To Be Young in America: Growing up with the Country, 1776-1940 - Hardcover

Sheila Cole is the author of several books for children and young adults including the 1996 YALSA Top Ten Quick Picks title What Kind of Love and the historical fiction The Dragon in the Cliff, a novel based on the life of Mary Anning. She's also the co-author of a college level developmental psychology textbook.

Grade 4-8–Cole has done an exceptional job of showing readers what life was like for children in times past. Using topics such as home, life in an orphanage, sickness and health, work, school, crime, and war, she shows how each one affected young people over the course of American history. For each of these subject areas, she highlights the experiences of one real child, drawing on historical diaries and other documents that give readers an opportunity to learn about life through that individual's own voice. This is a fascinating book, and also a beautiful one. From the brown endpapers to beautifully designed chapter openings, the layout will draw readers into this history of American childhood. The use of sepia as well as black-and-white photographs contributes to a historical feel, and the layout has the look of an old photo album. Sidebars in shades of brown draw the eye to personal accounts and interesting facts, which, together with the many photographs, enrich the main narrative. The list of citations and sources shows the extensive research that has gone into the book, and readers will feel the author's passion for her topic. A rich resource for bringing history alive.–Jane G. Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia
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