Choosing Courage: Inspiring Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero

Gr 4–8—Collier takes readers on an emotional journey into the trenches, through prisoner of war camps to makeshift hospitals, conveying the bravery that compels certain individuals to rise above their fear to protect and save others. Published in collaboration with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, the book devotes each chapter to a different tale of a medal recipient and is often followed by a page or two of background or historical information. Although the Medal of Honor was created in 1861, the book begins with stories from the battlefields of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. It includes a story from the attack on the World Trade Center, tales of heroism from Iraq and Afghanistan, Haiti, the Congo, and in the halls of an American middle school. Some of the 25 entries are told in the third person, while others are narrated by the hero in question. Most moving are the tales that are told by parents and children of the honorees. The book concludes with a note about the consequences of war and the history of the Congressional Medal of Honor.