First Fireworks for Independence: Virginia's Gift to America

by Jane Hampton Cook

When Virginia, age 10, asks her grandfather, "who fired the first fireworks for independence?" the answer he gives is as surprising as it is delightful . First Fireworks for Independence takes young readers on a sparkling journey to Virginia, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina.
Discover the story behind the tradition of launching fireworks for July 4 and the mysterious identity of Virginia's grandfather. Award-winning author and presidential historian Jane Hampton Cook presents First Fireworks for Independence to help young Americans to better understand our nation's founding and to prepare them to celebrate America's 250 th birthday in 2026.

42 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2023

About the author

Jane Hampton Cook makes history relevant to news, politics, current events, and modern life. She is the award-winning author of nine books, including her newest The Burning of the White House: James and Dolley Madison and the War of 1812 (2016), America’s Star-Spangled Story (Aug. 2014) and Pulitzer-nominated American Phoenix (Thomas Nelson, a division of HarperCollins, 2013), which brings to life the international side of the War of 1812 through the diplomacy of John Quincy and Louisa Adams. A contributor to The Hill, national media commentator and former White House webmaster, Jane is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel and other television and radio outlets. She also will be featured on the History Channel’s sister network, H2, on United Stuff of America in early summer 2014. Launching her passion for history and writing through a research fellowship from the Organization of American Historians and White House Historical Association in 2003, Jane and her husband, Dr. John Kim Cook, live with their children in the Washington DC area in Fairfax, Virginia.