Growing up in revolution and the new nation, 1775 to 1800

Gr. 4^-7. This volume from the new Our America series focuses on the lives of young people during the American Revolution and through the end of the eighteenth century. Six short chapters spotlight topics such as educational expectations for boys and girls and shifting trends in child rearing. Each double-page spread includes at least one illustration, such as a portrait painting, an engraving, or a photograph of a sampler or a corset. Besides brightening the pages with color, the images are well chosen for illustrating the text. Appendixes include "Activities" (which might more accurately be called "assignments"), source notes, a selected bibliography of sources, and suggested books for further reading. The layout features many illustrations, sidebars, and lines from the text pulled out and repeated in large, italicized type. Other volumes in the series will introduce the lives of American children at different periods in our history. --Carolyn Phelan

Gr 4-6-This well-researched, pleasantly laid out volume includes plenty of captioned illustrations, large typeface, a clear text, and extensive source notes. The text begins with a chapter on "Growing up with War" and takes readers through the start of the 19th century. Accounts of real children move the events along. Sybil Ludington was a 16-year-old war heroine, while Ben Franklin's son, William, helped his father with his kite/electricity experiment, and three Waterhouse children were injected with the first cowpox vaccine, developed by their father. Postwar westward expansion and the nation's burgeoning population are discussed. Child-rearing methods, which might seem harsh by today's standards, were more humane than they were before the war, when babies were discouraged from even crawling. Education, home life, courtship, and marriage are all explained. The lack of rights of slaves and married women is clarified. The text is accompanied by black-and-white and color illustrations, including a number of drawings and portraits as well as photographs of artifacts. Children interested in the topic will enjoy browsing through this title, and there is plenty of information for reports. This is inviting history.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This series gives an overview of life for young Americans from the seventeenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. Using primary sources when available, the authors include material from diaries, letters, interviews, and oral histories. Each book includes archival photographs and drawings, sidebars, source notes, and activities. Although somewhat cursory, this historical survey should prove useful for report writers. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Our America titles: [cf2]Growing Up in the Civil War, Growing Up in a New Century, Growing Up in Pioneer America, Growing Up in World War II, Growing Up in a New World, Growing up in a Revolution and the New Nation[cf1], and [cf2]Growing up in the Great Depression[cf1].] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.