World War II Pacific

Children's Literature

On December 7, 1941 the naval and air forces of Imperial Japan struck at the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. In a relatively quick raid, over 2000 American servicemen were killed and a comparable number were wounded. Within twenty-four hours Japanese forces also struck a number of other Pacific and Asian targets in what was to be the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. The war in the Pacific was fought with ferocity between forces that often gave no quarter. The author demonstrates both a strong narrative style and a grasp of the key details of the topic. With its combination of a well-crafted text, frequent period photographs, maps, and sidebar highlight pieces readers will come away from this book with a good introduction to the broad subject of the Pacific War. 2005, Lerner Publishing Company, Ages 12 up.
—Greg M. Romaneck

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-A precise, well-documented chronology of the major battles in the Pacific theater. Though the narration is brief, it is informative and avoids misconceptions or the impression that the casualty tolls were merely numbers. The text, much of which is based on personal and unpublished memoirs, is presented in a two-column format and is accompanied by aptly captioned, vintage photos. Maps are well designed and properly placed throughout. Highlighted segments feature articles on the Sullivan brothers, Tokyo Rose, the first Japanese POW, the USS Roberts, and more. A time line, a map of the major battles, a glossary, and photos of the major characters accompanied by short biographical sketches are appended. Libraries needing introductory or additional material in this area might consider this title.-Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.