Time for Battle by Susan Martins Miller is the 22nd book in the American Adventure Series. The setting is in Cincinnati in 1860-1861. The issues at hand include President Abraham Lincoln's election and inauguration as the 16th President of the United States of America, slavery/abolition, the Underground Railroad and the seceding of several Southern States from the Union to form the Confederacy. The character/moral concerns addressed in this book include: good (and poor) sportsmanship/competitiveness, handling social awkwardness when around someone with fundamentally different beliefs, and the division and fear caused by threats of war. This book picks up with the twins from the previous book, David and Daria Fisk, having aged to 10 years of age. David loves baseball and Daria stubbornly insists she be allowed to play, despite baseball being a boy's sport. When two new boys in town, who just happen to be identical twins, express interest in baseball as well, plans are made to start up teams. Exactly who is in charge of the team that starts up becomes a point of contention. |
This book touches on a number of situations youth are likely to face and, as many of the books previous in the series, guides the main characters (who are young) along with the wisdom of their elder siblings and parents mixed into the narrative. Reading about families handling a variety of situations and conversations on tough topics is reaffirming the family unity we hope to instill in our children. We want them to realize they can come to us with questions, concerns, and any matter they'd like to discuss and these books have shown many examples of children doing just that, even when it is not fun and could be avoided.
There were no topics of concern for my sensitive little guy in this book, and both my kids love the action of the baseball games. We're excited to dive into the next one!
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