The American Revolution from A to Z by Laura Crawford, Judith Hierstein (Illustrator)

Product Details

Synopsis

Here history comes to life with the ABCs of America's fight for freedom. From B's Battles of Lexington and Concord to H's John Hancock and O's Old Glory, this alphabet book provides an exciting and interesting history of the American Revolution. The colorful pages feature Gen. George Washington and dozens of other patriots, along with the Redcoats, the United States Constitution, and the Thirteen Colonies.

Readers are introduced to Mary Hays, who brought pitchers of water to exhausted, thirsty soldiers and even took over firing a cannon. Judith Hierstein's beautiful drawings take children to places such as Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and to Quincy, Massachusetts, the home of the second United States president, John Adams. Every page is filled with detailed, lively illustrations and fun facts about the war that earned the United States its independence from England.

A member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Illinois Reading Council, Laura Crawford holds a master's degree in reading from Northern Illinois University. Crawford, an elementary reading specialist, is the author of Pelican's The Pilgrims' Thanksgiving from A to Z, which Judith Hierstein also illustrated. Crawford lives in Geneva, Illinois.

Judith Hierstein earned a bachelor of arts degree in art education from the University of Iowa. A former elementary-school teacher, she is the illustrator of Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House, Nathan's Hanukkah Bargain, and several titles in the Toby Belfer Series, including Toby Belfer Never Had a Christmas Tree, all published by Pelican. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Kirkus Reviews

Simultaneously presenting Revolutionary War people and events in both alphabetical and-roughly-chronological order, Crawford pulls off a neat trick that compensates, at least in part, for the artificiality of it all. Between "A is for American Revolution" and "Z is for Betty Zane" (a heroine of one of the war's final battles), she introduces prominent figures like Washington and Jefferson, such lesser lights as Henry Knox, Molly Pitcher and Lydia Darragh, several battles, the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell and Old Glory-the last properly attributed to Francis Hopkinson rather than Betsy Ross. The brief comments for each entry are seldom so revealing, however, and Hierstein's watercolor figures tend toward the generic, without much individuality of expression. Not the first word on the subject by any means, nor the last, but this once-over merits a spot in the middle somewhere-as a quick topical review, maybe. (Nonfiction. 9-11)

Biography

Illustrator Judith Hierstein holds a B.A. in art from the University of Iowa. She has illustrated all of the Gloria Teles Pushker titles released by Pelican. Ms. Hierstein believes that pictures should begin where the written word ends, and she encourages children to share in her love of learning about other cultures through illustrated books.