Calvert the Raven in the Battle of Baltimore

March 15, 2013
Grades 3-6 Daniel has gotten a poor mark on his paper about the War of 1812. Maybe it's because he thought the subject was so boring. Enter Calvert, a talkingmake that wisecrackingraven who flies Daniel back to the war, where he can see for himself the intensity of battle. This oversize offering has some strong points. The breezy tone and plentiful dialogue will draw in readers, and the dramatic, well-executed watercolors add impact to the telling. The text also has its ups and downs. The descriptions of the fightingalmost hand-to-hand combatwill surprise and inform children, who will also learn something about the causes of the war. The climax, however, in which Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner, isn't well explained, perhaps because the truth is, well, a little boring. After a nighttime firefight, the British basically called off the attack and retreated. There's not much written about the War of 1812, so this will find a place on library shelves. Expect more from Calvert in the Flying History series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)