Voices of The Alamo

by Sherry Garland, Ronald Himler (Illustrator)

Overview

Through poetry and art, this picture book captures the many voices--Spanish, Tejano, Texan, Mexican, and American--of the people who lived on the land that is now Texas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781589802223
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	06/29/2017
Series:	Voices of History Series
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	276,291
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 9.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1130L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sherry Garland has written more than thirty books and won more than forty awards, including an ALA Notable recognition and a Reading Rainbow book selection. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and schools across the country, particularly in her home state of Texas. Garland created the Voices Series to provide personal narratives of pivotal moments in America’s past. The series includes Voices of Pearl Harbor, Voices of the Dust Bowl, Voices of Gettysburg, and Voices of the Alamo. Her other titles include Best Horse on the Force, The Buffalo Soldier, and Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam, all available from Pelican. Garland is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives in central Texas.

Ronald Himler has been illustrating children's books since 1971 and has over eighty books to his credit. His work has received numerous honors, including ALA Notables, the Society of Illustrators Silver Medal, and citations on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-6-A fresh approach to the topic in a picture-book format. Garland speaks in the voices of 16 characters whose lives lead up to the present day. She begins with an Indian woman of 1500 gathering nuts beside a river (presumably the San Antonio). The author then gives voice to anonymous armored Spaniards and cowled priests, Tejanos and Texans, and finally to individuals such as General Santa Anna and David Crockett. Within this device, she retells the story of the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston's victory at San Jacinto, and Clara Driscoll's rescue of the Alamo from demolition in 1904. Garland's point of view is traditionally partisan. The villain, Santa Anna, is shown as having coerced his own soldiers, as well as having trampled on the rights of honest colonists. Himler's outstanding double-page watercolors depict characters, sweeping landscapes, battle scenes, and the Alamo throughout its history and fill the pages with bright colors. The book includes a lengthy historical note that provides background information and a glossary of Spanish words and phrases. The book, which will supplement traditional nonfiction accounts of the events, ends with an appeal to readers to "remember."-Ruth Semrau, Upshur County Public Library, Gilmer, TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

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