A father and his young son come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the name of the grandfather the boy never knew. This moving account is beautifully told from a young child's point of view; the watercolors capture the impressive mass of the wall of names as well as the poignant reactions of the people who visit there.

A boy travels to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with his father to seek out his grandfather's name. The well-matched text and illustrations are soft but stirring. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

Gr 1-4-- A boy and his father have come to the Vietnam War Memorial to look for the boy's grandfather's name among those who were killed in the war. They find his name surrounded, but far from lost, in the rows of print that march side by side, like rows of soldiers.''I'm proud that your grandfather's name is on this wall,'' says the boy's father. The boy agrees, adding, ``but I'd rather have my grandpa here.'' Before this powerful book is half finished, readers will be deeply moved. Bunting's understated prose captures the meaning of the memorial to the American people, especially to those who lost loved ones, without being maudlin or heavy-handed. Himler's gauzy watercolors are a perfect accompaniment: impressionistic enough for the characters to appear as everymen. A sensitive and moving picture book, and a great discussion book as well. --Catherine vanSonnenberg, San Diego Public Library, CA