COBBLESTONE Magazine: Discover American History

My teenage son, Sebastian, and I were in our pediatrician’s lobby and I noticed COBBLESTONE Magazine in the bookrack. COBBLESTONE Magazine is all about history. Knowing Sebastian is a huge lover of history, I thought the colorful cover of a poster of a World War I soldier would be of interest to him. He also just finished reading, “All Quite on the Western Front,” a book that describes a German soldier’s stress during World War I.

So I asked him to put down his phone (grumble, grumble) and gave him the magazine to read. He thumbed through and noticed “Mapping It”, “Cartoon Connection” and some of the other Departments and the articles on World War I. He looked at the table of contents and he had a lot of articles from which to choose: from “The Great War: An Overview” to “The Final Push” to “A Deadly Flu” to “Maker of Masks” plus more. He chose the article “Preparing to Fight.” Afterwards, I asked him what he thought.

The story, he said, really put “All Quiet on the Western Front” in context. He was surprised to learn that the U.S. troops weren’t really ready to fight. They weren’t trained for combat so it took a year for U.S. troops to get to France and help the Allies. He compared the U.S. involvement in World War I to his favorite sport: basketball. The individual players don’t have to be great but you have to have a deep bench. Meaning if you play the same five players throughout the game, they’ll be exhausted at the end and will probably lose. The U.S. troops were the bench. They relieved the exhausted French and British troops, increased morale, and eventually the Allies prevailed and won the war.

Sebastian said that moral of the story was not to give up and play your bench. Sebastian really enjoyed the article, and other aspects of the magazine. There were cartoons throughout the pages and a picture of a U.S. World War I solider in his gear. He also learned an interesting tidbit about president Harry S. Truman, before he became president. Truman, who was a Missouri National Guard artilleryman, had to learn trigonometry and geometry as part of his training. Sebastian doesn’t like any mention of math in his “free” time, and didn’t like this aspect of military training.

When we finished our discussion, Sebastian said, “That wasn’t so bad.” In teenage speak, that means we’ll be doing it again!

About COBBLESTONE and Cricket Media:

COBBLESTONE Magazine published by Cricket Media (Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner in 2017) transforms history from a dry classroom exercise into a living, breathing guide to how Americans live, work, play, and eat, from the 1600s to today. Filled with fascinating stories, dramatic photographs, and beautiful illustrations, COBBLESTONE excites imaginations and brings the past to life for children ages nine to 14.

Cricket Media, based in McLean, VA and founded in 1973, publishes magazines for children of all ages from six months (babybug) to 15+ (CICADA). “At Cricket Media, we believe that challenging children’s minds and connecting kids to learn together does wonders for their confidence, creativity and curiosity. That’s why we are dedicated to providing award-winning media on a safe and secure learning network to engage, enlighten and educate children everywhere.”

To subscribe to any of Cricket Media’s 11 magazines go to shop.cricketmedia.com.

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