Red, White, and Blue: The Story of the American Flag

by John Herman, Robin Roraback (Illustrator)

Some people call the American flag Stars and Stripes or Old Glory. But did you know that it hasn't always looked the same? Read this Level 3 reader, and you will find out all about the history of the American flag.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction, American History, Childrens, 2nd Grade, Geography

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice book that goes over the history of the flag. Nice details like how initially there was no standard flag and the stars and stripes were interpreted differently. Full of good information but not pedantic.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to for children to learn more about our National Flag.

Thank you for the loan Oil City Library.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good way to teach kids about our country.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an informative book for my 8-year-old. It touched on many things briefly so he wouldn't be bored but still could learn the basics of how the U.S. flag came to be.

"Our flag has lots of nicknames--like Old Glory and the Red, White, and Blue. Sometimes it's called the Stars and Stripes. But where did our flag come from? Who decided what it would look like? The truth is that no one knows for sure."

Some of the things that were mentioned:
America before it was a country, why the people decided to fight for their freedom, and how a flag was needed after the American Revolution.

Betsy Ross and why people think she made the first flag.

Different flags the colonists used until 06/14/1777 when a decision was made to use only one flag with 13 red and white stripes plus 13 white stars. But Congress didn't say where everything had to go on the flag so some people made the stripes vertical, some horizontal. Some had a small area for the stripes and a large area for the stars.

The War of 1812 and Francis Scott Key.

In 1818, Congress declared how the flag would officially look.

The Civil War and the Confederate flag.

Different places the flag is flown.

[Kira Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read and told about the history of the American flag. The pictures were bright and colorful and it also had fun facts listed on the side of the page. In the book they showed pictures of different flags that colonies had, some with vertical stripes and stars going in a circle. They also pin-pointed places in America that had famous American flags. I thought this book related to social studies perfectly and students would enjoy and activity of creating their own version of the American flag. This book would be great for the younger elementary grade.

[Sara Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an informative book about the history of the American flag. It begins by telling about why we needed a flag and a story about who came up with the idea of what the flag should look like. It goes on to explain what the stars and stripes represent and also speaks of the civil war. The book ends by telling of how there is even an American flag on the moon!
I really liked this book.
This would be good to have in a classroom when talking about the American flag or about how American became a country unit.

[Linda Branich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Penguin Level 3 Transitional Reader, guided reading level M book, that covers the entire history of the American flag. It is a great book for Flag Day on June 14.

Filled with interesting facts, such as a 500 lb. flag flown on the George Washington Bridge every July 4, that people urged Lincoln to remove 11 stars from the flag during the Civil War, that there is an American flag on the moon, children will love learning about our flag.

[Nevada Libert · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book. i learned alot in this book.