War & Peace A Guide to Literature and New Media, Grades 4-8

Subjects:

• Library & Information Science » Children's & Young Adult School Services
• Library & Information Science » Children's & Young Adult School Services -- Reference Tools

Awards:

• CHOICE 2007 Outstanding Academic Title

Reviews:

• Almost all adults have a hard time talking with children not only about the facts of life but also about violence, death, racism, and war. They will find much that is helpful in this book, which provides more than 300 one-paragraph summaries and critical analyses of books and examples of new media. Walter produced a truly remarkable book not only for 9-14-year-olds, but also (as a reference work) for adults, teachers, parents, and others who care for children. Part 2 is its core, featuring lists of the results of war, the horrors of war, and peace and alternatives to war, as well as two case studies, the Trojan War and the attacks of 9/11. The introductions to each resource section help conceptualize its contents. They contain mainly works published between 1991 and 2004. Part 3 is basically a collection of resources for adults about children's books and media materials on war and peace. The author draws connections to other forms of racism and persecution, and provides a list of recommended books for middle grades. Walter's book will be extremely useful not only for teachers of grades 4-8 but also for parents, teachers, and libraries. Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates through practitioners.
  —Choice July 2007
• Virginia Walter tackles one of the thornier humanistic questions, introducing children to the role of combat in human history. Her advice rings true, particularly the suggestion that parents and teachers peruse war literature before passing it on to young readers....Unlike the average reader's guide, the text offers thorough summations of each work, including geographic expanse and themes....offers essential information for parents and homeschoolers and for the public, school, and church library.
  —American Reference Books Annual 2008
• This book is organized by subject, as well as by the National Council for the Social Studies' 10 thematic strands. Each section gives an introduction to the area, why there is a need for these resources, and, what I found most intriguing, the notion of a child's right to have the information found in fiction and nonfiction books about war, peace, the aftermath of war, and the need for heroes. Walter includes reviews of books, audiovisual media, and Web sites, all of which she has read and viewed. There is also an adult section containing books that explain the effect of war on children. Besides the NCSS listing there are indexes by author, title, and subject all separately arranged....Recommended.
  —Library Media Connection October 2007
• Contributing to the excellence of this work is Walter's creative approach to her subjust, which includes a chapter of resources applied to two case studies: "The Trojan War" and "September 11th, 2001"; and a chapter devoted to issues of peace. This work is highly recommended for school library media specialists and for youth librarians.
  —VOYA October 2007
• Walter addresses the issue of war--and peace--by examining the information needs of children and how we as professionals can meet them....This book should be a "must purchase" not only for use as a collection development tool, but more importantly as a guide to introducing children to a difficult subject.
  —School Library Journal August 2007
• Walter describes approximately 400 books, videos, CD-ROMs, and websites that deal with war and peace to encourage discussion in fourth through eighth grade classrooms. Each entry includes a detailed annotation and complete bibliographic information, as well as notes on the possible educational applications for each title. Titles are arranged under the following themes: war as history, hope and glory, costs and horrors of war, the American home front, anti-war movements, peace and alternatives to war, and case studies of the Trojan War and 9/11/2001. Introductory essays discuss strategies for teaching the materials. Titles are indexed by author, subject, theme, and title, and additional resources are included.
  —Reference & Research Book News May 2007
• Interested teachers and librarians who may or may not agree with the author's political bias will still find many valuable resources in this work. It is definitely recommended for Christian school librarians and teachers, as well as other interested adults.
  —Christian Library Journal March 2007

PDF Catalogs:
LU School Library Spring 2008.pdf	LU Public Library Spring 2008.pdf