Spies of the American Revolution: An Interactive Espionage Adventure

by Elizabeth Raum

Everyone has a secret. But in the war between the colonies and the king, keeping a secret is a dangerous thing. The first American spies belonged to secret societies and rebel organizations. The British collect information against these spies. Tension is mounting. Will *Spy on the British in Boston at the start of the war? *Gather information about George Washington for the British? *Balance the dangerous life of a double agent? You Choose offers multiple perspectives on history, supporting Common Core reading standards and providing readers a front-row seat to the past.

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

As a child, I loved writing reports. For me, doing research has always been a kind of treasure hunt. My treasures are the facts that create pictures of past worlds and faraway places. I've put those facts into nearly 100 biographies, histories, and science books for young readers. I've also written two picture books and several interactive adventures that place you, the reader, inside the story. I hope that all my books lead you to imagine yourself in some intriguing place among fascinating people. Every book should take readers on new adventures in this big, beautiful world of ours.

Happy travels!

Author website: www.elizabethraumbooks.com

Reviews

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book that my 9 year old daughter read in the You Choose Interactive History Adventure (the first was the Titanic). It is such a fun way to learn about history. I love that the endings are not sugar coated, and sometimes you do in fact die. She did not hesitate to say "yes" when I asked if she wanted to read this book for a second night in a row to find out our second fate (we died the first time so we were hoping to survive I think).

This one was fun for us too because I was able to pull up some of our favorite Hamilton songs to remind her about Lafayette (who appears in this story) and Hercules Mulligan who was a spy etc.

This would also be a great book for any adult fans of the tv show, Turn. The book has A LOT of the real life characters that the show is based on (Caleb Brewster, Abraham Woodhull, Anna Strong, etc.). It had been a long time since I watched that show, but the book brought it back to me a bit, and I was able to share some of that knowledge with my daughter as we read and simply tell her "These are all real people."

And I also loved that this particular book includes a whole path that you can take as a slave who becomes a spy, educating readers about the history of slavery and the role that slaves had during the American Revolution. Your initial choice is to be a slave for the Patriots, the Loyalists or a slave spying for the war.

I definitely plan to read all the books in this series with my daughter (the espionage series and the others as well).

These would be a great addition to any 4th-6th grade classroom too. Great for kids who are fans of the I Survived series but with the added fun of getting to make choices and choose the path you take in the story and it has real paintings and images of other documents which are always good for reluctant or younger readers too.

[Ms. Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you have what it takes to be a spy during the American Revolution? Many men, women, and even enslaved people risked their lives carrying information on both sides of the war. In this book, you get to play the part of some of these spies. Will you manage to make it through enemy lines, or will you be captured? Choose wisely!

A fantastic choice for history lovers or anyone who wants to read something where choices matter and you get to drive the narrative. Think of it kind of like a video game in book form.

[Lara Samuels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to some of the complexities of decisions people made during the American Revolution. I consider this a must purchase for school libraries and can't wait to share it with my students who will clamor to check this book out.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun way to teach kids about history by putting them into the story.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such interesting spy stories!