Richard Rosenblum

This book is beautiful, a loving tribute by a grandson to his grandfather.

Five stars. An unlikely but good companion to Shaker Lane because it is about how an area can change. Also The Little House. But, this book is much more than that and I highly recommend it as a loving testimony to Jewish culture.

What was the very first flag to represent America?

How many different flags have been used to represent America?

What is special about each of the flags that represented our nation?

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This Scholastic book, targeted for readers in first and second grade, shows each of the flags that have, at one time or another, represented America. It provides a short commentary on the time the flag was used and how it related to what was happening in the nation.

Most of the flags are related to battles show more and soldiers, but in an appropriate way that provides information without a strong focus on the fighting. However, these explanations help the young reader understand that some things, like freedom, are won at a great price and this book explains in a way that is not intimidating to the young child.

Colorful illustrations and short descriptions accompany each flag. This is an interesting way to present each flag and to help the young reader understand the development of the flags of our nation.

Highly recommended. show less

Journey To The Golden Land, by Richard Rosenblum is a story about a Russian family escaping to America. I really enjoyed this book because it was very believable and goes through situations that an immigrant coming to America during that time would've experienced. This would be a great book to use when talking about immigration. It could also be used as an introduction to a lesson on diversity because it shows why families chose to come to America and how that became the foundation of why show more America is so diverse. I like that it is told form the child's perspective, young readers can relate to this more. This book would be better for readers 3rd grade and up. Younger grades would not understand the situation the main character, Benjamin and his family are going through. There are also a lot of teachable moments within the book, like why it was dangerous to leave one's country, why Benjamin's family stayed in steerage instead of first class, or why they were given a new last name. The illustrations in this book are done with a lot of lines; all the shading and textures are shown through line marks over a color. show less

Nice story of the author's bar mitzvah ceremony in 1941. Lots of home cooking and relatives and friends at his house after the ceremony.