Revolting Revolutionaries, 1750s-1790s

America's Funny But True History #5

by Elizabeth Levy

This illustrated nonfiction series is a rollicking read through the fascinating, the funny, the absolutely awesome, and the positively wacky world of American history.

The American colonies have had enough of British governance, British taxes, even British tea. They've decided it's time to form a United States of America.
Sounds like war . . . Revolutionary War!
From battlefield to Congress, the fight is on to win independence for the 13 colonies. And movers and shakers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and the Adams family are leading the charge!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Humor

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Elizabeth Levy has been writing and publishing books for over thirty years and sometimes now she meets kids whose parents read her books when they were children! She has written over 80 books, a number that continues to surprise her, as it surprises her how long she's been at it.

Over the years they've printed lots of her books - over five million of them.

She loves to try writing different types of books - everything from funny mysteries to novels about kids who get in trouble to history.

One of the most pleasant surprises about writing is that she's been invited to travel all over the country and even the world speaking to children, teachers, and librarians. She's made some wonderful friendships and gotten lots of ideas for her books. One of the most special treats is that kids have drawn wonderful pictures of one of her favorite characters, Fletcher.

She grew up in Buffalo, New York, then went to Brown University, where she majored in history. When she graduated, she came to New York City and worked for ABC-TV and then for Senator Robert Kennedy. She has lived in New York ever since, and she loves it. She knows all the best places for salami, she has run four marathons, and she has completed many 5-borough bike tours, so she thinks she really knows this place well.

At certain times of the year, she can be found out at Shea Stadium watching her team, the New York Mets. She has always loved baseball.

Mostly she enjoys hanging out with her friends. They spend lots of time going to movies or plays, playing sports, having meals together.

When she's alone and not writing, she is usually reading. She reads mysteries a lot, always has, which is probably why many of her books are mysteries.

Reviews

[Kezia]

CONTENT language (1 or 2 a** words), mention of nudity (with a non-graphic illustration played for laughs), war/slavery/death themes, short story on cross dressing,

MESSAGES America has some cool things about it - the founding fathers weren't perfect though - they view presented on some more complex issues like corsets are pretty one sided and potentily simplistic I think.

WRITING Pretty simple. Some of it might have been more funny if I hadn't already known about some of the things they did different back in the day.

CONCLUSION I'm a bit old for this maybe, but it was engaging, and I enjoyed the format, and how much information they packed into this little book.

[Rykki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers a short snapshot of American history and the American Revolution. It talks about some of the major players in history and grazes over some of the major plot and battles. It's certainly not a book for going into great depth, but it's a good intro and definitely goes a long way to make history more interesting, even for someone who has spent a lot of time on American history like I have.

Unlike other history books, this one doesn't read like a text book and includes plenty of cute little comics to help make the moments in history memorable. It's also all told from the perspective of a cockroach, which puts an interesting spin on things.

I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author. I'm sure they'll be just as cute and informative.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young, definitely middle school. Might be ok for research paper.

[Mary L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun way to learn a little more about the history of our United States. I had to learn to read the whole section and then go back and read the sidebars.

[Ilib4kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

America's Funny But True History #5 ILL

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one who usually gets pretty confused and turned off by dates and dry facts, I give this book 5 stars for readability!