An excellent addition to this nonfiction, highly-engaging series by Kate Messner, whose thorough research make this a fascinating read. The mixed-media format (comics sequences, photos, illustrations, sidebars), as well as the inviting narrative, keeps the book from feeling like a textbook. Very informative and MG-appropriate, this is a book that kids 10+ won't want to put down.

I would have loved this series when I was young -- learning things "they" don't want you to know is seductive! I was misled into thinking this was a graphic novel, though, from the comparison titles.

I thought this was a great non fiction about Pearl Harbor. What I like about Kate Messner's History Smashers is that she writes about all the information a lot of kids don't learn about K-12 here in the United States. Most people learn more about what really happened until the get older or go to college. I like how she broke down the racism that was going on in the United States military back then and how the United States gathered up all the Japanese American citizen (men women and children) took them from their homes and put them in Interment Camps for awhile during the war.

Kate Messner is one of the amazingly prolific authors who produces high quality books despite producing so many. These are very readable nonfiction titles for middle grade readers. These are appealing and great for kids.

I can not say enough good things about the History Smashers series! I learned so many new facts about the attack on Pearl Harbor that I was unaware of before and in such a fun way! All libraries with middle grade readers need to have this series in their collections!

Reading History Smashers: Pearl Harbor, made me realize that I've read and reviewed a lot of books about the events of December 7, 1941, but most of them were novels - good novels but fiction nevertheless. Amazingly, I've never read a nonfiction book about Pearl Harbor for this blog, so I was pleased to read this new book by Kate Messner from her series History Smashers.
Messner takes a look not only at the facts surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor, but also looks at some of the myths and legends that have circulated ever since. And she begins at the beginning, debunking the popular idea that the attack "happened completely out of the blue, with no warning and nothing to suggest there might be trouble." By carefully and succinctly looking at Japanese history from 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry led an expedition to try to open up isolationist Japan to trade with other countries, Messner shows how opening this small island country led to its desire for more land and more natural resources, eventually leading to the invasion of Manchuria and China in the 1930s.

Following Germany's lead, Japan also set her sites on islands in the Pacific already colonized by other nations, including the US. After Japan signed a agreement with Germany and Italy in which they promised that if one were attacked, the others would help defend them. Feeling protected and now quite militarized, Japan invaded French Indochina.

Next, Messner looks at the errors in judgement made by the United States that led to such devastation when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. She goes back to 1924, when an army officer named William Mitchell was sent to evaluate the preparedness of US forces in the Pacific and Far East. He warned that Japan was thinking about expanding its empire, had its sites sent on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines and that that would eventually lead to war. But by 1939, Americans didn't want to go to war and so President Roosevelt tried negotiating with Japan to maintain peace. While Japan readied itself for the attack, by training pilots, redesigning torpedoes for the shallow waters where the American fleet had been moved to, mistakes, miscommunications, and incomplete intelligence gathering all led to what ultimately felt like a surprise attack to Americans, all of which Messner carefully looks at.

History Smashers: Pearl Harbor is a short but very informative, well researched look at the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not only does Messner lay out her facts and debunk the myths surrounding the attack that led America into WWII, but she takes this very complicated event and makes it accessible to young readers. Plus, she takes the narrative beyond Pearl Harbor and looks at the racist treatment and incarceration of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the US.

Messner includes lots of informative sidebars introducing readers to people, places, and histories, as well as lots of photographs and maps. There is extensive back matter that includes A World War II and Pearl Harbor Timeline, an Author's Note, Books, Websites and Museums to Visit for further exploration, and an excellent Bibliography.

This is a book that should be read by anyone interested in WWII. How good is it? Well, I thought I knew a lot about Pearl Harbor, but even I learned a few new facts.

This book is recommended for readers age 8+
This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

Kate Messner can do no wrong. Everything she writes is just right for the middle grade set & this is no exception. Looking forward to the other titles in this series!

Kate Messner's History Smashers series is really gaining in popularity with middle grade readers and for good reason!! These books make history come alive through compelling narrative history-telling and interesting text formatting. Well-researched and accurate, this book gives readers insight into an important historical event that they are unlikely to find in traditional history books.

I love this new series! I'm recommending it to readers who love the I Survived books but are ready to really dig into history and discover more.

I'm at the point where anything Kate writes is a must buy. This one is another great book to use while homeschooling. I am listing it with books that go along with Story of the World Volume 4.

Kate Messner did it again! I have loved (and purchased) both History Smashers graphic novels, and they are so well loved in my classroom. I love that it looks at history through different perspectives and uses and critical lens that we don't normally see in our history textbooks. Pearl Harbor was no exception. Messner did such a great job explaining the entire picture of what happened with many stories that I know a lot of people are not exposed to when learning about it.

