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Silver for General Washington: A Story of Valley Forge
Book by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft
247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1944
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117 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 6, 2018
A nice, easy read. A great way to introduce children to the trials of Valley Forge without getting into too many details. It was nice to read a book where our heroes are actually goodhearted and to read a story where the children actually have a concept of self-sacrifice and duty and carry the realization that there is more to the world than just themselves.
A very nice book that I would quickly give to a younger reader.
A very nice book that I would quickly give to a younger reader.
October 31, 2022
As quoted by a seventh grader from the author's page in the book, "History is okay if it is exciting, like Silver for General Washington by Enid La Monte Meadowcroft." So if you have some kids on the fence about history, this should win them over. *wink
It really is a well told story and starts out with a little suspense and moves quickly into various action sequences. There's soldiers, spies, captures, chases, mystery, ... a little of everything entertaining.
There is time for some character development too, which I appreciated, especially when it focused on what it might have been like to live through the rigors of a country invaded by war. Although perhaps depicted somewhat simplistically, for this is a children's book after all, it did show many characters handling the hardships in differing, realistic ways; some handling it well and others poorly for contrast. I enjoyed seeing the main character, a tween boy, take the moral high ground when it would have been easy to succumb or turn around or quit.
I definitely recommend this one so wish you luck in finding a copy - they can be hard to come by.
Ages: 7 - 13
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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It really is a well told story and starts out with a little suspense and moves quickly into various action sequences. There's soldiers, spies, captures, chases, mystery, ... a little of everything entertaining.
There is time for some character development too, which I appreciated, especially when it focused on what it might have been like to live through the rigors of a country invaded by war. Although perhaps depicted somewhat simplistically, for this is a children's book after all, it did show many characters handling the hardships in differing, realistic ways; some handling it well and others poorly for contrast. I enjoyed seeing the main character, a tween boy, take the moral high ground when it would have been easy to succumb or turn around or quit.
I definitely recommend this one so wish you luck in finding a copy - they can be hard to come by.
Ages: 7 - 13
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
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August 3, 2013I read this when I was very young, about 1st grade, for a reading project in school. I really loved it, and reread it later!
I would actually really dig reading this again, if I could find a copy someplace.
I would actually really dig reading this again, if I could find a copy someplace.
February 11, 2025
For some reason I read the title and thought this book would include the famous event where the troops escape under cover of fog. I discovered after we finished the book that it had happened a year before these events. Overall this wasn't our smoothest history read aloud and a bit sadder and less exciting as it focuses on the struggles Washington and his army faced that winter but it was good.
"You're scared," he said softly. "So am I." Then, speaking as much to encourage himself as Danny, he added, "Everybody's afraid sometimes, I think-even General Washington. My father told me that the only really brave men are the ones who are afraid and who go right ahead anyway. So pull on your greatcoat and let's start." pgs 143-144
"You're scared," he said softly. "So am I." Then, speaking as much to encourage himself as Danny, he added, "Everybody's afraid sometimes, I think-even General Washington. My father told me that the only really brave men are the ones who are afraid and who go right ahead anyway. So pull on your greatcoat and let's start." pgs 143-144
September 14, 2019
Solid 4 stars. Meadowcroft is an excellent writer. Dated, of course, in racial portrayals, but this book is better than her biography of George Washington in that regard. This one is a great immersive adventure into a child's life in Valley Forge during the army's winter there.
December 29, 2022
This is a fun children's book! I'm not as into war novels as I'd like to be, so kids' books that take place in war times seems a good start.
Easy read, based on actual facts with enough fiction to entertain. The story is not intensely into the war itself but instead taking place on the Valley Forge encampment from September 1777 to June 1778 and the struggles that ensued.
Like I said, super good for young readers!
Easy read, based on actual facts with enough fiction to entertain. The story is not intensely into the war itself but instead taking place on the Valley Forge encampment from September 1777 to June 1778 and the struggles that ensued.
Like I said, super good for young readers!
April 1, 2019
This a good book for students to read when learning about the American Revolutionary War. The author did a great job at describing the times and how Patriots assisted with the war effort without being a soldier. The author also did a great job at illustrating how espionage played a major role in the war.
May 16, 2024
This is a great old book for teaching some of the trials the soldiers faced during the winter at Valley Forge. Obviously fiction, it included many historical facts that would have been glazed over in a history book. I love using historical fiction to teach realities of history!
