Title: Growing Up in the Shadow of Alcatraz
Author: Emma Bland Smith
Major Themes: Prisons, Alcatraz Island, California, San Francisco
Synopsis: Not only prisoners lived on Alcatraz—the guards and their families lived there, too!
I can’t remember ever seeing a book about Alcatraz Island before. I’ve heard of the island several times and seen a few pictures of it, but that’s all. A few months ago, several of my children had a 10-hour layover in San Francisco, and they saw the island from the mainland. Of course, that made us more interested in it, so when I saw Growing Up in the Shadow of Alcatraz, I knew I wanted to read it. My children who had been to California were quite interested as well, and one of them spent several minutes studying the photos to figure out where he had been!
Publisher’s description:
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay is notorious for its prison, which held some of the world’s most dangerous criminals. But it was also home to more than 100 children and their parents who worked at the prison. Engaging narrative, historical photos, primary sources, and more will give readers an inside look at daily life on Alcatraz and the children who called it home.
My thoughts:
Growing Up in the Shadow of Alcatraz is very interesting! I really enjoyed reading about life there and how the families of the guards created such a rich life on the island. There were many little details that we loved learning about, such as what was done with the key for the steamship to prevent hijacking in escape attempts, or the girl who swam to San Francisco! This is a great book for anyone who loves true stories about unusual places. It is well illustrated with photographs, both historical and contemporary, and full of interesting stories from the people who lived there as children.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 8 – 12
Reading Independently—Ages 8 – 12
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Library Binding
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
I hope I can read it sometime. My family actually visited the island on a family trip that we took about 2 months before we got married. The ferry ride over was the first time I had ever tasted fresh squeezed orange juice! Totally different stuff than the juice from concentrate I had grown up having occasionally.
For the tour you worked headphones and heard the clanging of the doors, the rattling of the bars and the shouts of the hopeless feeling prisoners.