Customer Reviews

The Flying Cat and Other Amazing Stories of the Washington Monument

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Ok, this book will never make any best seller list - but, if you want to amuse a bunch of middle school kids taking their school trip to Washington, DC, this is a good book to highlight and read aloud from. Your students will think you are a cool teacher !

I saw this book in the Washington Monument gift shop and I'm a sucker for reading about funny events in history -- so, reading about a cat falling from the top of the Washington Monument, well -- how could I resist?

I bought the 2nd. paperback edition, copyright 2006 ($11.00) and enjoyed it enormously. It has an attractive cover, good readable font for reading on a bus or on the metro, lots of illustrations, and the text is broken-up nicely with lots of story-boxes and and pictures.

I especially enjoyed the author's sense of humor, as a former volunteer at the Monument (1993-99) and a "Capital Hill press secretary" since 1987 and fifteen years of experience as a journalist prior to coming to Washington, he certainly brings an insider's knowledge to the book.

It's not just for kids though, as it "holds its own" as a thorough and accurate look at one of the most visible monuments of the world. Edwin C. Bearss, Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service, provides the a fitting Foreword and commends Berard's effort to describe and tell stories about this wonderful monument that receives 800,000 visitors a year to see the spectacular view of Washington from 500 feet up.

I won't spoil the fun for those who will want to buy it, so I'll simply say that the stories are interesting, well-written and fun to read. It would make a great purchase for a history teacher / Wash DC trip guide who wants to mix in some fun information with history to keep the attention of a herd of middle-schoolers.

Recommended for all elementary and middle school libraries as well as public libraries seeking to keep young readers motivated to read.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

The book was in new condition, and what was even more of a surprise was that it was signed by the author himself! This is a gift for my niece, and I KNOW she will love it.