Tag: revolutionary war

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The Secret Mission of William Tuck – A Revolutionary Adventure!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

william tuckThe Secret Mission of William Tuck, by Eric Pierpont (Sept. 2015, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $7.99, ISBN: 9781402281747

William Tuck is a young teen who watches helplessly as his older brother, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, is cut down by a firing squad. In his anger and desire for payback, he runs away to join the Revolutionary Army as a drummer boy and work his way up to fighter. After his first battle, a dying soldier gives him a watch and sends him on a mission that will take him straight to George Washington’s side – and make him a target for the British army.

I enjoyed this book. I’ve been a Revolutionary War buff since I was a kid, and there just aren’t many good middle grade fiction pieces about this era in history, with a younger character at the forefront. We’ve got the classics, My Brother Sam is Dead and Johnny Tremain, and another one of my favorites, Phoebe the Spy, but there hasn’t been much recently.

This should please the Common Core diehards out there – there is a lot of history packed into this book, with actual historical figures getting page time, including Peter Francisco, the Virginia Giant, who is brought to four-color, 3-D life here. Mr. Pierpont has put a lot of research into this book, make no mistake, but he also gives each character a vibrant personality to appeal to readers.

We’ve got an interesting female supporting lead character, a stint on one of the infamous prison ships, and a tremendous battle at Yorktown wrapped around a mission that has more layers to it than poor William ever counted on. Add this to your shelves, consider enhancing your social studies/American history unit by assigning it.

Sourcebooks has a great section for librarians and educators on their website, separated by imprint. Keep your eye on the Jabberwocky space for additional materials on William Tuck.

Posted in Espionage, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Sourcebooks Spotlight: The Secret Mission of William Tuck

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

william tuckThe Secret Mission of William Tuck
Eric Pierpoint
September 1, 2015;
ISBN: 9781402281747

Book Information:
Title: The Secret Mission of William Tuck
Author: Eric Pierpoint
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Summary:

William Tuck is set on justice. For his brother killed by British soldiers, for his friend Rebecca’s father held prisoner by the redcoats, and for the countless other rebel Americans struggling beneath the crushing weight of British rule.

The whispered words of a dying soldier and a mysterious watch give William all the ammunition he needs: a secret message for the leader of the rebel army. Rebecca disguises herself as a boy, and she and William join the American troops. They embark on an epic journey that pulls them into a secret network of spies, pits them against dangerous gunmen, and leads them on a quest to find General George Washington himself.

Can William and Rebecca determine friend from foe long enough to deliver a message that might just change the tide of the American Revolution?

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25782504-the-secret-mission-of-william-tuck

Buy Links:

Amazon- http://ow.ly/OHFe6
Barnes & Noble- http://ow.ly/OHHJ7
Books A Million- http://ow.ly/OHHRx
iBooks- http://ow.ly/OHHYC
!ndigo- http://ow.ly/OHI80
Indiebound- http://ow.ly/OHIgn

Eric-105About the Author:

Eric Pierpoint is a veteran Hollywood character actor who’s begun a writing career with several screenplays in development. His ancestors came west on the Oregon Trail in the mid 1800s, so Eric and his dog, Joey, followed in their wagon wheel tracks and traveled cross-country researching The Last Ride of Caleb O’Toole. Visit http://www.ericpierpoint.net for more info!

Social Networking Links:

Website: http://www.ericpierpoint.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericpierpoint

Excerpt from The Secret Mission of William Tuck:

William! No!” screamed his mother, Martha, as William broke out of her grasp. He leaped from the porch of their farmhouse and ran toward his brother, who stood surrounded by redcoats on horseback over by the freshly plowed field at the edge of the woods. “Dear God! William!”

Still dressed in her yellow dress and white bonnet, her arms covered in flour, she bent down to help her burly husband, Benjamin Tuck, who lay still after being shot in the leg by a soldier of the British procurement troops. Bo, the old family bloodhound, howled from the end of his rope, which was tied to the front stoop.

“Asher!” cried William. He raced along the wooden fence that held the family livestock, past two British supply wagons. Four black men, dressed in shirts with the words “We Are Free” written in red paint across their fronts, had begun to slaughter the Tucks’ hogs and chickens and load the carcasses. Former slaves promised their freedom by the British, they went about their bloody business with axes and clubs.

William ran as fast as his legs could carry him across the field, past the bodies of three British soldiers and Asher’s fallen friend, a fellow member of the Virginia militia. The battle had been short and deadly. What had begun as an argument had ended in an explosion of muskets. Asher, a crack shot with his Virginia rifle, had killed two of the twenty British soldiers who had come to take the family livestock for General Cornwallis’s army as he rampaged through the southern colonies.

A British captain stood pointing an accusing finger at Asher. The brass buttons on the officer’s red uniform coat gleamed in the sunlight. The black feather cockade of his dragoon helmet pointed straight up into the blue of the hot June sky.

Suddenly, the captain slapped Asher across the face with his glove, knocking his tricorn to the ground. He barked an order, and ten redcoats quickly dismounted and began to drag Asher to the nearby woods. Hopelessly outnumbered, Asher did not resist but stood proud and defiant as the soldiers tied him to a tree.

