Young Patriots

June 1, 2004
Gr 4-7-These stories, several of which appeared in Highlights for Children and Jack and Jill, are accompanied by historical introductions and "Did you know-?" and "Do you wonder-?" extensions. The five sections focus on the years immediately prior to the war, the initiation of hostilities, important engagements in the north and the south, and the early years of the new nation. In "The Day the Bell Rang," for example, Enoch and his father hear the chiming of the State House bell as they do chores on their farm. While his father stays behind to work, Enoch goes into town and learns, from Ben Franklin himself, that the Colonies have declared their independence from Britain. "Constitution Summer" finds Mary, dressed as a boy so that she can sell newspapers, in Philadelphia during the Constitutional Convention. Other stories highlight Jewish Americans, friends and families on opposite sides of the freedom issue, and the first inauguration. These unlinked selections are more likely to be used curricularly in connection with a study of the Colonies and the war rather than as free reading by students themselves.-Coop Renner, Fairmeadows Elementary, Duncanville, TX

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