Pros: 1) My kids loved looking for Liberty Lee (the mouse) on each spread. They all giggled at the page about the Boston Tea Party because Liberty Lee is dressed up like an Indian. The mouse angle is very engaging and fun.
2) The text covers the Revolution from the the first settlements of America to a post-war independence celebration, hitting all the main points like the writing of the Declaration, the Boston Tea Party, taxation without representation, and the actual war itself. This could be a really good starting place to give an overview of the time period before looking at each specific event more closely.
3) The text includes a non-fiction blurb at the end of the book about each event. I liked that.
Cons: I only had one thing that niggled at me as I read--this book has a pretty heavy-handed bias to it (anti-British, pro-America). I've always tried to give my kids the sense that both sides had valid arguments to make over the taxation issue, and after years of working at it my son has finally figured out that during an altercation, both parties think they are right.
However, I didn't bother to disrupt my kids' enjoyment of the story with all of that. Instead, we read it for what it was--a really fun, entertaining, and catchy way to tell the story of the American Revolution. Since we get to keep the book (yay!), we'll read it numerous times and I'll use those readings to remind my kids that there are two sides to every story and as a jumping off place when we get around to American history again.
Thanks TLC tours for letting me review the book!
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.
I can certainly understand your desire to give your children a balanced view of history - I strive to do the same thing with my son. Still, I'm glad to see that you all enjoyed this book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour.