Voices of the Alamo

'For most Americans the history of the Alamo begins and ends on the same day: March 6, 1836, the date of Santa Ana's famous defeat of the renegade forces that had occupied the former mission. However, the story actually begins centuries earlier and continues to this day, as Garland dramatizes in this picture book for older readers by giving voices to 16 individuals who were involved in various ways with the unfolding story. Many, like a nameless Payaya Indian maiden in the year 1500, are imagined, but some, such as David Crockett, William Baret Travis, and Santa Ana himself, are historical figures. Each personality recounts a different aspect of the Alamo's evolution from mission to de facto fort to monument. The final voice belongs to a contemporary boy who records his impressions of seeing the Alamo for the first time. An appended two-page historical note provides essential context, and Ronald Himler's handsome, double-page pictures give faces to the voices.'--Michael Cart, BOOKLIST .