An All-American Read

I'm not going to lie, I am a MAJOR history nerd, particularly when it comes to early American history. So when I found Heroes of the American Revolution by David Adler on the library shelves, I was immediately interested. As I read further, my interest was heightened. Not only does this book contain stories of  popular American heroes like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Paul Revere, it does a wonderful job of highlighting the accomplishments of lesser known figures of the Revolutionary War.

The book is divided up into mini-vignettes on each of the heroes profiled, 12 in all. Each hero gets their own biography and accompanying illustration. Some of the stories I found the most interesting were those of patriots I had never heard of! For example, Lydia Darragh, an Irish native living in Philadelphia, spied on British general William Howe, when he and his troops occupied her home. Hearing plans of a surprise attack on patriot forces, Darragh snuck out of her house and walked 13 miles to notify American forces, thwarting the British attack. I was also captivated by the story of Haym Solomon, a Polish Jew living in New York City during the Revolution. Not only did he work to smuggle injured troops to his house among British troops occupying the city, he also helped finance the struggling American army in 1779 when troops refused to fight after serving for months without pay.

I loved that this book highlighted often overlooked participants in the war, like women and ethnic and religious minorities. It would make a great teaching point for teachers to show students that history is FILLED with heroes of diverse backgrounds and might help students identify further with these heroes and the historical events associated. Readers might recognize author David Adler as the name behind the Cam Jansen series, but a visit to his website shows that Adler is the author of many social science-related children's books. Adler's books would be a great addition to any classroom library as they provide children with a great overview of many important historical events. I would definitely recommend Heroes of the American Revolution to history buffs young and old!