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Available
Call number
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Publication
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2008), Hardcover, 40 pages
Description
Listen up! You've all heard about the great men who led and fought during the American Revolution; but did you know that the guys only make up part of the story? What about the women? The girls? The dames? Didn't they play a part? Of course they did, and with page after page of superbly researched information and thoughtfully detailed illustrations, acclaimed novelist and picture-book author Laurie Halse Anderson and charismatic illustrator Matt Faulkner prove the case in this entertaining, informative, and long overdue homage to those independent dames!
User reviews
LibraryThing member Turrean
Very enjoyable; a look at women of the American revolution. It's nice to find a book about early US history that doesn't adopt an annoyingly reverent tone when talking about the founding of the nation. Nice to see women of the Oneida nation mentioned for their contributions to the war effort. Some
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infelicitous phrasing, e.g., Americans are forced to give British soldiers " a place to live and food." Or this one: "The winter encampment...in Valley Forge was not the harshest conditions endured by the men and women." These, however, are minor errors which should have been caught by the editor. Show Less
LibraryThing member kmacneill
It was great to find a book about the Revolutionary War that incorporated little known facts about women and how they helped the war efforts. This book was not a serious-toned war book but had a sense of humor to it. It has a time line running through the bottom of the book which I thought was a
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nice touch. The back of the book had more biographical information and facts about the Revolution. I think it would be an empowering book for girls to read and also a book for boys to see that women had also participated in the war. Its a nice gender stereotype breaking book. I would love to have students research the American Revolution and find facts that they think most people don't know about the Revolution. Show Less
LibraryThing member abbylibrarian
Kids will find much to pore over in this book about the women and girls of the American Revolution. Did you know that a 16-year-old girl, Sybil Ludington, rode 40 miles through the night to warn American militia about a British attack? (Paul Revere's ride was 16 miles.) Or how about "Mom" Rinker
If your answer is no, you should definitely pick up this book. Anderson gives brief facts about many, many women and girls who helped America win its independence in the Revolutionary War. Women spied on the British, provided food and clothing to American soldiers, and even went into battle! This is a great book to add to any unit on Women's History or the Revolutionary War.
Anderson includes a timeline of the Revolution, an author's note, and a substantial bibliography.
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who spied on British soldiers and hid the information inside balls of yarn which she passed to the American soldiers? Ever heard of her?If your answer is no, you should definitely pick up this book. Anderson gives brief facts about many, many women and girls who helped America win its independence in the Revolutionary War. Women spied on the British, provided food and clothing to American soldiers, and even went into battle! This is a great book to add to any unit on Women's History or the Revolutionary War.
Anderson includes a timeline of the Revolution, an author's note, and a substantial bibliography.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
This book tells one of those “unseen” sides of history – specifically, the role of girls and women in the American Revolution. The book gives examples of many women who served as spies, soldiers, nurses, and so on. Also included in the book are a timeline, a bibliography (including websites),
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and an index. I liked the idea of this book but not so much the execution. The timeline runs along the bottom of each page, which I found distracting from the main text. The illustrations were just a little too goofy for me, although I’ll admit they probably appeal more to children because of their silliness (and children are, after all, the actual target audience of this book). I also didn’t really like the use of the word “dames” in this book. In the title was okay, but I didn’t appreciate the repeated use of the word as it is not generally considered the most respectful way to refer to women. I don’t mind seeing “dame” in a hard-boiled detective story (instead you rather expect it as part of the genre) but in a women’s rights-type book, it seemed out of place. Overall, I was hoping for better, although I am glad that children are being exposed to history that isn’t just white male history. Show Less
LibraryThing member mlunsford17
We have all heard of George Washington and of many other men that helped in the American Revolution, but this story centers in on the women and girls that helped to bring about the revolution.
As soon as I saw this book I was enticed because of the title.
I would use this book when going throught
As soon as I saw this book I was enticed because of the title.
I would use this book when going throught
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the curriculum for President's day. It would be nice to talk about the women that helped in the revolution and I would have my kids pick an empowring woman in their life and share why they picked them with the class. Show Less
LibraryThing member SJKessel
Anderson, L.H. (2008). Independent Dames. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
0689858086
Appetizer: As a class prepares to put on a play about the American Revolution they showcase some of the women who helped create the U.S.A. This information picturebook very intentionally pushes
The stories of female revolutionaries will educate, inspire and amuse many readers. Anderson uses succinct language to share the women's stories. She avoids being metaphorical (which is one of my favorite parts of her YA novels, but I was thankful to see it excluded from this picturebook). Anderson makes sure to include an African American voice, that of Phillis Wheatley. Older students could go from this picturebook to reading her poetry as fast as a teacher can hand them a second book. The stories of Sally St. Clair a Creole girl, and Iyonajanegen a Oneida woman are also included.
