Recommending a New Novel for America 250

Today I continue our series on kidlit books related to United States history by celebrating the release of a friend's new Revolutionary War-era novel. And, in honor of Poetry Friday, I also share a famous poem set during the American Revolution. Can you guess the poem? 

As Esther mentioned in her post kicking off this series, we TeachingAuthors are commemorating our nation's 250th birthday by discussing books we love that highlight U.S. history. Unlike Esther, I don't recall reading history-based fiction or nonfiction at a young age. I think I was in high school when I first read such books as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Interestingly, these novels would not have been considered historical fiction when they were published--they described contemporary events and situations. But for me, reading them one hundred years or so after their publication, I felt like I'd time-traveled to the past. And I loved the experience.     

Earlier this week, I learned that we TeachingAuthors aren't the only ones reflecting on books tied to American History. The Authors Guild has compiled a list of Essential Reading for America 250, with many of the books on the list recommended by well known authors. Looking over the titles, which are arranged by historical era, I found I've read only about ten so far. Those include Little Women, nominated by Jane Smiley, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, nominated by Scott Turow, and Charlotte’s Web nominated by Adriana Trigiani. I've added many of the other titles to my To-Be-Read (TBR) list.   

See the list on the Authors Guild site here.

Today, I'd like to recommend a new young-adult novel I hope you'll want to add to YOUR TBR list--one inspired by real people and events: Sculptor and Spy: ​Romance and Rebellion in the Time of the American Revolution, written by my friend Julie Phend. Sculptor and Spy is​ based on the lives of famed waxwork artist Patience Wright, her daughter Betsy, and patriot Ebenezer Platt, who was a member of the Sons of Liberty. 

Full disclosure: I've been in a critique group with Julie for over six years, so I have had the privilege of watching her hone this story into a finely crafted novel rich in historical detail. I had never heard of Patience Wright and knew nothing of the art of wax sculpting before reading this book. I love learning about history through fiction, and Sculptor and Spy is an engaging read that taught me much about the American Revolution. There's plenty of intrigue to keep readers turning the pages, and a touch of romance, too. Here's the summary from Julie's website.

1773. As revolution ignites the American colonies, seventeen-year-old Betsy Wright is swept into a world far larger—and more dangerous—than she ever imagined. After a devastating fire destroys her family’s waxwork studio, she meets Eb Platt, one of New York’s Liberty Boys, and they dream of a future free from the tyrannies of the British Crown.

When Betsy is summoned to London to help her mother create wax figures of the King and Queen, she seizes the chance to spy for the Sons of Liberty, sending secret messages in her letters to Eb. Her search for intelligence leads her from teeming streets and rough docks to the royal court, where she encounters the King’s powerful prime minister, Lord North, who intends to crush the Colonies—and anyone who stands in his way.
​
Hoping to learn more, Betsy becomes close to Lord North’s assistant, the charming and handsome Samuel Wells, whose attentions may conceal motives of his own. As accusations mount and loyalties blur, Betsy must figure out who can be trusted—before those she loves are accused of the ultimate crime: treason. 

I hope you'll check out Sculptor and Spy and encourage your local library to buy a copy, too. The book released just last week, on July 15. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected glitch, only the ebook is currently available on Bookshop.org, but the paperback should also be there soon. Meanwhile, both versions are available on Amazon.           

Here I am with Julie Phend at an Anderson's Bookshop event last fall.

I asked Julie if she knew of a related poem I could include in today's post for Poetry Friday. She suggested "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in part, because Paul Revere's ride is mentioned in Sculptor and Spy. Like the book's character, Ebenezer Platt, Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty. 

I remember "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" from my own school days and always admired it. Modern critics tend to focus on the poem's historical inaccuracies. But I learned recently that some say those were intentional. Longfellow wrote "The Midnight Ride" (also known as "Paul Revere's Ride") as the nation stood on the brink of the Civil War. His goal was not necessarily to portray the true events but rather to stir up patriotism. Did you guess this would be the poem I'd share today? Here are the opening stanzas:

     Paul Revere's Ride
     by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

     Listen, my children, and you shall hear
     Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
     On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
     Hardly a man is now alive
     Who remembers that famous day and year.

