SCHOLASTIC FOCUS is a new imprint focusing on narrative non-fiction for tweens and teens. The debut list is an impressive group of titles set to hit the shelves in the coming months. More will be forthcoming in the Spring of 2019. First up is a fascinating account of D-DAY by Deborah Hopkinson.

Told through quotes from servicemen, historians, and correspondents, the stories are not glossed over for a younger audience. Meticulously researched details make this a must for any historian, no matter what age. Each part of the invasion is presented beginning with the challenges of planning such an attack. This is followed by the inception and aftermath.

The personal stories are what make this effort go beyond the usual dry historical recounting of facts. They each provide meaning and purpose to a war unlike any others and help make readers connect this time with the present.

The last part of the book is called The Quartermasters Department and includes a WWW II timeline, glossary of places and names, and an invaluable bibliography. The result is a stellar source for the classroom or home. Here’s the official background from Scholastic:

The WWII invasion of Allied troops into German-occupied Europe, known as D-Day, was the largest military endeavor in history. Acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson details not just the accomplishments of the offensive’s major players, but the courageous contributions of commanders, service members, African-Americans, women, journalists, and others to this critical battle. Her remarkable research and masterful weaving together of official documents, personal accounts, and archival photographs into a clear and compelling tapestry brings this key battle to vivid, thrilling life.

The other two titles for 2018 are intended for a YA audience but you might want to take a look at for the 12 and up reader:

UNPUNISHED MURDER—Massacre At Colfax And The Quest For Justice  by Lawrence Goldstone

On Easter Sunday of 1873, just eight years after the Civil War ended, a band of white supremacists marched into Grant Parish, Louisiana, surrounded the courthouse, set it on fire, and massacred over one hundred African Americans. Yet, following one of the most ghastly and barbaric incidents of mass murder in American history, not a single person was convicted. In this remarkably compelling and thoroughly researched volume for young readers, Lawrence Goldstone traces the history of the court case and the actions of the figures involved, and presents the extraordinary story of how the Supreme Court allowed post-slavery discrimination against black Americans to become institutionalized and entrenched in the American justice system.

THE GRAND ESCAPE—The Greatest Prison Breakout Of The 20th Century by Neal Bascomb

At the height of World War I, as battles raged in the trenches and in the air, another struggle for survival was being waged in the most notorious POW camp in all of Germany: Holzminden. A land-locked Alcatraz of sorts, it was home to the most troublesome Allied prisoners—and the most talented at escape. The Grand Escape tells the remarkable tale of a band of pilots who pulled off an ingenious plan and made it out of enemy territory in the biggest breakout of WWI, inspiring their countrymen in the darkest hours of the war.

Coming up next week is another…

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*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.