The War at Home (World War II Story) [Library Binding]

Julie Klam (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Smart Apple Media; 1 edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583401903
• ISBN-13: 978-1583401903
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julie Klam grew up in Bedford, New York. After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and interning at Late Night with David Letterman, she went on to write for such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, and The New York Times Magazine and for the VH1 television show Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Class Writing. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, daughter, and many dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Young students get to learn about the home front in WWII, May 28, 2004

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The War at Home (World War II Story) (Library Binding)

Young students are no doubt aware that the United States is at war, but after they read "The War at Home" they will understand that they really do not know what it is like to live in a nation at war. This fourth book in the World War II Chronicles by Julie Klam coves how the U.S. entered the war politically, militarily, and spiritually following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war unemployment dropped from 25 to 1 percent, per capita income doubled, and the savings of private Americans went from $2.6 billion to $29.6 billion because of war bonds. Klam also devotes chapters to things that became a party of daily life such as "victory gardens," collections and recycling, and ration books, as well as the preparedness efforts of civil defense and the draft.

This book looks at not only the positive efforts of Americans pulling together, but the negative aspects as well, such as the Japanese Relocation Center and the Jim Crow laws that applied to African Americans not only at home but also abroad. Klam also devotes several chapters to women in the woar, from Rosie the Riveter and Women Journalists to Women serving in the ranks. So you can see that this book touches on more than what was happening at home. The final chapters look at how people got the news during the war, the use of propaganda on both sides to fight the war, and how the U.S. celebrated the final victory.

The book is illustrated with historic photographs, mostly in black & white but also with some color posters. Even if a class is not specifically studying World War II it is easy to see how this book could be used today to set up a comparison between now and then in terms of what it is like to be living on the home front. Certainly it will raise some interesting issues that young students have never thought of before. The other volumes in the series look at "Europe in Flames," "The Rise of Japan and Pearl Harbor," "Air War!", "From D-Day to V-E Day," and "Victory in the Pacific."