The Art of Keeping Cool (Aladdin Historical Fiction)

The characters in this book are very strong, very sympathetic, and in a situation that children of any age can identify with. Having read this book, I was able to recommend it to my male students. It has no love story line, so you can discuss it in class or with mixed age (adult and students) with no embarrassment. It is based on real events and deals with emotions and mob dynamics that are perennial human problems,The title isn't flashy, but the substance of this book is!Recommended for reading: as a class, parents and children reading a chapter each night, grandparents and grandchildren to discuss and share, in remembrance of our veterans, when fear makes whole cities and countries behave in horrible ways.

I was not inpressed with this purchase. I was trying to find a book on line to replace the lost public library book.When we got the book it was from a Cleveland public library. Which was hard to take this book to our public library in replacement of the lost one. Not happy with purchase. The seller should have said it had public library book that was very used and stamped all over.

We needed an extra copy for my son's reading class since we couldn't highlight or write in the school's copy. A used copy was perfect for our needs.

This edition starts on page 27, so nearly the first three chapters are completely missing. After page 58, then, it restarts back at 27 again. I would have returned this, but I bought it for a student who didn't tell me immediately about the issue. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it . . .

My son is 12 and LOVES this book. I highly recommend it as he has a hard time putting it down.

My 12 year old read this for school, he said it's a really good book. His first independent chapter book along with the Audio version helped him a lot.

The book was used for a school book report. It was ok... the book is a little dry. Wouldn't recommend, if you have a choice for school.

This is a story about how a two 13-year-old cousins search for hidden truths. One is personal. Why does Robert's uncle, aunt, cousin, grandmother, and grandfather avoid any talk of Robert's father? The second is social. Who is the artist with the German accent and what is he doing? The book begins in March 1942 in a small, fictional, seaside town in Rhode Island. Big guns have arrived in town to protect the area from Nazi submarines. Robert's father is away, flying for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The artist is a famous painter. Tension builds in a slow, non-violent, and satisfying way throughout the story - until the final chapters. In the end, we mourn the destructive power of rigid paternal expectations and narrow-minded social attitudes. A gifted teacher could easily guide discussions that relate themes in this book to current events.