At the Battle of Yorktown: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure

At the Battle of Yorktown: An Interactive Battlefield Adventure (You Choose: American Battles) is another very strong entry in the You Choose series, this one written by Eric Braun.

I came across this title while searching historical fiction books on a required reading list. This was not on the list, but as so often happens, it popped up under the also bought suggestions and I realized it was a new title in a series I previously reviewed and loved.

One of my challenges is to find books that present accurate but engaging history for children. The two require balance. You can write a very detailed factual account of history, but if kids find it dull and boring, it isn't terribly helpful in engaging them in wanting to learn more about history. The other side is a wonderful story that sadly misleads kids about events because the research is sloppy. This series is both engaging and factual.

The reader is presented with 3 characters to choose from to follow the events that unfold during the Battle of Yorktown, a French soldier, an African American slave hoping for freedom, and a woman following her husband's enlistment in the Continental Army.

I like the attempt to add diversity to the choices because it provides a more rounded look at the war. Too often we don't look beyond the big names we've all come to know from history to the actual people who lived during the time period.

I am on the fence about the French soldier, though. I understand the desire to help students realize the Americans had the assistance of French military during the war and to include that perspective in the story. However, to do that, they had to leave out what I thought was an important perspective and that was the British soldier who was to suffer the ultimate humiliation when the Battle of Yorktown was lost and they had to surrender to the Continental Army. I think that weighting the option of including the French soldier or getting the perspective of the losing side through a British soldier I would have chosen the British soldier.

All three stories were compelling. A reminder to teachers and parents, this is a story about war and not every path leads to a happy ending. There are deaths depending on the choices one makes, even when those choices seem compassionate. As always I suggest previewing a book before presenting it to a child to read and be prepared to handle the reactions to those outcomes.

A Spy in the King's Colony

A Spy in the King's Colony (Mysteries in Time (Silver Moon Press))is a short historical fiction novel from the Mysteries in Time series. This book is set during the occupation of Boston.

When I first read the name of the series, I thought it might be another time travel series, but it is not. The mystery in time refers to a mystery story set in a historical time. Not a time travel mystery, like the two previous books I reviewed.

This is a short easily read chapter book. It takes place during the time the British troops occupied Boston during the Revolutionary War. One of the strengths of this book is that it helps to illustrate the divisions that occurred among families and friends over loyalties. This is often emphasized when children study the Civil War, but less so when they read about the Revolutionary War. This story is told from the point of view of eleven-year-old Emily Parker. She and her family are loyal Patriots. Her father has taken great risks for the cause. However, she has doubts about a lifelong friend of the family and fears his loyalties may be in question.

Her adventure of discovery provides children with some understanding of how confusing it must have been for children who moved among friends who might also be foes. A misplaced word or confidence for a child on either side could have dangerous consequences for the child's family or friends.

The book provides some interesting historical details regarding the use of spies during the war. It also provides more details about how the colonists prevented the British from discovering Knox's movement of munitions to Boston. The details are not great, but the rhyme in this book is one of the few mentions in a children's book I've seen of Framingham. In all I have not discovered too many children's books that focus on how Washington forced the British to leave Boston. The main story seems to be Lexington and Concord. While those events are important, the British troops leaving should not be ignored.

I also like this book because there is a strong girl as the main character. While woman's positions in the Revolution were limited do to women's situations in society, it does help modern girls to connect to the material when you bring female characters to the story who are strong interesting females engaged in telling the story. I have had complaints from younger female relatives that all I ever find are "boys" stories when I find adventure historical fiction. They want the girls to have adventure, too. This story fills that requirement.

It appears this book is currently out of print. However, I found my copy at the local library. I suspect there are several used book sites that also may have it if your local library does not have a copy.

George Washington's Spy

George Washington's Spy (Time Travel Adventures)is the time traveling sequel to George Washington's Socks (Time Travel Adventures)
which I reviewed earlier.