     He said to his friend, “If the British march
     By land or sea from the town to-night,
     Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch
     Of the North-Church-tower, as a signal-light,—
     One if by land, and two if by sea;
     And I on the opposite shore will be,
     Ready to ride and spread the alarm
     Through every Middlesex village and farm,
     For the country-folk to be up and to arm.”   

You can read the entire poem at poets.org. And don't forget to check out this week's Poetry Friday roundup at fiction, instead of lies by Tanita S. Davis. 

Happy writing!

Carmela 

 

Those Red-White-and-Blue Oldies-but-Goodies!

In honor of our nation's 250th Birthday, 

my fellow TeachingAuthors and I have chosen

to celebrate in our upcoming posts children's

books that celebrate the American Revolution

and our country's history.

I proudly kick-off the series with Red-White-and

Blue Oldies-but-Goodies that remind me of...

me! - so that I can recommend them to you!

(Apologies to Little Caesar and the Romans.)

First, there's Me, as in, Me the Child who

treasured her "Orange True Books."

My bedroom bookshelf held:

Betsy Ross: Girl of Old Philadelphia;

Ben Franklin: Printer's Boy;

Martha Washington: Girl of Old Virginia.

FYI: I'm a Philly Girl, a product of the

Philadelphia Schools until I was 10.

Stories about the childhoods of colonials were

right up my alley, so to speak, as in Elfreth's

Alley which I visited with my Overbrook

Elementary School classmates every year,

before or after visiting Ben Franklin's grave

at 5th and Arch Streets and Betsy Ross' 

house at 2nd and Arch.

Bobbs-Merrill began publishing the 

Childhood of Famous Americans series

with its fictionalized narrative storylines in

1932, releasing 220 titles until 1958.

You can see the titles here.

The goal of the series? "To make the child of

today the friend and playmate of great

Americans of the past."

In 1950 Random House began offering a 

similar, though fact-driven, children's

history series: Landmark Books.

You can see the titles here.

But I remained True Blue to my Orange

True Books.

Next, there's the Me who earned a B.S. in

Elementary Education from the University

of Pennsylvania.

It was in my Children's Literature class that

I first met Newbery and Caldecott medalist

Robert Lawson and his revered (forgive the

pun) titles, including Mr. Revere and I:

Being an Account of Certain Episodes in

the Career of Paul Revere, Esq. as

Revealed by his Horse (Little Brown, 1953)

and Ben and Me (Little Brown, 1939).

Both books are considered timeless. Indeed,

both have been re-released with new

covers several times since the initial

publishing. Ben and Me became a movie.

My professor, Dr. Huus, held the bar high

for children's books.

I introduced Ben and Paul to the delight of

my fifth graders at Bryn Mawr Elementary

School while Student Teaching.

You can read reviews of Robert Lawson's

books here.

Finally, there's Me, the long-time Fifth

Grade Teacher at Chicago's Morgan Park

Academy, then Kenilworth's Joseph Sears

School, who took joy in amplifying the

Scott-Foresman Social Studies text 

In the Americas to teach the American

Revolution via Esther Forbes' 1944

Newbery Medal Winner Johnny Tremain.

The novel follows 14-year-old Boston

silversmith apprentice Johnny from the

start of the Revolution onward as he 

comes to make sense of the war.

Forbes used official records, diary entries,

letters of actual apprentices so that 

Readers  - my fifth graders - lived the

experience in Johnny's shoes, mind and

heart.

Not all historical critics agreed on Forbes'

presentation of the war.

My students agreed, though, how Johnny

helped them be there, living our history.

I remain connected to many of my former

students, now grandparents (!), and all

can recite the words that drove the story:

"Pride goeth before a fall."

Were I teaching the Revolution today to

5th graders, they'd be reading Johnny

Tremain.

With apologies again to Caesar and the

Romeros, what fun walking down Memory

Lane to write about the above BOOKS of 

my past.

May one of them help you remember a 

Red-White-and-Blue Oldie-but-Goodie,

with hopes you'll share the title and/or

memory in our comments.

Happy Birthday, America!

Esther Hershenhorn

P.S.

Thanks to Jan at BookSeedStudios for

hosting today's Poetry Friday.