Author talk with Dan Burstein about his children’s book, The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin.
Book signing to follow talk
The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin will be available for purchase at the event. Cash or check preferred.
Author Talk: The Ivy Hero
Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 3:00pm
Weston History & Culture Center ( Weston Historical Society) 104 Weston Rd, Weston, CT - Parking and Entrance on High Acre Road. Check in at red building adjacent to parking lot.
FREE EVENT!
Walk-ins Welcome but advanced registration is recommended.
REGISTER HERE.
The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin, a children’s book co-authored by Sara Shemin Cass and Dan Burstein, is the true story of Sergeant William Shemin, child of immigrants and a semi-pro baseball player, who decided to volunteer as an American soldier during World War I. The Ivy Hero also shares the story of Henry Johnson, an African-American man, who also fought during World War I. Both men fought bravely, saving fellow soldiers, however both were denied a Medal of Honor at the time due to discrimination. William was Jewish and Henry was Black.
The Ivy Hero: The Brave Life of Sergeant William Shemin will be available for purchase at the event. Cash or check preferred.
Dan Burstein will discuss World War I and the American Dream. He will also share about his family’s connection to Sergeant William Shemin, writing the book with his cousin Sara Shemin Cass, and the story of the eventual Medal of Honor posthumously awarded to Sergeant William Shemin and Henry Johnson by Barack Obama in 2015.
The Ivy Hero is geared towards 3rd - 8th grade readers. Curriculum and lesson plans are available to teachers and parents at: www.theivyhero.com. This story is not just a war story, but a story that speaks of immigration and the American Dream; racism and anti-Semitism and the fight to overcome them; and of bravery, patriotism, and a history every child and adult should know.
Learn more about The Ivy Hero at this link.
About the Presenter: Dan Burstein is the author of 14 prior nonfiction books, including several New York Times bestsellers, and is managing partner of Millennium Technology Value Partners, a venture capital firm. He is a father and a grandfather. He traveled with his wife, Julie O’Connor, and son, David Burstein, on a 2018 family trip to the battlefields of France to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the battles in which both William Shemin and Henry Johnson fought.
America is the country we are today because of people like Henry (Johnson) and William (Shemin)—Americans who signed up to serve, and rose to meet their responsibilities—and then went beyond. The least we can do is to say: We know who you are. We know what you did for us. We are forever grateful.” — from President Barack Obama’s speech at the White House Ceremony, June 2, 2015, awarding the Medal of Honor posthumously to William Shemin and Henry Johnson almost a century after their heroic service in World War I.