This sequel has the children returning to the Revolutionary War, but to a time before their previous visit. This time the boys have been assigned to read about Washington's fortifications at Dorchester Heights, but before they can complete the assignment, the boat arrives allowing them to live the assignment.

Perhaps the author realized the book needed more girls, because in this story while the boys are camping out, Katie is staying with a group of girls next door and when they don't believe her about having met George Washington, she becomes determined to show them where the boat is stored and the adventure begins.

The author wants to provide the reader with a chance to see life in Boston from a Tory or loyalist perspective and that of a Patriot or rebel one. To do this she splits up the boys and the girls. Katie's foot is hurt in the journey. While the boys head off to find help, Patriots capture them and the girls are taken in and cared for by a Tory family who mistakes them for the children of British aristocracy. This split allows the author to provide more insight and perhaps some balance in telling the story of the evacuation of Boston.

As I mentioned in my review of Woodruff's previous book, her novels provide great background knowledge for children with the added draw of fantasy. However, they can be graphic. In this novel, we see how the tensions between the Tories and the Patriots play out and it can be harsh. While many students may have heard of tar and feathering, the author personalizes it when the Tory father of the girls that rescue Matt's friends is tarred and feathered and dies in Matt's arms. As in the first book, Matt is led to question his belief that one side is good and the other evil in this conflict. In a similar situation, the same father is afraid to have his Patriot brother-in-law in his house for fear of what the British soldiers would do to his family, even though his personal loyalties are clear. He ultimately is killed for them. Through the character's eyes, we see that the situation is complicated.

I thought this was an important topic that is not often addressed, especially in children's literature. While the Sons of Liberty is given credit for getting the movement started, there was also a fear that without controls the mob could turn the Revolution into a mob action. Surviving Tories and Patriots would live to see what unchecked mob violence would accomplish during the French Revolution. The fears were not realized here, but many Tories and Patriots both had reasons to fear that the potential existed. While Hancock and other Boston merchants backed the cause of freedom, they also knew they had to restore order or chaos would destroy them, too.

Living in New England, I've always been aware of the story of Dorchester Heights and the evacuation of Boston. In fact while most people get confused, Boston does not have a city holiday for St. Patrick's Day, it is technically Evacuation Day in Boston. The city celebrates the day the troops left. What this book addresses that I never thought much about is who left. I knew the troops boarded ships and left, but they didn't just abandon Tory families to their fate, they helped them leave, too. I knew many families immigrated to Canada and some back to England after the Revolution. However, I never thought about it in relation to the evacuation of Boston. While some stayed, it was quite dangerous for those that did. Many Tories already facing mob attacks with British protection, feared death without any military protection. They left under British naval protection. Some settled in Canada, others moved to colonies still under British protection, and others who had the resources returned to England. To illustrate the rush to evacuate our characters almost end up immigrating to Halifax. They manage to get off the boat and once again, Katie saves the day when she spies the boat.

As always, I suggest parents or teachers review the book before using. However, I think this is a great resource for providing children with the historical background on the evacuation of Boston and a historical perspective on life for the Tories during this time.

George Washington's Sock's

I am always looking for titles that will engage children in learning more about history and I find titles that can combine fantasy or science fiction with history have a good chance at engaging reluctant readers to at least try reading them. George Washington's Socks (Time Travel Adventures)fills that need.

One challenge with this model is making the story believable. Fantasy requires the reader to suspend disbelief, but some children's fantasy requires children to ignore main parts of the story, to get to the parts of the story that they want to enjoy. In time travel stories, this is often the worst challenge. In this case, the author employs a very old oral tradition of boats disappearing into the mist and travelers being lost in the mists of time. Not only does it attach to a long oral tradition of stories, but the author also ties it the children discovering that there is a history of people disappearing in their town. They discover the answer to the mystery as part of their own time travel adventure. I was impressed with the smoothness of the time travel in this book.

