Bunting, E. (1990). The wall.
New York, NY: Clarion Books.
Texas Bluebonnet Award, 1991 - 1992
Eve Bunting’s The Wall is the
story of a young boy who visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C. with his father, and together they look for his grandfather’s name, George Munoz. When they find his name, his father places a
piece of paper on top of the engraving and rubs over it with a pencil so that
the letters in his name appear white on the paper. His dad takes the paper with him and leaves a
photo of his son by the wall. At the end,
the boy recounts how even though the wall is a place of honor and he is glad
his grandfather’s name is on it, it still makes him sad because he wishes his
grandfather was there with him instead.
This is a beautiful story, and Ronald Himler’s illustrations match its
tone with somber colors, shadowy trees, gray shades, dead leaves, dreary skies,
etc. His stunning artwork is very
appropriate for a book that tells about a wall honoring our fallen
soldiers. This would be an excellent
story to use while teaching children about soldiers, veterans, and past wars.
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