The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish

Editorial Reviews. From School Library Journal. Grade 3–6—Amanda MacLeish begins a history project at school just when things are falling apart at home.
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Amanda is able deal with some of her issues through her diary entries and tie the parallel st Don't let the title fool you like it did me Amanda is able deal with some of her issues through her diary entries and tie the parallel story lines together. This book deals with a topic that a lot of kids go through and it is handled it what I assume is a very typical fashion.


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I was very impressed with the book and I hope kids today are too. This book is nominated for a Missouri Mark Twain Award. Aug 14, Edie rated it really liked it. Mills's characters are very genuine and the pain that the main character feels at the separation of her parents is very real and resonates off the page. Her confusion about this new phase in the life of her family is also apparent, especially her reluctance to share this information with her best friend and the rift this causes in their friendship as well as her growing annoyance with their "perfect" family that she has so wished for and found comfort in.

The civil war aspect is a bit gimmicky Mills's characters are very genuine and the pain that the main character feels at the separation of her parents is very real and resonates off the page.


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The civil war aspect is a bit gimmicky but does give her an outlet for her unhappiness and provides a way to include her classmates in her life and outlook. A book that will particularly resonate with girls in grades Mar 22, Tracie rated it really liked it Shelves: Lately I've been wishing for 3. Anyway, Amanda MacLeish is the best writer in her class and that is about the only thing that seems to be helping her get through the sudden separation of her parents.

Seeing as how her Dad has a girlfriend, her Mother is just angry, her older sister is hot and cold, and her best friend seems to have a new best friend - at least that's how it all looks to Amanda. I liked that this book had a story within a Lately I've been wishing for 3. I liked that this book had a story within a story and that both were tied together by Amanda's feelings. I also thought this was a realistic look at a family splitting up without the realism being too depressingly harsh.

Aug 04, Sharon Matney rated it liked it. A good book for getting kids interested in the American Civil War.

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Teachers could adapt the fictional teacher's assignment of having students choose a person real or fictional and spend a month writing a diary in blog form perhaps from that person's point of view. Amanda the protagonist is obviously a gifted writer I don't know many 4th graders who write so meaningfully who makes connections between her present-day life faced with challenges such as her parents' separation and her char A good book for getting kids interested in the American Civil War. Amanda the protagonist is obviously a gifted writer I don't know many 4th graders who write so meaningfully who makes connections between her present-day life faced with challenges such as her parents' separation and her character's historical life of which one brother fights for the Union and the other for the Confederacy.

Mar 06, Joenna rated it it was amazing Shelves: Amanda is in 5th grade and they have an assignment where they are each given a Civil War character and they must create a diary of the character. Amanda's family life is falling apart. She knows her parents fight, but she is shocked when her dad moves out, which she thinks is all her mom's fault. Her older sister is grumpy and always fighting with her mom. Her best friend is also ignoring her and has perhaps found a new best friend.

Amanda's Civil War character Polly, while in a different time p Amanda is in 5th grade and they have an assignment where they are each given a Civil War character and they must create a diary of the character. Amanda's Civil War character Polly, while in a different time period, seems to have the same emotions as Amanda, and is a great source of comfort to Amanda through these hard times.

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An excellent book, well written as a young girl. Jan 11, Matthew Winner rated it really liked it. Another story that just pulls and pulls you in! Amanda's parents are recently separated and she struggles with understanding why her mother would choose to leave her father. In the meantime she maintains a Civil War diary for a school assignment in which she imagines herself in the role of a young girl whose brothers enlist to fight on different sides of the war.

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Amanda pours her personal life into the diary and her struggle becomes that of the readers. Well written and worth picking up. Jul 18, Mrs. Wynn rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved the book. Amanda is really going through some tough stuff family-wise Dad left and is beginning a new relationship with another woman , and she loses herself in the life of Polly, a Civil War-era character she creates a diary for as a history assignment.

The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Ama...

Claudia Mills is a master at character-development I've read several of her books , and she excels here with both Amanda and Polly. Recommended for ages Feb 10, Addison Children's Services rated it liked it Shelves: Amanda is having problems at home, her dad has moved out. Amanda, who enjoys writing, expresses her fears and frustrations through her school assignment. The Civil War diary she writes, as a girl from Maryland with a brother fighting for each cause, is fairly believable. She must have done some research. Some of the other diaries, each child in the class writes as a different character, are a hoot.

