Clara Barton : Angel of the Battlefield

by Rae Bains

A childhood biography of the girl who became known as a fearless battlefield nurse during the Civil War and the founder of the American Red Cross.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, History, Biography Memoir, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really good. I learned that she taught in schools in Massachusetts. One particular school there were four teenager boys that there were the size of Clara. One day when they were playing ball she asked the boys if she could learn. She fooled them because she could throw the ball so straight and narrow. She surprised them!

I also learned that Clara was a nurse in the military and she new new every mountain, stream, valley and road in Massachusetts. This way she could send help to wounded soldiers more quickly.

After the Civil War ended Clara traveled to Europe where she was honored for being such a good nurse. There she learned about the Red Cross. Their flag was a red cross in a white field. When she went back to America she tried hard to make the Red Cross in America of help for the wounded soldiers. When Clara died she was 90 years old. By then the Red Cross was permanently apart of America.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative look into the young life of Civil War hero and founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton. Oddly, the author chose to put much emphases on Clara’s early years and how many of the events in her life would later help shape who she would become, without giving many details into the work she ended up doing. Additional reading material will be needed for the elementary age students this book is written for.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though we all liked this biography, it focuses most on Clara’s younger years. While interesting, it feels very incomplete as it merely glosses over her work as a nurse and the person who brought the Red Cross to America.

[Samantha Brumbaugh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: The "Easy Biographies" series focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness. Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams This biography focuses on the life and events in Clara Barton's life that made her an American hero.
Genre: Non-fiction Children's Biography
Reading Level: Fluent, This book is definitely for a fluent reader. There are several paragraphs on each page and the font is very small. There is no color in the book, even the pictures are all black and white.
Topic: The life of Clara Barton, the Civil War
Curriculum Uses: This book could be used as an independent read if they have to do a report on a famous person or as a guided reading book if the class was working on a biography section.
Social Issues:This book looks at what was going on in America during the time of the civil war. It discusses slavery and women's rights.
Literary Elements:Since this book is a biography, it has a lot of descriptive text and the text follows a timeline. The book is written in 3rd person.
Illustrations & Text: I feel that the illustrations in this book are somewhat boring. they are very detailed and they do give insight into Clara's life but they do not add that much to the story.

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is nonfiction and it is good you should like it.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to Clara Barton. She made me want to be a nurse when I was younger. This is an easy read for kids and a great look at history.