June 12, 2017
B. children's, fiction, grade 5, historical fiction, Valley Forge, Revolutionary War, Mom's stash, keep.
July 13, 2022
Silver for General Washington was one of my very favorite books as a kid, and I can definitely see why I loved it so much. I enjoyed rereading it as a young adult, after all these years - I read it over and over again when I was a kid, but I hadn't read it in way too long. It was lovely to revisit one of the special books of my childhood and to reexperience a story I loved so much as a child.
Rereading the book, it wasn't as shining and wonderful as I remembered it being as a kid, but it was still a great book. The writing and story and characters were quite good, but not stellar - nothing special, but good, all the same. If I read Silver for General Washington for the first time as an adult, it wouldn't make a huge impression on me, but I still enjoyed many things about it. While the writing style was usually decent rather than amazing, the characters and their surroundings were described and portrayed well enough that they were often vivid and alive. I enjoyed the protagonist, Gil, and his family and friends, especially his relationships with his sister, his cousin, and the soldiers. And I really loved the bittersweet subplot of Gil and his violin. I really love the history and setting Silver for General Washington includes, and growing up, it taught me a lot about the events of the American Revolution during the months the book covers - and gave nice humanity and new detail to a part of the war I've been interested in lately. There were a few tiny things in the book that were lacking or didn't make sense, and at least one loose end that was never tied up, but not enough to be noticeable.
Much of this book's merit, for me, lies in the fact that it completely and totally captured my imagination as a child, and made history come alive. That shows that it's a good piece of juvenile fiction. Reading Silver for General Washington in elementary and middle school, I felt like I was there watching the ragged, barefoot soldiers plodding through the snow into Valley Forge, or sneaking through British-occupied Philadelphia. If I hadn't read this book as a child, I would never have known or cared about the winter at Valley Forge and the plight of the soldiers, and I would have seen it as a distant event that didn't matter to me or existed only in history books. But this book immersed me and made the setting and events and history come to life in a way that I could understand and care about. It's stayed with me ever since.
And the story itself captured me and inspired me as well - the sweet relationship between the cousins and siblings, the adventurous and daring journey they're caught up in, the desire of two boys to fight for their country's independence, the hardship and resilience of the American soldiers.
I was very much caught up in the story and setting of Silver for General Washington as a child, and that is worth a lot. It takes a special book to capture the mind and imagination of a child, to captivate them and engage them - and I was very much engaged by this book. To me, it was exciting and fascinating and accessible and easy to dive into, rather than boring and distant and dry like many historical novels for young readers. I read Silver for General Washington many times, and enjoyed it each time, and I always yearned for more fictional books by the same author - since I loved this one and one other by this author (By Secret Railway). I always loved coming back to reread Silver for General Washington, and I remembered it fondly my whole life. So many of the book's scenes and moments have remained vivid in my memory all these years, which is impressive on the part of the book.
Silver for General Washington earned a solid 4 stars from me this time. I would have given the book 5 stars a few years ago - and my experience reading it as a kid was deserving of 5 stars. I recommend it to fans of the Revolutionary War period or of children's historical fiction.
A fabulous historical novel to read along with this one is Rebecca's War by Ann Finlayson, which portrays the British occupation of Philadelphia the same winter, something that was touched on briefly in Silver for General Washington.
Rereading the book, it wasn't as shining and wonderful as I remembered it being as a kid, but it was still a great book. The writing and story and characters were quite good, but not stellar - nothing special, but good, all the same. If I read Silver for General Washington for the first time as an adult, it wouldn't make a huge impression on me, but I still enjoyed many things about it. While the writing style was usually decent rather than amazing, the characters and their surroundings were described and portrayed well enough that they were often vivid and alive. I enjoyed the protagonist, Gil, and his family and friends, especially his relationships with his sister, his cousin, and the soldiers. And I really loved the bittersweet subplot of Gil and his violin. I really love the history and setting Silver for General Washington includes, and growing up, it taught me a lot about the events of the American Revolution during the months the book covers - and gave nice humanity and new detail to a part of the war I've been interested in lately. There were a few tiny things in the book that were lacking or didn't make sense, and at least one loose end that was never tied up, but not enough to be noticeable.
Much of this book's merit, for me, lies in the fact that it completely and totally captured my imagination as a child, and made history come alive. That shows that it's a good piece of juvenile fiction. Reading Silver for General Washington in elementary and middle school, I felt like I was there watching the ragged, barefoot soldiers plodding through the snow into Valley Forge, or sneaking through British-occupied Philadelphia. If I hadn't read this book as a child, I would never have known or cared about the winter at Valley Forge and the plight of the soldiers, and I would have seen it as a distant event that didn't matter to me or existed only in history books. But this book immersed me and made the setting and events and history come to life in a way that I could understand and care about. It's stayed with me ever since.