Jun 13, Ann rated it did not like it. How come every story line I have read lately has a family breaking up? I would have loved more story with the diaries the kids wrote. Although I feel the diary writing was too advanced for 5th graders. I would have loved having more of the story about the Civil War and the effect it had on the students. Oct 06, Martha rated it really liked it. Enjoyable book about a fifth-grader suffering through a civil war in her family who finds solace in writing a Civil War diary for a school assignment.

The issue of families broken up by the US Civil War is cleverly paralleled by Amanda's own broken family, and themes of friendship and racism in modern times are skillfully treated. Jan 23, Jessica rated it liked it. Jan 16, Becky rated it really liked it. Amanda has a school assignment to write a diary about a Civil War era girl with 2 brothers, one fighting for the North, one for the South.

Amanda's parents have just separated. Amanda works through her feelings about her parents, sister, and school friends through her diary. Not quite a predictable ending which is a good thing. Jun 16, Anna Francesca rated it really liked it Shelves: This sensitive book ties a contemporary family's break-up and a rift between once-best-friends to the occurances during the civil war. It touches on the topics of divorce and racism in a realistic, non-preachy way.

Even though the protagonist is a girl, I can see both girls and boys enjoying it. This would be a good choice as a seed for class discussions, as well. Aug 05, Jennifer Lassiter rated it liked it. I read this book by accident after purchasing in a discount bin. It is clearly meant for elementary and middle school kids dealing with the divorce of parents and racisim at school. It is an after-school special via short novel. Used in the classroom, probably a useful tool for creating conversation.

But for an adult to read for enjoyment? Jul 18, Lynn Wynn rated it it was amazing Shelves: Apr 02, Raegan rated it really liked it. I liked how what was going on in the diary corresponded with Amanda's life. So I frequently had to stop and work out my thoughts. Oct 14, Nancy Keller rated it really liked it Shelves: The title and cover of this book certainly are not as good as the story. The story was much better than I expected.

It would be interesting to see what kids think of this story about children dealing with divorce when their father finds someone else to take their mother's place when all their parents do is fight.

Oct 29, Kim rated it it was ok Shelves: Everyone in Amanda's 5th grade class is given an assignment to write a diary about a person living during the civil war. She writes about Polly, a girl living in Maryland that has one brother fighting for the North nad one for the South. Jun 17, Sandy rated it liked it.

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I liked the historical and writing aspect of this book but like others I will agree that too many children's books nowadays focus on the 3 D's divorce, death and depression. May 01, Christina rated it it was ok. This is the first Mark Twain Award nominee I cannot recommend to my children. It was well written but I felt that it seemed to excuse immoral behavior when it alluded to it.

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She was born in New York City in She received her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, her master's degree from Princeton University, and a Ph. She also received an M. Since she has taught philosophy, first as an assistant professor at the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, then as an assistant professor and now as an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

She has two children, Christopher and Gregory, and one cat named Snickers. Books by Claudia Mills. Trivia About The Totally Made No trivia or quizzes yet. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Abrams's fifth-grade class who doesn't mind doing her homework. Now that her father has left home and moved into a motel, the only thing that brings Amanda any joy is writing her fictional diary entries about a young girl named Polly who lives amid the chaos of the Civil War.

Polly would understand Amanda. With one brother fighting for the North and one fighting for the South, Polly knows just how it feels to have a family split in half.

The totally made-up Civil War diary of Amanda MacLeish (Book, ) [leondumoulin.nl]

But if the North and the South could find a way to reunite despite their differences, can't Amanda's family do the same? In this touching novel by Claudia Mills, the heroine learns that enduring a split doesn't have to mean losing a family. Read more about the PowerV Word Selector. Wilson Williams worries about passing his times-table tests Wilson has a hard time with math, especially with Mrs. Addie's father promised that she would learn to read and write her name. But when he doesn't return from the The sequel toLosers, Inc.

Twelve-year-old Julius Zimmerman is the former vice president of the defunct organization Losers, Inc.