The Thrifty Guide to the American Revolution

What can be better than a book that makes children and adults laugh and provides accurate historical information? I stumbled across the Thrifty Guide to History series and decided to preview The Thrifty Guide to the American Revolution (The Thrifty Guides) as it fit a theme of books I've been searching for this past month.

The premise of the series is that in 2164 Time Corps is a vacation travel company that allows travelers to enjoy historic vacations without distorting the timeline because they come behind you to clean up. The reason we know about the Thrifty Guides is a time traveler carelessly lost several volumes and a New York publishing house decided to publish them without the permission of Time Corps. Now you too can discover the amazing Time Travel packages put together for you by Time Corps.

The Book has ten chapters with an Introduction on the basics of time travel. The chapters are titled the Boston Tea Party, The Battles of Lexington and Concord, The Siege of Boston, The Declaration of Independence, The Battle Of Brooklyn, The Crisis, Payback Time, The Battle of Cowpens, and Victory.

The book has helpful hints for surviving your trip and another feature for people to have lunch with and I liked the variety in that section. While some were major historical figures there were a variety of lesser known people introduced that generally get ignored in most books. There is also a section of historical pranks which I know will engage some and not others. The book clearly states all historical inaccuracies are cleared up by the Time Patrol. Don't skip the footnotes, these are not your typical dry entries but many are humorous commentaries from the Time Patrol.

There is something about the pace and descriptions that keep even the dryer material moving. I've always found Henry Knox's journey to be a fascinating one, but it the material written for kids can be dry and dull. This book manages to keep the pace moving while demonstrating what an amazing job Knox with a rather challenging job.

The writer never forgets the reader is on a vacation and reminds one of the dangers one will be facing as the next event begins. At the beginning of the section on Bunker Hill the writer gives a pep talk to the traveler on prepping for the battle as if one is going to be present to live through it.

I like history series that are fun, but they have to have historical value. Getting the facts right matters because many kids will read and remember more from the fun things they read than from any textbook on the subject. Along with being a fun read this is a good general introduction to the American Revolution. It isn't going to give your child everything, but because it engages, they will likely remember more than they may with other more traditional books on the topic.