And the story itself captured me and inspired me as well - the sweet relationship between the cousins and siblings, the adventurous and daring journey they're caught up in, the desire of two boys to fight for their country's independence, the hardship and resilience of the American soldiers.
I was very much caught up in the story and setting of Silver for General Washington as a child, and that is worth a lot. It takes a special book to capture the mind and imagination of a child, to captivate them and engage them - and I was very much engaged by this book. To me, it was exciting and fascinating and accessible and easy to dive into, rather than boring and distant and dry like many historical novels for young readers. I read Silver for General Washington many times, and enjoyed it each time, and I always yearned for more fictional books by the same author - since I loved this one and one other by this author (By Secret Railway). I always loved coming back to reread Silver for General Washington, and I remembered it fondly my whole life. So many of the book's scenes and moments have remained vivid in my memory all these years, which is impressive on the part of the book.
Silver for General Washington earned a solid 4 stars from me this time. I would have given the book 5 stars a few years ago - and my experience reading it as a kid was deserving of 5 stars. I recommend it to fans of the Revolutionary War period or of children's historical fiction.
A fabulous historical novel to read along with this one is Rebecca's War by Ann Finlayson, which portrays the British occupation of Philadelphia the same winter, something that was touched on briefly in Silver for General Washington.
January 16, 2016
Great historical fiction for young readers
This is a great book of historical fiction for American youth. Gil Emmet is a boy in his early teens that walks with a limp due to a severely broken leg. His father is a wealthy man in Philadelphia and the time is during the American War for Independence, two years after it started. His father has to depart on a critical mission for the colonies and after burying the family silver in the basement, Gil and his sister Jenifer are sent to live with their aunt and uncle in the country in an area known as Valley Forge.
When they get there Gil and Jenifer are put to work doing all kinds of work, but their lives are changed even more when British troops and their Hessian allies arrive and confiscate food, horses and other items. Angry with the situation but unable to do anything, Gil and the people in favor of independence bid their time.
When the ragged and starving Colonial troops under George Washington arrive, Gil vows to do all he can to help them and he comes up with a daring scheme to obtain money so that General Washington can acquire more supplies. It is a story of great daring and challenges, something that will appeal to the young reader.
I first read this story when I was in elementary school and liked it so much I remembered the plot and even some of the illustrations. Based on many actual events, this is an adventure story that has the added feature that it is at least plausible.
This review also appears on Amazon
This is a great book of historical fiction for American youth. Gil Emmet is a boy in his early teens that walks with a limp due to a severely broken leg. His father is a wealthy man in Philadelphia and the time is during the American War for Independence, two years after it started. His father has to depart on a critical mission for the colonies and after burying the family silver in the basement, Gil and his sister Jenifer are sent to live with their aunt and uncle in the country in an area known as Valley Forge.
When they get there Gil and Jenifer are put to work doing all kinds of work, but their lives are changed even more when British troops and their Hessian allies arrive and confiscate food, horses and other items. Angry with the situation but unable to do anything, Gil and the people in favor of independence bid their time.
When the ragged and starving Colonial troops under George Washington arrive, Gil vows to do all he can to help them and he comes up with a daring scheme to obtain money so that General Washington can acquire more supplies. It is a story of great daring and challenges, something that will appeal to the young reader.
I first read this story when I was in elementary school and liked it so much I remembered the plot and even some of the illustrations. Based on many actual events, this is an adventure story that has the added feature that it is at least plausible.
This review also appears on Amazon
August 17, 2015
I loved this book as a child, and finally tracked down another copy of it. The original one that I read - currently in my sister's library - was my dad's, and it is taped together and terribly fragile. My "new" copy is the original 1957 printing, too, but in slightly better shape.
I love this just as much 30 years later. In addition to being a good story and a well-written book for elementary / middle school aged children, it sticks quite closely to historical fact.
I love this just as much 30 years later. In addition to being a good story and a well-written book for elementary / middle school aged children, it sticks quite closely to historical fact.
November 29, 2014
If there is any ONE book that launched me into reading, it was this book. I still enjoy it, mostly it just reminds me that I love reading and exploring different times in history, different worlds, being different people, and enjoying the author's imagination.
October 14, 2008
A great book to help understand the struggles going on at that time. Great book for all ages, even if it's geared more for children.
October 7, 2011
I liked it
January 14, 2012
Captivating story of one boy's stay Valley Forge, and how he got silver for General Washington.
February 6, 2012
The best historical fiction book I've read in a long time. I don't like historical fiction though.
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June 23, 2015A read-aloud to my younger sisters. I read this book several times as a child. It was fun to read aloud and remember forgotten parts of the story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews