Hold the Flag High

This book is the story about the Massachusetts 54th Regiment during the Civil War, which was all African American. This book appears to be designed for early elementary students, but the nature of the artwork would be appealing to older students, including English language learners. This perspective story could be an excellent way to engage students to talk about the Civil War, ethnicity, bigotry, exclusion, and tough diversity issues.

A stirring, patriotic and yet perhaps little known story of a Civil War battle. I found it too mature for younger than 7-year olds, but with some background information it could be read to them effectively. The 2nd graders I read to were very interested but puzzled when they found the battle had been lost. They cheered up to see the actual photo of the hero and to hear the war was eventually won. Third to sixth graders will enjoy reading it for themselves and may be encouraged to seek out more Civil War history.