Review by Booklist Review
That 45 tons of tea were thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party is just one of the fascinating details that brings history alive in this extraordinary survey of the Revolutionary War, which covers from the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1774 to the Battle of Princeton in 1777. Pulitzer Prize--winning Atkinson (Battle of the Bulge, 2016) writes with beauty and insight in this young-readers' adaptation of his adult, best-selling history. Deeply researched, the book constantly surprises in the telling of its story. For example, King George's reaction to the news of the rebellion is "I am much hurt"; Louis XVI of France is "indecisive and a bit dim-witted"; and the Continental Army is "threadbare and dying." Parts of the book are familiar (those covering Revere's ride, Washington's crossing the Delaware, the Battle of Bunker Hill), but others, such as the portion on the rebel efforts in Canada, are less so. Though his campaigns were not always successful, George Washington emerges as the clear hero of the book, although Benjamin Franklin, "burly with wispy gray hair," runs him a close second. Atkinson is cinematic in his recreation of battles and candid in acknowledging rebel defeats. The book gets a further boost from historical portraits and renderings of battles, a time line, and a helpful list of key figures. A superb history, invaluable for classroom use.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young readers' adaptation of the 2019 bestseller by Pulitzer Prize--winning author Atkinson. Aided by Waters, Atkinson cuts close to 600 pages of text from the original in this work for middle-grade readers about the start of the Revolutionary War. Atkinson's research is exemplary. His account traces the start of the war in both Boston and England in the years before fighting began; covers well-known battles such as Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill; and also spends significant time on the conflicts in Canada and South Carolina that, while less famous, were important to the shape and flow of the war. Atkinson has a gift for detail and description--when a soldier fires into a river, "the white splash rose as if from a thrown stone"--however the beauty of both are shorn away here. The challenge is that the book tries to cover nearly as many major events as the adult version that is nearly three times its length--and what gets cut are the juicy bits. Readers are left with a dry tome recounting tactics and battles. It becomes impossible to keep track of the generals, much less the incredible number of named ships, and many individuals are not fleshed out enough to come to life in readers' minds. Dry as old bones; will unfortunately convince children that history is boring. (list of maps, map legend, timeline, key players, note to readers, additional military details, Declaration of Independence, glossary, sources, places to visit, additional information, source notes) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.