Fighting For Freedom. Stride, an imprint of The Child’s World, 2024. $35.64 ea. $285.12 Set of 8, 32 p. Grades 3-6. 

Adamson, Thomas K. The American Revolution. 978-1-503-88053-5. 
—. The Civil War. 978-1-503-88054-2. 
—. World War I. 978-1-503-88058-0. 
—. World War II. 978-1-503-88059-7
Streissguth, Tom. The Korean War. 978-1-503-88056-6. 
—. The Vietnam War. 978-1-503-88057-3
Winter, Max. The Afghanistan War. 978-1-503-88457-1.
Yasuda, Anita. The Gulf War. 978-1-503-88055-9.

This reviewer evaluated the titles The Gulf War and The Afghanistan War. The Gulf War begins with a “Fast Facts” chapter before beginning a clear walk through of the events in this conflict. The book covers (in simple terms) the causes of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and also the American response through Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991). It also includes stories of war heroes like Colonel David Eberly, who was held as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down. The Gulf War contains a succinct timeline, glossary, bibliography, and a hyperlink to visit more online sources curated by The Child’s World. The Afghanistan War is laid out in a similar fashion with 32 pages of information, maps, and photographs detailing the events of ‘America’s longest war’. The book ends with August 2021 when the last United States military planes fled Kabul, Afghanistan, and the Taliban returned to full strength in the country.

THOUGHTS: Both books reviewed each contain a wealth of information in their 32 pages; they are cohesive and tell a clear story about their respective conflicts. The military interventions discussed here can be complicated even for adults to understand, but the authors clearly break down the main events, people, and places to be comprehensible for upper-elementary-aged students. It is surprising that this series does not reference any current-day consequences of or comparisons to these conflicts, but the omission of current events might also make this series a more timeless purchase for school libraries. Each book in this series is a time capsule that clearly explains the subject of the book alone; the authors do not attempt to connect the historical events to our present-day. Two recommended purchases about modern (1990-2021) conflicts to bolster the military history section of upper-elementary and middle school libraries.

940.4-973.7 History