My Brother Sam Is Dead (Scholastic Gold)

My Brother Sam Is Dead | James Lincoln Collier

#UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD If you‘re new to Litsy simply refer back to this post or the hashtag above to see what we are saying about the book. If you post, you just use the hashtag so that we can see what you‘ve said. You should follow each member once they post. We will formally begin on Monday, January 20th.

Meganallen1818 Almost done with the book! It was better than I anticipated! :) 5y

SForbes I am still waiting for mine. I hope I like it as much as Megan. 🙂 5y

CherylVDM I liked the book because it made me think about the way we teach American history. History is written by the winners, but there are many sides that need to be considered. 5y

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JonGUCF I have just started reading since I just got the book yesterday, and most of my books for my classes the day before. I have been doing a lot of reading. I was torn between reading this book and Johnny Tremain. Ultimately I bought both books and will read both. I cannot wait to get started because I love American Revolution as well as Civil war stories. 5y

amandamesa@cfl.rr.com My book is on it's way! Looking forward to reading! 5y

Ktyler97 Just got the book tonight! 5y

Brittany1013 Mine should be here any day!! I‘m excited to read it. 5y

kburgess72 Something that I found interesting was what Tim said after Sam left to fight. He said that he knew that there was a war going on, but nothing had changed in Redding. There was talk of the war, but life went on as normal. History certainly repeats itself. I know that after the Iraq war began, there was lots of talk about the war and patriotism. However, in the U.S. our daily lives went on as they always had. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD 5y

Faith_DePriest #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD I chose this book because I remembered the title from the depths of my elementary school memory bank. I also remembered that this book had been banned from public schools for awhile. This book does incorporate a lot of violence, 'vulgar' language, and unpatriotic views of the revolutionary war. Those same reasons are why I came to enjoyed rereading it! For young readers, this is about as accurate as you can get (cont.) .. 5y

savannahisaacs I love how this book is written from a child's point of view, however, I find it very dry and not as good as I thought it would be, which is not everyone else's opinion. I like the book but I expected to like it a lot more. Did anyone else feel this way or is it just me?
(edited) 5y

Meganallen1818 #UCFSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD One critique I would have about this book is that it is for more mature readers. Since there is some inappropriate language and clearly death, some young readers may not be able to handle it. Other than that I do think it is easy to follow along with and a good read for most ages. 5y

CherylVDM How would you suggest a study of the American Revolution without discussing the lives lost. I think I might begin study with the Boston Massacre and the death of Crispus Attucks . He is considered to be the first person killed in the war. Additionally, I believe This book shows the struggle within the family when some are pro-America and others support the British. A painful reality of the time. 5y

savannahisaacs You can‘t discuss wars in classrooms without discussing lives lost. I do think this book was an eye opener I just think it was a little slow especially in the beginning. However, I do think it‘s for more mature ages because the vocabulary can be a little hard to read/understand in some parts. 5y

gregao Im glad i choose this book, it was eye opening. Being able to see all sides and points of view of the war is something ive never had the chance to experience. I understand now that everyone is a victim of war especially when it is taking place on your own homeland. It divided families, communities, and friends became enemies. 5y

Jordanp1 I liked this book because it came from a child‘s point of view. I‘m not a fan of history and all but I liked this book because it takes about the war and what it was like from Tim‘s point of view. I do think that this book would be for the higher grades because it talks about wars and death and younger kids wouldn‘t handle it as well as the older students would. 5y

kburgess72 I thought this was a great book. At the back of the book, the authors discussed which parts of the book were factual and which were made up but based on research. Unfortunately, death is part of war so in order to learn about the war you have to read about the deaths and how they died. 5y

kburgess72 The authors also mentioned that the book was written for middle schoolers. However, fifth graders are the ones that read it because they are learning about the Revolutionary War. I think the authors did a great job of giving a realistic depiction of what life was like during this time. Students who read this book will be able to visualize the affects the war had on everyones lives. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD 5y

Brittany1013 This book wasn‘t as good as I thought it was going to be. Although, it was an eye opener for me on the topic of war. It discusses concerns of a family trying to survive during the revolutionary war. It was an honest portrait of Revolutionary life. It did not try to cover up any of the difficult decisions and moral dilemmas of war time. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD (edited) 5y

alyssarussell20 I thought his book brought on an interesting perspective from a boy whose family's loyalties are divided. The topic of discussing lives lost is inevitable when learning about the war. While it is difficult to talk about death, there is not way to avoid it. Reading this book can help students to understand how everyone is affected by war in different ways. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD 5y

JonGUCF After reading about half of this book, I have come to find it interesting that both sides have a viewpoint on the war. It is crazy to think that families could be torn because one side sees the English as the enemy and another as supreme rulers. One thing that I found odd was rebels that were basically attacking Tim's father and asking to relinquish his firearm. It seems as the Rebels were just as ruthless as the English. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD 5y

JonGUCF @CherylVDM This statement makes me wonder what English history books say about the American Revloutionary War. 5y

JonGUCF It is also interesting that you cannot trust anyone do to underlying alliances. I also liked how religion played a role in why some people wanted to side with the English because they were under the Church of England. It reminds me today of information that is spread on topics. You have sides that want to side with this media choice and the opposite with another media choice. Both sides believe in their cause though. #UCFSSEMYBROTHERSAMISDEAD 5y

JonGUCF @CherylVDM It is kind of ironic that without teaching about death you would start with a massacre 😂. I think if the war had to be sugarcoated, you could start with the events that led up to the war like the Boston Tea Party, Sons of Liberty and their publishing, etc. Then for the war, you can talk about some of the events that took place like George Washington crossing the Delaware. Also picture depictions could be used without showing death. 5y

SForbes I am torn in my feelings about this book. I think the authors did a wonderful job with the writing, and giving the perspective of Tim being caught in the middle between people he loves and not having enough understanding of adult situations to make his own judgments. I think that the way his mindset about each side shifts from one event to another is a good example of how a person‘s views change as they go through life. 5y

SForbes Sometimes we are changed by the things we learn but even more so by the things we experience. The depiction of the division between both sides reminds me of the constant struggles between “sides” that we still have today. As a mom, I found the story a hard one to read. I had to stop when overwhelmed by emotions. It is important to share all the sides of history with students, even if it hard to do. 5y

amandamesa@cfl.rr.com I always love books and pieces of writing that were written from children's points of view, especially history books. I have always loved history and wondered how children felt during wars. This book shows all sorts of family conflict and feelings about what is going on in the world around them. I love reading about the connections between the family members and how they each handle situations differently. 5y

Ktyler97 I loved how in the book is from a child's perspective who looks up to his big brother, always wanting to impress him. It was interesting to read his thoughts about the troubling situation of the war and not knowing who's side to take. It is also sad when a child in the book has to grow up quickly because of certain events but it also shows how unexpecting life is during a time of war. 5y

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