This is an addicting book. I don't remember reading "interactive" books when I was younger, but I'm beginning to wish I did. The Battle of Bull Run: An Interactive History Adventure allows readers to pick their own journey through the historic battle of Bull Run. The book claims that all of "the events you'll experience happened to real people." I started this book and decided I wanted to fight as a Union Soldier, but the choices I made in battle soon led me to be wounded in both of my legs and pass out in a field hospital where I and other injured soldiers were later abandoned. Of course, that kind of outcome just makes me want to go back and read another journey until I find one where I survive!

I think a similar feeling will emerge in my students and that is why I think this would be a fun text to have in my social studies classroom. Students can really get "involved" in the Battle of Bull Run, and as they read their own journey and make the best choices they can, they are learning historical facts that are included within each tale. Furthermore, this book teaches critical thinking to some degree, because the pressure to survive the battle makes your choices in the story very important. Reading level: Age 8 and up. ( )