I would highly recommend upper elementary/middle school teachers to purchase this series for your classroom! I will be adding this one to our collection for sure. I cannot wait to read the next one!

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Pearl Harbor is no exception. The perspectives it reveals are what kids need to be reading to look at our history through a critical lens. And my students love when I tell them we are going to smash some history.

Kate Messner hits a home run with the History Smashers series. By utilizing a number of primary resources, Messner expands the story showing that there were some warning signs that Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked, that there were conflicting viewpoints on the efficacy of the bombing in Japan, and even that the original war declaration was on all three Axis powers. Messner produces a great explanation of the devastation the bombing created and our ensuing response.

But Messner doesn't end there. What I especially appreciate about this book is that it highlights opposing viewpoints and some of the not-so-great things that America did in the wake of the bombing. There is an entire chapter focusing on Japanese internment. Messner puts it quite eloquently when she writes about the patriotism that was sparked after the bombing:

"But not everyone's help was welcome. Even as patriotism brought people together, fear, ignorance, and racism drove them apart."

We often hear that history is doomed to repeat itself if we don't learn about the rights and wrongs that happened. As we are teaching students about the past, readable books that tell a more complete story, with primary sources and a bibliography, are of great value. History Smashers looks to be a great resource for today's students. After reading this book as well as the one on Women's Rights, I can definitely say that this series is AMAZING!

As I write this review, Pearl Harbor Day is just two days away. Each year, my husband (a former Marine) is diligent to remind our family of the significance of this "day which shall live in infamy."
This new History Smashers book will be a popular one for middle grade readers. It is a blend of facts, photos and graphics that will keep the reader engaged while they are learning. Having read a wide range of books (many historical fiction) about World War II, there was not much in this book that I was not aware of. I have also visited the memorial when we were in Oahu in 2009, but had forgotten about the oil situation. It also surprised me that Messner contends that only Japanese Americans were interned during WW II as I have read several sources regarding camps for German and Italian Americans. Two examples are 'The Diplomat's Daughter' by Karin Tanabe and 'The Last Year of the War' by Susan Meissner. The book includes a timeline, note from the author, and extensive bibliography as well as an excerpt from the first History Smashers book about the Mayflower. Hand this book to kids who love Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales and the I Survived series (novels and graphics).

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I believe this series is going to be a fantastic way to introduce kids to historical topics in a age appropriate and interesting way. I’m very excited to share these books with students. Non-fiction for my older elementary students can be a harder sell, but I feel like this will be a popular series and will lead them to more reading about these historical topics.

What a fun way to learn history! As a teacher (and a human), I have become a huge fan of Kate Messner's History Smashers books. These books are enjoyable, they're educational, and they grab kids' attention . . . What more could we ask for?!

So so so good! It is filled with facts and in a way that even younger grades could understand. I would definitely add this to my reading/ classroom bookcase for my students!

This book was awesome. My kids enjoyed reading it especially since it had all those pictures and short side stories that were so interesting. I read it as well and learned a few things I didn’t know about WWII. It was a fantastic read for anyone wanting a quick and fun book about Pearl Harbor. This would be excellent resource for school reports. It was a little hard for my youngest to get thru (she’s 8) but she still liked reading the little stories with the pictures.

This series, what can I say about this series. The author takes her subject and layes it out for middle-grade readers so they have the whole story. So often the story of World War II is told in short sound bites, and you dont' get the history behind it. With excerpts from interviews with survivors, this story comes alive as never before.

This covers the history of the Japanese involvement in the the Asian theatre, as well as the build up to the attack on the American fleet in Pearl Harbor.

What is great is this also follows the internment of the Japanese-Americans back on the west coast, and Hawaii. Because, really, all these things are interconnected. So we get stories of that, as well of how the Japanese-Americans, who were in prison camps, still signed up and fought for a country that had so maltreated them.

We need a book like this for every major historical even. The stuff you learn, even if you have been studying this history for a while, I was amazed.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I think our kids need more History Smashers in their lives! There have been a lot of books written about World War 2 but I have found that a majority of them focus on the events in Europe during the war. I think it is incredibly valuable for kids to also learn about what happened on the Pacific Front. Through a blend of graphic novel style conversations, real-life photos, and various non-fiction text features, Messner shares the facts of what happened leading up to, during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. All too often, my students find non-fiction to be dry and boring, but Messner has truly created an engaging series with her History Smashers books. Already looking forward to The Titanic.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an early copy in return for an honest review.