Customer Reviews

My America: My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Book One

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Virginia Dickens is an ordinary nine-year-old girl growing upin the sleepy farm town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1863. She worries about her father and her brother Jed, who have gone to hide the family's horses from the Confederates. Virginia is left behind for her own safety, but she ends up being caught up in the battle and witnesses many horrifying events while growing up. I am older than the level that this book was intended for, but I still enjoyed it. This is a good book for fans of the American Girls series (which I liked when I was younger). It teaches kids about the events of the Civil War through the diary of a young girl readers can relate to.

My America: My Brother's Keeper: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Mary Pope Osborne, 4 stars.
I thought that My Brother's Keeper was a very good book. It was about a girl named Virginia Dickens. She lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the year 1863. Her father and brother, Jed, have gone to Uncle Jack's house to help hide his horses from the Conferate soldiers. She is staying with Reverend McCully and his family while they are away. The whole time she is scared for her brother and father and wants them to come home.

I gave this book four stars because, even though it was a very good book, there were some parts that were very boring/confusing. Sometimes Virginia would be talking about something, then she would start talking about something else and it would be very confusing and hard to follow. Sometimes she just was rambling on and it got boring.

The book, overall, was very good though. It had some very suspenseful parts where I was on the edge of my seat. For example, when Virginia was sitting in the tree while the Confederate soldiers were passing, I wasn't sure whether she would get caught or not and I was anxious to find out.

Some other books I would recommend are: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Picking Up the Pieces, and Nicola and the Viscount. (...)

This book was something that I didn't feel attached to the characters as I do the ones I do in the Dear America series.

To me the character Virginia never really changed throughout the story. Maybe that is why the story is more then one part. She seems to try and change but instead just whines through the book.

The way it was written did not seem to connect to me as a reader. Yes the little girl is writing to amuse herself as her brother taught her but it should be a flowing story as well. I just do not feel that it did flow freely as it should.

In the end I just felt it was a generic version of the Dear America series.

Virginia Dickens was the daughter of a Union father and Confederate mother. Her mother was a Southern belle from Virginia who named their daughter after her beloved state. The Civil War in American History is perhaps the most important decisive and difficult time in our history. For this nine year old, Virginia's brother Jed and father Pa are Union soldiers. She is torn about the North and South but I think they could have expanded about her mixed loyalties.

This war was about brothers versus brothers and families were indeed torn apart by their loyalties. I think the writer could have expanded Virginia's point of view about the country's points of view. Apart from that, this book is really intended for younger readers which I think they will enjoy reading about that time in American history. Virginia keeps a diary about the civil war and this book does share some interesting facts and details about the history of the Battle of Gettysburg. Yes, it became the turning point battle for the Confederates but it was also very bloody and still the grounds are sacred and hollow and haunted as well.

There is a lot that goes on in Virginia's life that summer like her father and brother being off to war and not hearing from them and life back home in Gettysburg. It's quite an easy, well-done read.

I am a student, with a major in Elementary Education. I needed to read a Children's Literature book for my Teaching Social Studies class, and this book was perfect. I would recommend it to both educators and students.

Young Virginia, named after the state, shares her emotional journey through the Civil War, missing her dead mother, worriying constantly about her brother and father, and being afraid so often.
Living in Gettysburg isn't exactly safe - especially when one of the most famous Civil War battles is fought right there. Virginia witnesses it all, and writes it all down in the journal her brother gave to her.
But when she finds out what ahs happened to her brother, she must gather up all her courage and face the world as best as she can.

The book is about a young girl named Virginia that stays at her neighbors' house while her father and brother Jed, are at their Uncle's to help with the horses. We learn what happens when when the Civil War starts and she writes her thoughts and what she sees and hears in the diary Jed gave her before he left.
What I like about the book is how the author uses such descriptive words about the war and it seems like it's happening right in front of my my face. Also, I love what Virginia writes in her diary. It seems so true. Once you read this book you know what it feels like and what she's trying to say.
The book's theme I think is you can never know what's going to happen when your family is away and what might come between you and your family. I'd give this book two thumbs up!!

During the days leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, nine year old Virginia Dickens is entrused with the diary of her brother Jed as he and her father go to tend to the family's horses at her uncle's farm. At first there is nothing to write about except her daily visit to cememtary hill. But soon troubles begin as the Confederate Army moves into town. Soon what her father and brother don't want her to see is exactly what the nine year old Ginny experiences---the battle of Gettysburg. Giiny is trapped there and she wonders if her father and brother will ever be able to make it home.

I thing this book was good because it had a iot of detait about the character. People should read this book if they like the Civil War and if they would like to know about the Civil War this book would be good to read. A reader that would like to read about the Civil War would read this book. My favorite part was when Jed told them that he was going to get married to Jane Ellen. It was my favorite part because it made me feel very happy that they were going to get married. My favorite character was Virginia because they talk abouŻ her a lot and how she had to keep Jed's diary for him. I hope that the next book is as good as this book was. I love these books.

Nine-year-old Virginia Dickens is left in the care of Reverend and Mrs. McCully while her father and brother help her uncle hide his horses from the Confederate raiders and fight. She promises to keep a journal for Jed, her brother. Her family thinks she'll be safe but they are wronged when Gettysburg is ambushed. After the battle, she and her father find her brother in a makeshift hospital. The book ends as the town slowly recovers and Virginia hears President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Mrs. Osborne has successfully creates individual characters, and she poses difficult questions about war and the waste of human life. There is a lyrical quality to several passages, and the author slowly builds suspense and release.

Also recommended: All the Dear America Books