In the author notes, a comment is made that one of the motivations for writing this book is that the author is a pacifist who had a son enamored with GI Joe. She wanted him to understand the realities of war. It states with her research she came away with an understanding of the strength and courage of those who fought. While this book looks like a slightly longer version of a Magic Tree House time travel book, it is a bit more realistic. Two soldiers, one American and one Hessian are killed and the author is graphic in describing some of the issues of dying most students likely don't encounter when thinking of death. If the author notes are accurate, this may have been done to help her son understand the realities of war.

Another strength of the book is it allows children to see a glimpse of life for soldiers on both sides of the war. At one point, the main character Matthew realizes that there is good and bad on both sides. There are no clean wars. As a modern child, he is the eyes for the reader showing them how the soldiers survived and died. As with all time travel stories, there are some stretches of the imagination, but for the most part they are handled well. In places the author does well simplifying complicated political and military situations and in other places, she over simplifies and complicates the story. However, it is the strongest book of this genre I have read. As always I suggest parents preview the book if they have any concerns.

I liked the book. It starts with a realistic premise, boys starting a club and camping out. While not every child has a fascination with American history, I am sure there are lots of kids who do have non-traditional interests who would love to have a group of friends to hang out with and discuss their interests. I like the idea that the book doesn't assume it is weird to have academic interests. I think that aspect could be a draw for some students.

Girls will be less than thrilled that the only female character is a nagging little sister. However, she does end up a hero. Without her help, they might never have made it home. That might excuse her earlier weaker role.

The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill

I finally got around to finishing the library's copy of The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill (w/glossary)I found the library copy through the state's regional system. Our local regional system did not have a copy to borrow.

This is one of the few children's historical novels I have found that covers the time period between the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill. From what I read when researching Stratemeyer, he originally considered a longer series that would see his hero Roger through the Revolution. However, it is clear as he was writing this book that idea had been dropped. This book clears up all loose ends and gives the reader a glimpse into the adult life of all the characters.

Threads from the first book are drawn into the second novel. The Tories who made Roger's life challenging in the first book are back to cause him danger in the second. He continues to pursue his promise to the dead British officer and realizes the issue is even more urgent than he previously realized.

This would be a great historical fiction novel to read along with historical accounts of the Battle of Bunker Hill and the occupation of Boston. It would also explain the question of why Boston celebrates St. Patrick's Day for students who seem to miss this lesson in standard American history instruction.

Mr. Revere and I

Mr. Revere and I: Being an Account of certain Episodes in the Career of Paul Revere,Esq. as Revealed by his Horseis the second of Lawson's fictional biographies with an animal narrator.

A former British army horse, Scheherazade, lost by her officer in a dice game to a colonist, is the narrator of this Paul Revere biography. She enters Revere’s life when Sam Adams entices her new owner to donate her to provide Paul Revere with transportation for his courier position. There is just one minor issue, Paul Revere cannot ride and must learn.

One of the values of this book is that it starts with Paul Revere's early journeys, not his ride to Lexington and Concord. Readers learn more about his activities for the Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence.

Scheherazade’s transition from British army horse to Sherry, Paul Revere's rebel horse is an interesting one. Her transition is provided to show readers that the liberty the colonists were fighting for was so clear that even a horse would eventually understand the difference between tyranny and liberty.

I would suggest reading this book along with more factually accurate sources. While this story will generate interest, it does fictionalize enough information that children should be aware of the factual events and how they compare to the novel.

Ben and Me

Robert Lawon's Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amosis a fictionalized biography of Ben Franklin. Lawson uses a unique narrator to write the story of Franklin's life. Instead of the traditional non-fiction biography, Lawson has a mouse write the story.

The introduction to this book has always amused me. Lawson begins the introduction by telling readers that the tale they are about to read was found in a mouse home and established as authentic by experts. The author, Amos Mouse contends that he, not Ben Franklin, was responsible for Franklin's success. The story begins with Amos teaching Ben Franklin how to make the Franklin stove to keep him from freezing to death.

