Praise for The American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence
Publishers Weekly
?. . . Sidebars supplement the material with vocabulary definitions, trivia, and additional information about such figures as Thomas Paine, Benedict Arnold, and Phillis Wheatley. Cartoon illustrations and 25 activities create a lively learning experience . . .”
Children's Literature
?. . . . Author Judy Dodge Cummings anchors her storytelling with a well-written and sprightly narrative, including in sidebar tales of important people, battles, and happenings that shaped the wars outcome . . .”
School Library Journal
"Featuring a lively page design, this volume asks readers a series of questions to prompt them to consider the American Revolution. . . Along with the standard textual information, pages are filled with sidebars, vocabulary words, and definitions, and QR codes that provide access to primary sources. VERDICT A useful resource; purchase as needed."
Jamie Kallio, author and youth services librarian, Chicago, Illinois
?A fresh look at a defining moment in American history. With its bright and colorful pages, active language, and interesting sidebars, The American Revolution asks pertinent questions and suggests hands-on activities to encourage young readers.”
Jodi Baker, elementary teacher, adjunct professor, and educational consultant
?This interactive book will captivate the imaginations of young readers.”
Claire Rudolf Murphy, author
?As a writer of nonfiction for young readers, I know how important it is to make history engaging and entertaining. Cummings’ book pulls it off on all fronts.”
Volunteers, American Independence Museum, Exeter, New Hampshire
?All of the docents and educators here at the Museum believe this book breaks down the important history of our country’s founding in an innovative way. The hands-on projects make history tangible, and exciting to our children.”
Puget Sound Council for the Review of Children’s Media
Additional Plus — Good solid book
Examine the how and the why a small, ill equipped group of rebels win a war against the powerful British army through eight chapters, colorful maps, textboxes with interesting side notes and timelines. Well written, easy to understand text tells the story of how rebel soldiers fought in horrible conditions, families back home face terrible hardships all for freedom. Readers will look at primary sources to find the truth about events leading up to the Revolution. They will be asked to engage in debate, planning and use their reading skills to understand the documents presented. Twenty hands-on projects designed around essential questions will engage are suggested to engage the reader. Though this might appeal to teachers as a supplement to instruction on the American Revolution it has many features that will draw in the young history enthusiast.”
From other titles in the Build It series:
Praise for Micronations: Invent Your Own Country and Culture with 25 Projects
Seth Dixon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Rhode Island College
?A delightful resource to help students understand all the inner workings of a country. This hands-on, creative approach will capture imaginations and is destined to make geography come alive for countless children.”
His Excellency President Kevin Baugh, Republic of Molossia
?. . . a great book, very entertaining and informative. It’s a fun read and a great resource for anyone, young and old, who would like to start their own micronation—and I should know, I’ve been running my own micronation for 36 years!”
Praise for Cities: Discover How They Work with 25 Projects
Booklist
?Propounding the emerging interdisciplinary paradigm of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics), this hands-on informational book discusses how cities’ complex structures and systems function together in an interdependent way. . . Basics of civil engineering are introduced and potential future problems of city life are explored. Through appealing illustrations, reader-friendly text, and fun, hands-on experiments suitable for home and classroom, Reilly helps foster an appreciation for the way that cities function almost as organisms with vibrant systems and interdependent structures.”
12/15/2014
Readers can take a hands-on approach to learning about the American Revolution in this addition to the Build It Yourself series. Each chapter begins with an “essential question” that serves as an entry point (“What factors caused American colonists to begin to resent British rule in the 1760s?”). At the end of each chapter, readers are invited to compose a thesis statement in response to the opening question. Sidebars supplement the material with vocabulary definitions, trivia, and additional information about such figures as Thomas Paine, Benedict Arnold, and Phillis Wheatley. Cartoon illustrations and 25 activities (such as preparing “firecake,” the simple bread that soldiers ate on the battlefield) create a lively learning experience, though the instructional tone makes the book an unlikely candidate for casual reading. Ages 9–12. (Mar.)
04/01/2015
Gr 3–6—Featuring a lively page design, this volume asks readers a series of questions to prompt them to consider the American Revolution. After an introductory chapter that reviews the beginning of the war at Lexington and Concord, the remaining seven chapters offer information on the roots of the rebellion, including the issue of taxation, the writing of the Declaration of Independence, the war itself, and the ultimate victory of the Americans over the British. The book also covers the experiences of women, African Americans, and Native Americans, and there's a chapter describing the everyday life of the colonists. Each chapter begins with an essential question that urges students to think and then to examine the data presented in order to craft a thesis statement and response. Along with the standard textual information, pages are filled with sidebars, vocabulary words, and definitions, and QR codes that provide access to primary sources. VERDICT A useful resource; purchase as needed.—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mount Carmel
