Wow, it’s been awhile. My last PPBF post was in October! Yikes.
Yesterday’s blizzard in Boston and New York inspired this PPBF pick. Stay warm everyone! (I probably shouldn’t tell you it’s in the 60s in California.)
TITLE: Henry and the Cannons
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Don Brown
PUBLICATION INFO: Roaring Book Press, January 2013
ISBN: 978-1596432666
SOURCE: Library
INTENDED AUDIENCE: ages 5 to 9
GENRE: nonfiction
OPENING and SYNOPSIS:
“It was the winter of 1775. The American Revolution had begun, and things weren’t going well for the Patriots of Boston, Massachusetts.”
From the publisher: “Before Washington crossed the Delaware, Henry Knox crossed Massachusetts in winter—with 59 cannons in tow.
In 1775 in the dead of winter, a bookseller named Henry Knox dragged 59 cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston—225 miles of lakes, forest, mountains, and few roads. It was a feat of remarkable ingenuity and determination and one of the most remarkable stories of the revolutionary war. In Henry and the Cannons the perils and adventure of his journey come to life through Don Brown’s vivid and evocative artwork.”
THEMES/TOPICS: history, nonfiction
WHY I LIKE THIS BOOK: I’m working on a slice-of-history picture book and used HENRY AND THE CANNONS to study form and structure. Much like Barb Rosenstock’s THE CAMPING TRIP THAT CHANGED AMERICA, this book focuses on one episode in American history and shows how it connects to a larger story.
RESOURCES:
Don Brown found an unsung hero, as there’s little for students about Henry Knox on the Web. Here are a few sites:
- The Knox Museum in Maine has several Revolutionary War lesson plans on its education site.
- The Library of Congress has a lesson plan built around a letter from General George Washington to Henry Knox.
- Daughters of the American Revolution exhibit about Knox.
- Travel the Knox Trail in the Hudson River Valley (but probably not today due to the weather.)
You’ll find way more cool books at Susanna Leonard Hill’s “Perfect Picture Books.” Every Friday folks review a host of new books. Join us!