“Form up!” ordered the captain. He then marched arrogantly over to his men as they lined up to form a firing squad. The soldiers began to check and load their muskets.

“I, Captain Barrington Scroope, humble servant of His Majesty, King George III, do hereby sentence you to death for crimes against the Crown.” Scroope drew his saber. “May God have mercy on your soul.”

“No!” choked William, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“William! Stay back!” called Asher.

“Make ready!” commanded Scroope as he raised his sword above his head. In perfect unison, the ten soldiers brought their Brown Bess muskets up into position and pulled back the cocks.

“Present!” The redcoats took aim. Captain Scroope waited, as if relishing his power.

William sprinted, his feet flying over the ground.

Seeing William running toward his brother, Scroope cocked his head slightly and smiled with false pity—-the saber scar that ran down the left side of his mouth turned it into a ghoulish grin.

“Asher!” cried William desperately, racing to get to his brother’s side. As he reached the firing squad, one of the redcoats swiftly turned and smashed his musket into the side of William’s head. William fell to the ground as blinding pain shot through his body. Blood began to pour from his scalp and drip into his eyes, and his ears rang as he tried to find Asher.

“Fire!” Scroope sliced the air with his sword. Asher turned his gaze from his younger brother and faced his death. The crash of ten muskets ripped the air and tore the heart right out of William Tuck.

Rafflecopter Giveaway: Win one of 2 copies of The Secret Mission of William Tuck by entering a Rafflecopter giveaway! The giveaway runs from August 24-September 30. Good luck!

 

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Middle Grade, Middle School, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Remember The Time Warp Trio? Now, meet the Left Behinds!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

left behindsThe Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington, by David Potter (Jan. 2015, Random House) $16.99, ISBN: 9780385390569

Recommended for ages 10-14

Mel and his schoolmates, Brandon and Bev, are the Left-Behinds: children of wealthy and/or famous parents who make little time for them, they’re shipped off to boarding school and spend the holidays there. On a holiday school trip, the three find themselves transported through time, ending up in Colonial America – just in time to save the life of one General George Washington right before the historic crossing of the Delaware. Armed with just his iPhone, Mel must figure out how to save his friends, save George Washington, and save America! Oh, and he’s on, like, 8 percent battery.

The story is the next step for fans of Jon Sciezska’s Time Warp Trio series, who are on a higher reading level and ready for a more challenging novel. The book looks like it’s the first in a promising new series, with likable characters, a rogue iPhone app, Benjamin Franklin (who makes anything in which he appears even better) and a mysterious nemesis. There’s solid history here: the author did his research and his love for American history is clear here. This would be a great book to have students read alongside a unit on American history.

The author’s website offers information about the book, a bio on the author, and transcripts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, along with a section on where to catch historical re-enactments. For now, there’s only the Washington Historic Crossing available; I hope we’ll get some more as the author writes more!

The Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington releases next week, on January 5th.

Posted in Historical Fiction, Tween Reads

Book Review: My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier (Scholastic, 1974)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Recommended for ages 12+

My Brother Sam is Dead is a look at the Revolutionary War that readers don’t normally get: like the Civil War, this war divided families. We also see a side of the American soldiers that we don’t usually hear about in History class – “our” soldiers weren’t always acting like the good guys, especially to their own countrymen if they weren’t supporters of the cause.

We hear about the Tories and they are demonized. We laugh at stories of them being tarred and feathered, but what My Brother Sam brings home is that Tories were the same Americans that the Revolutionaries were, but they just believed in a different ideal. To the Tories, there was no reason to split with Mother England, who provided for them and protected them. Taxes were a fact of life. Quartering soldiers was a fact of life. To rebel was treason and it was just wrong. When looking at the acts of the Revolutionaries – stealing from, kidnapping and murdering fellow Americans who were Tories – it is difficult to say anyone involved was 100 percent right or wrong. We learn that the Revolution was a black and white issue; My Brother Sam goes beyond that thinking and shows readers that the War was made up of many, many shades of grey.

Tim Meeker is the son of a Connecticut tavern owner whose older brother, Sam, joins the Revolutionary Army under Benedict Arnold while away at college. The relationship between Sam and their father appears to have been conflicted to begin with, as both are stubborn men with strong opinions, and this act leads to a schism within the family that leaves Tim wondering who’s right and who’s wrong Torn between his love for his brother and his love and loyalty to his family, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a far larger conflict when he’s asked to keep secrets about Sam and when his battalion is in the area. Tim sees firsthand the brutality of the American soldiers to his Tory neighbors and he sees the cruelty of the British soldiers. Is there a right or wrong?

My Brother Sam is Dead won the 1975 Newbery Honor and was nominated for a National Book Award that same year. It has also been designated as an ALA Notable Children’s book and was the twelfth most frequently challenged book from 1990-2000 (ALA).

The History of Redding website has extensive information about the novel; Redding, Connecticut is the setting for the story. A 2005 Scholastic edition of the book has an AfterWords bonus feature which includes an interview with the authors, where they compare their story to fellow Newbery winner and Revolutionary War story Johnny Tremain, and discuss parallels between their work, written after the VietNam conflict, and Johnny Tremain, written after World War II.