As the story moves to Ben's role in the Revolution, Amos tells how he helped Ben achieve his success. Readers will be interested to discover that Thomas Jefferson also had a mouse accompany him to the Continental Congress to help him write the Declaration of Independence. Amos even takes credit for Ben choosing to go to France to get help for the colonists.

Amos gives a preview of the upcoming French Revolution as he organizes various factions in an uprising against the Versailles Palace mice to rescue a mouse friend's seven children.

The humor in the story has continued to draw children to this story. It is a great chance for parents and teachers to help students to make connections to the factual Ben Franklin.

Ben and Me Free Teaching Resources:

Ben and Me Video Part 1 Part 2

10 Question Online Quiz

California Online Resources for Educators

The Minute Boys of Lexington

The Minute Boys of Lexingtonis a historical fiction account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord written from a boy's perspective by Edward Stratemeyer. Unlike the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twin Series I previously blogged about that Stratemeyer's syndicate wrote, there are some indications this may have been his own work.

The story focuses on Roger Morse and his young friends as they participate in the events leading up to and the day of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The focus on the boys is designed to give children a feeling for what it would be like to have been a child during the Revolution and to give them a chance to travel along with Roger and his friends as they experience the challenges.

The author clearly tells the story from an American boy's perspective. There is no attempt to balance the story with an English perspective of the events. As I mentioned previously these stories can be helpful in providing color and contrast to traditional historical accounts of the events.

My library research can only find two books in the series although the original writing indicates that the intention was to write a series about the Revolution. I am trying to get a copy of The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill (w/glossary)through our regional loan system. While the series was republished in the 1990's it does not seem to have been widely publicized. It is harder to locate than I expected.

Day of Glory the Guns at Lexington and Concord

Edited June 5, 2018 to add I went looking for this book to use with a family member and much to my delight discovered it is available now as a Kindle e-book with the original cover art.


I thought about reviewing Day of Glory: The Guns at Lexington and Concordtoo late to request the book from the library in time to reread and write a review in time for Patriot's Day. It did remind me to put a request into our local library for the book.

The book was originally published in 1955 and picked up as a Scholastic Book selection in the 1970's. At some point Scholastic printed the book again in the 1990's under their Apple Paperback brand. I have not been able to locate a date because the library copy I borrowed still lists the original 1955 copyright date.

The story is a historical fiction account of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The book is formatted in hour chapters beginning at 7PM the night before the battle and ending at 7PM the day of the battle. The book is historical fiction because it attempts to provide more emotional and personal details and create a story line to guide the readers through the events. This is what makes this novel a great book to accompany what can be dry historical accounts of the battle itself. Students can and should be asked to verify information for accuracy.

What I liked about this book is that it does not only focus on Lexington and Concord and the generic Minutemen who fought. It discusses the towns and locations where the volunteers came from to fight. While I was aware of many of these stories, I think it is important for students to hear them. Not all the Minutemen arrived at Lexington. It took time for the news of the Regulars arrival to get to these towns, the men to assemble, and then travel to the areas. This book does a good job explaining how the residents learned of the British troop movements and the journeys required to make it to the battle locations. It also explains the British plans and movements that are rarely addressed in most children's historical accounts of the battle.

This book is not currently in print, but it is commonly available in used books sites and as I demonstrated your public library. As with all resources, I suggest reading it yourself before using it with your children. This story would make a good read aloud in conjunction with other non-fiction historical accounts.

If you can find the original book, the cover art is better. The original cover depicts an artistic view of the Minutemen walking. The Apple cover is of children and is less focused on the content of the novel. The cover is hardly essential to the content of the writing.

Additional Links:

Acton Minutemen

Danvers Alarm List

Menotomy Minutemen

Minuteman National Park

Sudbury Minutemen