World War II
Chicago Celebrates Casimir Pulaski
For my first ten or twelve or thirty years in Chicago, I was regularly taken by surprise by a local holiday. On the first Monday in March, Chicago’s administrative offices, and public libraries are closed for Pulaski Day, a holiday honoring Casimir Pulaski, the Polish nobleman who fought on the colonial side in the American…
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Before the Women of Hidden Figures
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve recently been working on a book for 8 to 12 year olds about an incident in WWII. Non-fiction books for kids inevitably include one of my favorite things: sidebars.* Sidebars are a chance to explore an issue that enriches and expands the central text. They also are often a chance…
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How Did the Axis Powers Get Their Name?
I recently struggled to explain the Allies and the Axis Powers in War II in a sidebar for a book aimed at 8 to 12 year olds.* It was harder than you might think. Even just listing who belonged in each group was tricky, because in some ways World War II was a collection of…
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