The Boys in the Boat: The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics-Adapted for Young Readers by Daniel James Brown, Adapted by by Gregory Mone -Book Review

 

Product Details

• Title: The True Story of an American Team's Epic Journey to Win Gold at the 1936 Olympics-Adapted for Young Readers
• Author: Daniel James Brown
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Puffin Books; Illustrated edition (August 2, 2016)
• Genre: Non-Fiction American History/ Children's Olympic's Book
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0147516854
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0147516855
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10+ years, from customers
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1000L
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 6

Book Summary

The #1 New York Times bestseller freshly adapted for the next generation, now with brand new content including an author Q&A and never-before-seen photographs

Inspiration for the PBS American Experience Documentary 'The Boys of '36'
 
For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the Great Depression comes the astonishing tale of nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant. With rowers who were the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew was never expected to defeat the elite East Coast teams, yet they did, going on to shock the world by challenging the German boat rowing for Adolf Hitler.
 
At the center of the tale is Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, whose personal quest captures the spirit of his generation—the generation that would prove in the coming years that the Nazis could not prevail over American determination and optimism.
 
This deeply emotional yet easily accessible young readers' adaptation of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller features never-before-seen photographs, highly visual backmatter, and an exclusive new introduction.

My Review

My first thought after finishing The Boys in the Boat was, why have I not read this book before? This was such an amazing story of courage and perseverance. This is the incredible true story of the nine blue-collar young men who beat all odds, made the Olympic team,  and then took home the gold in the 1936 Olympics that took place in Hitler's Germany. 

 The author focuses on one team member the most, Joe Rantz. The author says that he met Joe who by then was an old man. After Joe told Brown his life story, the author knew it needed to be written and shared with others. 

The overall message that kids and adults gain from Joe and his teammates' story is that you don't give up. When you have a dream you fight for it. That the way to become winners in anything, is to work as a team. Joe always was in his own head so much it hindered his ability to do his best while rowing. He learned from the wonderful advisors and teachers in his life that he needed to let go of just thinking of himself and learn to think as a team. Once he let go of "self" he was able to embrace those he worked with and they became unstoppable. 

The book gives a brief look at what was happening in Germany before the Germans invaded Poland starting WW2. Hitler wanted a certain perfect picture of his country to show the world they were staying in line after WW1. Behind the "perfect picture", the concentration camps were being built. It was quite the victory for the American boys to win the Gold medal in rowing right in front of Hitler. 

I highly recommend this book for tweens and teens and sharing with them the messages of working as a team, being determined, and enduring hardship. 

Joe in his later years. 

To be of championship caliber, a crew must have total confidence in each other, able to drive with abandon, confident that no man will get the full weight of the pull…. When you get the full rhythm in an eight, it’s pure pleasure to be in it. It’s not hard work when the rhythm comes—that “swing” as they call it. I’ve heard men shriek out in delight when the swing came into an eight; it’s a thing they’ll never forget as long as they live.

– George Yeoman Pocock, from Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat

****Meet Author Daniel James Brown****

Daniel James Brown grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Diablo Valley College, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA. He taught writing at San Jose State University and Stanford before becoming a technical writer and editor. He now writes narrative nonfiction books full-time. His primary interest as a writer is in bringing compelling historical events to life vividly and accurately.

He and his wife live in the country outside of Seattle, Washington, with an assortment of cats, dogs, chickens, and honeybees. When he isn't writing, he is likely to be birding, gardening, fly fishing, reading American history, or chasing bears away from the beehives.

Learn more about Daniel and his books

HERE:

http://www.danieljamesbrown.com

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