While I love the message of this book, I really wasn't rocking the illustrations. Even more so than with the color, all of the watercolor illustrations feature a lot of pen lines in the drawings, criss-crossing and adding depth and dimension. But really, all those lines just made the pictures too busy and a bit overwhelming to look at.
Also, since there's the general narration text on each page, side boxes of various women's biographies or stories and dialogue boxes, it's hard to know what the reader should read when.
Along the bottom of each page, runs a who's who and timeline to help share the history of the time period. It include major events like the dates of various wars, proclamations, etc. And while this is a nice touch, I know my ten-year-old-self. Ten-year-old-me would never have bothered to read all those details. I think some of my close friends would have. But then, that's why ten-year-old me always secretly hated all of my friends. Nerds.
So, in conclusion, yes to the concept of this book. No, no, no to how busy each page of the book was.
Dinner Conversation:
"Look, another school play about the heroes of the American Revolution. How sweet."
"Of course, you're missing part of the story.
In fact, you're missing about half of it."
"Hello? How about the women?
What about the girls?
They wanted a free country too."
"Deborah Sampson cut her hair, dressed as a man, and lived as a male soldier for eighteen months. She was wounded twice in battle--once by a saber blow to her head and later by a gunshot in the leg. Deborah was discharged when a doctor discovered she was a woman, but she received a military pension."
To Go with the Meal:
This picturebook would be a wonderful supplement to a standard textbook. Students can pick among the women described to research further and they can act out scenes from the story, or write letters in the voices of the women, etc.
Students could add to some of the brief stories of the various women throughout the book. They could imagine dialogue and scenes to help the stories come alive.
Tasty Rating: !!!
0689858086
Appetizer: As a class prepares to put on a play about the American Revolution they showcase some of the women who helped create the U.S.A. This information picturebook very intentionally pushes
Show More
the ladies of the revolution (or the daughter of liberty) into the spot light, giving voice to historic figures that are usually left in the background or worse, not included at all.The stories of female revolutionaries will educate, inspire and amuse many readers. Anderson uses succinct language to share the women's stories. She avoids being metaphorical (which is one of my favorite parts of her YA novels, but I was thankful to see it excluded from this picturebook). Anderson makes sure to include an African American voice, that of Phillis Wheatley. Older students could go from this picturebook to reading her poetry as fast as a teacher can hand them a second book. The stories of Sally St. Clair a Creole girl, and Iyonajanegen a Oneida woman are also included.
While I love the message of this book, I really wasn't rocking the illustrations. Even more so than with the color, all of the watercolor illustrations feature a lot of pen lines in the drawings, criss-crossing and adding depth and dimension. But really, all those lines just made the pictures too busy and a bit overwhelming to look at.
Also, since there's the general narration text on each page, side boxes of various women's biographies or stories and dialogue boxes, it's hard to know what the reader should read when.
Along the bottom of each page, runs a who's who and timeline to help share the history of the time period. It include major events like the dates of various wars, proclamations, etc. And while this is a nice touch, I know my ten-year-old-self. Ten-year-old-me would never have bothered to read all those details. I think some of my close friends would have. But then, that's why ten-year-old me always secretly hated all of my friends. Nerds.
So, in conclusion, yes to the concept of this book. No, no, no to how busy each page of the book was.
Dinner Conversation:
"Look, another school play about the heroes of the American Revolution. How sweet."
"Of course, you're missing part of the story.
In fact, you're missing about half of it."
"Hello? How about the women?
What about the girls?
They wanted a free country too."
"Deborah Sampson cut her hair, dressed as a man, and lived as a male soldier for eighteen months. She was wounded twice in battle--once by a saber blow to her head and later by a gunshot in the leg. Deborah was discharged when a doctor discovered she was a woman, but she received a military pension."
To Go with the Meal:
This picturebook would be a wonderful supplement to a standard textbook. Students can pick among the women described to research further and they can act out scenes from the story, or write letters in the voices of the women, etc.
