Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #4): A World War I Tale

Lets face two facts: 1) Kids in grades 7-12 do not like having to learn history(their loss, as they all realize when they are 30). 2) Schools in this Millenial world or newer have cut the hearts out of the schooling curriculums in lieu of teaching to "basic achievement" and "Standards for Graduation"(so called proficiency testing) that has to be repeated frequently that the "contact time" for students to get history, language, "the Humanities" has been axed in those curriculum cuts (the Nation will be the loser here...it's already showing). And teachers will take the wrap for the kids not leaning! (I'm a retired public school (history) teacher.) This book, and the others by author Nathan Hale (and yes, the story of secret agent/spy Nathan Hale is utilized in the text and background for each title in the growing series) please me to no end. They are written, aimed at a kid's reading level and makes the history being taught (yes, being taught) enjoyable to the adolescent reader (or any age reader, for that matter). Cartoon /comic style illustrations (very well rendered) in pen and ink draw the eye and the characters tell the (hi)story with no haughtiness that might be found in a dedicated history book of the same topic. It's good, because the readers are teaching themselves, and that sort of helps make up for the deficiencies in schools as described above. I've seen a few of these books, and really like them. They would easily make a great child's personal library collection.Some are worthy of adult collections! An example being the telling of the story of the WWII Doolittle Tokyo Air Raid.There are quite a few more, and I urge you to consider these books as gifts to any adolescent reader or adult with an interest in the subject matter of the book or history in general. My only gripe so far is with this particular title! The author/illustrator decided to tell the historical path of WWI using animals instead of humans...the animals are dressed as the warring soldiers and have human bodies, but with animal heads and paws, etc. That really wasn't necessary, and might even put off some more mature adolescent readers. Otherwise, a high recommendation from this old retired teacher guy!

This is a great series to get the interest of children and teach them some history! My 11-year-old son loves these.

We started with Alamo All-Stars and it has grown from there.The genius of this book series is that it takes real historical events and packages them in a beautifully simple, interesting, well-illustrated, and humorous package. They're essentially non-fiction graphic novels, but they're well done to appeal to a specific age of youngsters that are growing out of children's books but not yet interested in chapter books.I can't express how pleased I am that my son is interested and finding enjoyment in historical topics. Learning to enjoy and appreciate and understand history at a young age provides a strong foundation for adulthood and can fire a lifelong interest in the subject.

This might be the best book in the series so far and they are all fantastic so that’s saying a lot. WWI is an extremely complicated subject but the author has such a clever way of explaining it that’s great for kids (and adults too for that matter).

This book is great

Wonderful history lessons in all of this series; I only wish the print was a little larger. Nevertheless, they are excellent books.

My 8 year old LOVES the Hazardous Histories series. After he finished Wimpy Kid, we had a hard time finding another series that he could really get into and this series turned out to be perfect fit for a kid who loves history and humor. The first 3 books he was able to read almost entirely independently. However, Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood is taking him a while to get through due to more complex words, themes and even some French and German text sprinkled in. So far, he is still liking it but it does jump up several reading levels and may frustrate some younger readers. Still, the book does an excellent job of breaking down a very complex political history with the clever use of animals to represent the countries involved. As a college educated adult who never learned much about WWI, I plan on reading it when he is done!

My son found this book in the school library and wanted it for his personal collection. Two thumbs up.

This was a gift for my son who asked for graphic novels and "War stuff" he loves it. Every now and then he'll pop in with a new fact he's learned.

The entire series is amazing. It makes me love learning history. My teacher introduced me to the series, and I am hooked

ordered it for my 8 year old sonarrived in good condition, no pbhe loves the book - excellent and interesting way to treat a difficult and complicated story - he is sad when we stop at the end of a chapter and wants to keep going! we are reading it together as I want to be sure things are clear for him (and in the end I am learning more about WWI than I already knew!)

The books makes it easier for kids (and adults) to understand the events surrounding WW1. This inspired my kids to dive into other topics such as tanks, guns , Soviet union etc.

It came here around a week before it was supposed to, amazing condition too. Very nice