Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring (Spy on History Series)

by Enigma Alberti, Tony Cliff (Illustrator)

Overview

Your Mission: Find Mary’s secret diary using spycraft stools to uncover hidden codes!

It’s a true story of bravery: Mary Bowser was an African American spy for the Union who worked as a maid in the mansion of Confederate Jefferson Davis. From hair-raising close calls when she almost gets caught to how she uses her photographic memory to “steal” top secret documents. Mary’s story reads like a gripping novel.

It’s a mystery to solve: There are clues embedded in the story’s text and illustrations, and Spycraft materials—including a replica Civil War cipher wheel—come in an envelope at the beginning of the book. Use both to discover what happened to Mary Bowser’s secret diary.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523507719
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Series:	Spy on History Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	448,985
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Enigma Alberti is the nom de plume of a secret cadre of authors who are each writing a book in the Spy on History series.

Tony Cliff is the author and artist behind the New York Times bestselling Delilah Dirk graphic novel series.

Editorial Reviews

11/14/2016
Launching the Spy on History series, this pseudonymously written interactive story is built around Mary Bowser, an African-American woman who served as a spy during the Civil War, under the guise of working as a maid for Jefferson Davis. Alberti dramatizes Bowser’s efforts to obtain information by eavesdropping and memorizing information on crucial documents. Readers can use “spycraft tools,” such as a cipher wheel, to crack a code and solve the story’s mystery. Fictionalized diary passages, engrossing illustrations from Cliff (the Delilah Dirk series), and typography manipulated to dramatic effect help create a gripping story that offers a window into a pivotal time in U.S. history and puts a face to a little-known figure. Ages 10–14. Illustrator’s agent: Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Victoria Sanders & Associates. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"A gripping story that offers a window into a pivotal time in U.S. history and puts a face to a little-known figure." — Publishers Weekly

"A thrilling read for lovers of history and mystery." — Shelf Awareness

"Structurally immersive, feminist friendly, beginner's chapter book focused on equality, female empowerment, freedom, and overcoming odds."  — Bust.com

"This innovative interactive history book is sure to fascinate young would-be spies and detectives."  — A Mighty Girl

"Alongside it being a great story, this will rise to the challenge to any curious-minded wannabe spies." — Black Girl Nerds

"Sometimes, a very special book comes along that allows your mind, and the kids' minds, to actively exercise and expand while tromping through a story and learning some history. Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring...is one such book." — Geek Dad

"This is a great introduction for Civil War buffs-in-the-making, young biography fans, and kids who are just learning to appreciate thrillers as a genre." — The Bookworm Sez

 

From the Publisher

04/01/2017
Gr 4–7—Mary Bowser, born into slavery and later freed, is recruited to work undercover as a maid in Confederate Jefferson Davis's Richmond home in this reimagining of real-life events, the first title in a new series. Having infiltrated the Davis household, Mary deflects the suspicions of a white maid by pretending to be "simple." Meanwhile, she uses her photographic memory to scan documents while cleaning Davis's office, then relays her findings to the Union by way of a spy network. As pressure mounts to break the Confederate code, Mary senses suspicion narrowing on the household as she gets closer to learning the enemy's plans. The author not only crafts a highly suspenseful and visually engaging narrative surrounding real-life spy Bowser but also illustrates the final days of the Confederacy from an insider's perspective. The cogent use of codes and ciphers is sure to appeal to future sleuths and creates an elaborate mystery within the artwork for readers to solve. The spy tools found within an envelope inside the book offer a fun, interactive element that takes the experience to another level. VERDICT A swift read with plenty of action, combined with a smart spy heroine, this title is a strong addition to most historical fiction collections (despite the possibility of losing the loose spy materials to eager spies in training).—Hillary St. George, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-11-16
Using a provided packet of helpful tools, readers can search for clues along with a historical spy in the house of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.Fans of ciphers and hidden clues will find both in abundance, beginning on the copyright page and continuing to a final, sealed-off section of explanations and solutions. Fictionalized but spun around actual figures and events, the tale centers on Bowser, a free African-American who worked undercover as a maid in Davis' house and passed information to a ring of white Richmond spies. Here she looks for the key phrase that will unlock a Vigenère cipher—an alphabetic substitution code—while struggling to hide her intelligence and ability to read. As an extra challenge, she leaves the diary in which she records some of her experiences concealed for readers to discover, using allusive and sometimes-misleading clues that are hidden in Cliff's monochrome illustrations and in cryptic marginal notations. A Caesar cipher wheel, a sheet of red acetate, and several other items in a front pocket supply an espionage starter kit that readers can use along the way; it is supplemented by quick introductions in the narrative to ciphers and codes, including Morse dashes and dots and the language of flowers. Plenty of work for sharp eyes and active intellects in this history-based series opener. (answers, historical notes, biographies, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews