The Wall
Bunting, E. (1990). The wall. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Genre: Realistic fiction children's literature
Age Level: Grades 2-5


Summary:     This is a moving story about a boy and his father going to visit the Veteran's Memorial in Washington D.C. to find his grandfather's name who had died in the Vietnam War.  The story captures the tone that you feel when you are looking at the wall.  The boy asks questions to his father while they are visiting and sees the importance of the veterans as he discusses the surroundings and actions of the people around that are visiting the wall as well.  The story is very descriptive and paints a true picture of the feeling that surrounds this memorial in Washington, D.C.

Reflection:      The tone of this book is incredible! I think Bunting truly captures the feelings that encompass people when they go to visit this memorial.  The story truly describes the wall; its size, it’s feeling, as well as the amount of names that are listed as veterans who have fought for our country.  This book is a great book to read to introduce a unit on war or veterans.  The illustrations in this book are very well done and bring the wall to life for the readers.  For many readers, they can gain an understanding of empathy and respect throughout this book because of the actions and detailed descriptions that the young boy describes.  He discusses his father, hanging his head, by the side of the wall, the teacher talking to the students who have come to visit, and the respect that the family shows by visiting the memorial and leaving behind the picture of the boy.  I think this book would raise inquiry and questions from students if it were the introduction to a new unit.  Big Question: Based on the descriptions you heard in this story and what this story encompasses; what questions do you have regarding this memorial or the war? (This would lead to the areas in which we would study as well as act as an assessment for prior knowledge.)