual, and harsh tone does not linger over the gruesome. However, neither does it gloss over the horror of the Nazi plan. The chrononlogy, glossary,bibliography, and index make this an outstanding reference tool for students research.

Have students research to find for information over the Holocaust.

School Library Journal… (more)