The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale takes place during the Civil War. The main character of the story is eleven-year-old Gabe. His two oldest brothers went off to join the Union army and never returned. When Gabe's last remaining older brother decides to join the army, Gabe decides to follow him in order to look after him. After lying about his age, Gabe becomes a Union bugler. He's able to keep an eye on his brother and live an adventurous life. One such adventure leads him to meet a bugler from the other side of the war. The innocence of these boys is just wonderful; they don't hold any grudges against each other. In fact, they don't even seem to be aware of why there is a war. All they're concerned about is fishing and making a friend. Both this friendship and Gabe's brother's life are laid on the line on the battlefield. It seems that Gabe will have to choose between them or risk losing them both. However, instead of choosing sides, Gabe comes up with an ingenious plan.

The grown-up decision that Gabe had to make in stressful times can help show your own little ones how to make good choices in the midst of a bad situation. That's just one of the qualities of this story that make it a good choice to add to your children's library shelf.

Product review by Lyria Moore, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, January 2007