Myers, Walter Dean. "the Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, A World War II Soldier; Normandy, France, 1944" New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1999. print.

Told from the perspective of an 18-year-old from Roanoke, VA, this appears to be a first-hand account of the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach and the ensuing battles in Normandy against the Germans. The "journal" entries begin on May 25, 1994, with the recounting of Scott Collins' going-away party and ends on August 24 on Omaha Beach, as Scott, wounded, is being ferried back to England. While the tone is more matter-of-fact than a true journal would be, the short, almost-daily entries keep the story moving along briskly. The author doesn't glamorize war, frequently mentioning the dead and wounded, the members of his regiment, all around him, more and more each day. Up to this point, the story is believable as a fictionalized journal.

After the last journal entry, which would hvae been very satisfying as an ending, the author has written an Epilogue, which purports to tell the subsequent life stories of the main characters: where they lived, who they married, their children, their work, if they have passed on. There follows a section called "Life in America in 1944" which actually describes the conflict between Nazi Germany and the United States, and includes several pages of captioned photographs of the invasion of Normandy along with maps. This section is somewhat helpful in putting into perspective this part of World War II.

Next is a chapter called "About the Author." He believes that history, particularly war, is best told from the intensely personal point of view by those who actually fought in the war. He says "I cna think of no better way to prevent war than to present a true picture of its horrors." While I couldn't agree more, and while this story matches the stories of the Battle of the Bulge my own father told me, when Myers says this is a "true picture" it suggests that Scott Collins really existed. Nonetheless, he is an award-winning author, and among his awards is one from the ALA in the field of social studies.

Although the reading level is upper-elementary (as told to me by a public librarian), the subject matter is disturbing: repeated descriptions of the dead and dying, the central character pinned down by enemy fire and unable to help. These could bring nightmares to any child who reads it.