Vietnam War Books ----------------- compiled from contributions to YALSA-BK, March 2000 Fiction ------- AND ONE FOR ALL by Theresa Nelson. Yearling, 1991 (0440404568) Ages 9-12 Geraldine's close relationship with her older brother Wing and his friend Sam changes when Wing joins the Marines and Sam leaves for Washington to join a peace march. DECEMBER STILLNESS by Mary Downing Hahn. What starts as a class project, turns into something greater when 14 year old Kelly learns about the war from Mr. Weems, a homeless Vietnam vet. DOVE SONG by Kristine L. Franklin. Candlewick, 1999 When eleven-year-old Bobbie Lynn's father is reported missing in action in Vietnam, she and her thirteen-year-old brother must learn to cope with their own despair, as well as their mother's breakdown. FALLEN ANGELS by Walter Dean Myers. Scholastic, 1991 (0590409433) Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam. (Winner of the 1989 Coretta Scott King award) FINDING MOON by Tony Hillerman. Adult Mystery. His predictable life changed forever by the discovery of the niece he never knew existed, Moon Mathias undertakes a dangerous journey into the war-stricken zones of Southeast Asia, where he is challenged to become the man he always wanted to be. IN COUNTRY by Bobbie Ann Mason. Sam’s quest to find out about her father’s death in the war leads her to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where she is able to touch his name. THE KING OF DRAGONS by Carol Fenner. McElderry, 1998 Having lost access to the old railroad station where they had been staying, homeless Ian and his father move into an unused city courthouse and try to avoid being discovered by the authorities. LOST IN THE WAR by Nancy Antle. Dial, 1998 Twelve-year-old Lisa Grey struggles to cope with a mother whose traumatic experiences as a nurse in Vietnam during the war are still haunting her. PARK'S QUEST by Katherine Paterson. Viking Press, 2000 (0140342621) Eleven-year-old Park makes some startling discoveries when he travels to his grandfather's farm in Virginia to learn about his father who died in the Vietnam War. PURPLE HEART by Marc Talbert. 2000 (0785714103) Ages 9-12. When his father returns home from Vietnam moody and reluctant to speak about his experiences--or what he did to earn a Purple Heart-- Luke makes up his own fantastic stories about his father's heroics in battle. ROAD HOME by Ellen Emerson White. Point Signature, 1997 (0590467387) Young Adult Rebecca Phillips, 22, is a nurse in Vietnam who has seen endless bloodshed, horror, and suffering. When her helicopter crashes in the jungle, she faces a brutal showdown for survival that will change her forever. (Named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults) SING FOR YOUR FATHER, SU PHAN by Stella Pevsner. Clarion, 1997. Recalls the events in a North Vietnamese village that forever changed the lives of the youngest daughter of a prosperous trader and her family. SONG OF THE BUFFALO BOY by Sherry Garland Grades 7-10. What happens to the child of a Vietnamese woman and American GI father after the war. SHADOW OF THE DRAGON by Sherry Garland. Grades 7-10. A Vietnamese family in the US and what happens when they take in another teen refugee. TRINITY FIELDS by Bradford Morrow. Penguin, 2000. Adult Fiction. Kip Calder and Brice McCarthy were best friends, sons of men who worked on the atomic bomb. Their college days tear them apart-- Brice is an anti-war activist while Kip disappears into Vietnam, leaving Brice to marry the woman they both loved. Twenty-five years later, Kip returns, a ghost soldier come to reclaim what was lost. WHEN ZACHARY BEAVER CAME TO TOWN by Kimberly Willis Holt. Henry Holt, 2000. Age 10-14. Toby Wilson is having the toughest summer of his life. It's the summer his mother leaves for good; the summer his best friend's brother returns from Vietnam in a coffin. And the summer that Zachary Beaver, the fattest boy in the world, arrives in their sleepy Texas town. While it's a summer filled with heartache of every kind, it's also a summer of new friendships gained and old friendships renewed. And it's Zachary Beaver who turns the town of Antler upside down and leaves everyone, especially Toby, changed forever. (Winner of the 1999 National Book Award for Young People) Nonfiction ---------- AMERICA AND VIETNAM: THE ELEPHANT AND THE TIGER by Albert Marrin. Grades 9+. DEAR MOM, I'M ALIVE by Randolph Mains. Adult. MOVING VIOLATIONS by John Hockenberry. Adult. Biographical account that includes his experiences as a reporter in Vietnam in a wheelchair. THREE FACES OF VIETNAM by Richard Wormser. Grades 7+ REQUIEM: PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO DIED IN VIETNAM by Horst Faas and Tim Page. Adult. Remarkable Photo-Essay. VOICES FROM VIETNAM by Barry Denenberg. Grades 9+