Students could add to some of the brief stories of the various women throughout the book. They could imagine dialogue and scenes to help the stories come alive.
Tasty Rating: !!!
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LibraryThing member carolineW
This was a useful companion to a unit on the American Revolution. The story of women's involvement in a male-dominated history course is needed. However, presenting women as a side-text only risks giving the message they they are only a side-note to the main course of history. The book is colorful,
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fun, and attractively laid out to draw in bored students of history, my only complaint is that it is sometimes too busy and tries to cram too much information on a page. Show Less
LibraryThing member robincar
The book discusses the various roles women and girls played in the American Revolution and features particular women’s contributions. It includes a main story text, spotlights on the different women, a timeline of events at the bottom of each page, and additional notes on Revolutionary women,
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even mentions some women whose stories cannot be confirmed. The women spotlighted are satisfyingly diverse as the women included are young and old, are white and African American and Native American, and did a variety of different deeds to support the Revolution. The books also includes an author’s and an illustrator’s notes, an index, and a bibliography. Color illustrations enhance the general text and the spotlights of women although the style of the illustrations involves a great of lines which make the pictures rather busy and messy looking. This book attempts to serve a wide range of audience age (first and second grade, and third through fifth grades), yet does not really quite work for either the younger readers or the older. The main text of the story is suitable for the younger kids, but they may find the amount of additional text and information on each page overwhelming, while older children might appreciate the timeline of the Revolutionary War and the spotlights on various women and girls who supported the Revolution, but they may find the main text of the book to be condescending and juvenile. So this book while highly informational seems to require a specific sort of reader who can overlook the book’s flaws to get at the information without being either overwhelmed by how busy the pages are or offended by the patronizing main text. Show Less
LibraryThing member rdg301library
Reading Level: Intermediate
Genre: Informational
Summary: This particular book sheds light on a different aspect than what is usually focused on when it comes to the American Revolution. It focuses on the women of the Revolution, their struggles and sacrifices as well as the significant and often
Genre: Informational
Summary: This particular book sheds light on a different aspect than what is usually focused on when it comes to the American Revolution. It focuses on the women of the Revolution, their struggles and sacrifices as well as the significant and often
Show More
overlooked roles they played throughout the entire Revolutionary War. Show Less
LibraryThing member Christina_E_Mitchell
"Hello? How about the women?"(p.6).
This young reader book is profound in its message toward youth as well as adults. From the outset, the book drives the point that women are not mentioned in the history of the making of the United States, not because they did not act, but because they simply were
This young reader book is profound in its message toward youth as well as adults. From the outset, the book drives the point that women are not mentioned in the history of the making of the United States, not because they did not act, but because they simply were
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not written about. Black, Native American, and White, women rode farther than Paul Revere; were the impetus for the strength of the boycott against English tea and merchandise (not afraid to tar and feather traitors to the cause); wrote pamphlets, newspapers, and inspirational lyrics; and followed men to the front lines and dressed in men's clothing to take up arms fighting bravely, suffering injury, freeing prisoners of war, nursing the wounded, burying the dead, and carrying secrets. And, their service was once acknowledged! George Washington recognized African slave Phillis Wheatley for her famous poems of the Revolution, and called the women who cooked and cleaned for soldiers "Women of the Army." Women earned military pay and military pensions, and were renowned for fighting off enemy troops. Yet, only the great men of the Revolution earned their names in print. Anderson knows the way to rectify this is to start digging through our own family histories for the truth. The dedication of the book leads the charge. It reads, "Dedicated to my Revolutionary grandmothers," listing the author's own 22 mothers of the Revolution. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Most histories of the American Revolution focus on the soldiers and politicians. This book tells the stories of women who contributed to the American Revolution in myriad ways, from cooking, sewing, and nursing, to spying, acting as couriers, and fighting on the battlefield. The women’s stories
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are engaging. However, the book tries to pack too much content into a limited space. The book design is not conducive to the ebook format that I read. It was hard to enlarge the book enough to read the text even on a computer screen, let alone on a phone app, and I completely gave up on the timeline across the bottom edge of the page. The font crowds the letters together enough that I think the print edition would even pose a challenge for many readers. Show Less
Awards
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2009)
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
40 p.; 11.27 x 10.13 inches
ISBN
0689858086 / 9780689858086