In an attempt to jumpstart my job enthusiasm by investing myself in the curriculum, I decided to brush up on some Revolutionary War historical fiction during our winter break. I brought home three selections from our school library.
- Five Smooth Stones: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary by Kristiana Gregory LEXILE 640
- The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart by Kristiana Gregory LEXILE 870
- The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot by Barry Denenberg LEXILE 950
Stones is the account of nine-year-old Hope living in Philadelphia spanning from January 15 to December 27, 1776. It is a is a quick, easy read with historical references to George Washington, General William Howe, King George, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Patriots, Tories, Quakers, the Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, Valley Forge, as well as colonial schools and chores. The five smooth stones refer to the Bible story of David and Goliath and serve as a metaphor for the uneven struggle between the intrepid Patriots and the powerful English army.
In Red Snow, "Eleven-year-old Abigail presents a diary account of life in Valley Forge from December 1777 to July 1778 as General Washington prepares his troops to fight the British." This book offers a more graphic description of the hardships suffered by the colonists and the soldiers and delves deeper into the character of General Washington and Mrs. Washington as well as the hearts and souls of the working class Patriots like Abigail's family and friends. As I told my own children, "Imagine the horror of marching through snow for miles with bloody feet as the ill-equipped continental soldiers did?" It's also difficult to imagine how the average person survived in colonial times without central heating and other comforts that we take for granted today.
Will's Journal highlights the conflict between the colonists and the British soldiers in pre-Revolutionary War Boston. I can't describe it better than this review from the School Library Journal:
This first-person account of a 12-year-old boy makes the world of Boston in 1774 come alive. William Thomas Emerson, an orphan, has found work with the kind proprietor of a tavern. In his journal, the boy describes the practical and moral difficulties that citizens of that city encountered on the eve of the Revolution. He writes of food shortages, patriots, traitors, and deserters, and describes daily life, public punishment, and medical treatments. Denenberg engages readers with a bit of intrigue, but it is the integrity and humanity of ordinary people that make this book inspirational. An epilogue summarizes the lives of the characters introduced and includes historical reproductions and a brief account of the actual events that followed the year covered in the journal. Quality historical fiction that should attract a wide audience.
Ann M. Burlingame, North Regional Library, Raleigh, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
