And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

by Jean Fritz, Margot Tomes (Illustrator)

A true American story for young readers by the Newbery-Honor winning author!

Everyone knows about Paul Revere's midnight ride. But not everyone knows the harrowing details and narrow escapes that occurred along the way. This timeless and witty book highlights little-known facts about patriot Paul Revere.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Picture Books, American Revolution

48 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1973

About the author

Jean Guttery Fritz was an American children's writer best known for American biography and history. She won the Children's Legacy Literature Award for her career contribution to American children's literature in 1986. She turned 100 in November 2015 and died in May 2017 at the age of 101.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This month, while the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge has been focusing on nonfiction, I decided to finally sit down and read a stack of the late Jean Fritz's books about the history of the United States. In total, I read 8 titles:

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1973)
Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1974)
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1975)
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1976)
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1976)
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? illustrated by Tomie dePaola (1977)
Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1980)
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution illustrated by Tomie dePaola (1987)

All of these except the last one are biographies of key figures in early America. In each biography, Fritz focuses on a representative quirk of each individual she profiles, which serves as a unifying thread for the important events of that person's life. For John Hancock, whose signature looms so large on the declaration of independence, this is his desire for attention and the ostentatious ways he went about trying to get it. For Sam Adams, it is his refusal to learn to ride a horse, for Columbus, his terrible sense of direction and tendency to stumble upon good fortune, and for King George, his blind paternalism toward the colonists, even when they have made very clear their disdain for him. In the last book, Shh! We're Writing the Constitution, Fritz tells the story of the difficulties and compromises that occurred among different historical figures as the U.S. Constitution slowly took shape.


In both types of books, Fritz focuses heavily not just on historical events, but on the personalities of the key figures who contributed to the outcomes of these events. Fritz does not simply idolize these men for their greatness; instead she shows both how they were ordinary (stubborn, foolish, insufferable, laughable, quirky, selfish, etc.) and extraordinary. No one is treated as all good or all bad, but instead they are portrayed as very human. For a reader like me who reads books mainly for their characters, I found this approach refreshing and endearing. Whereas I struggle to focus on lengthy informational texts that try to drill details into my memory, the "characters" in each of these books were fascinating to me. As I read in the evenings, I kept saying to my husband, "Hey did you know...?" and "I never knew that..."


None of these books is enough on its own to convey all the details of the discovery of America, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, or the drafting of the Constitution, but every single one of them provides context for understanding those events on a more personal and emotional level. The straightforward facts which are included alongside the biographical details are made more memorable by Fritz's engaging and humorous writing style, and everything she writes about comes to life in a way that school textbooks never could.They would make wonderful read-alouds for elementary kids who are studying colonial America, but they are just as entertaining as independent reads for older readers who want a refresher.


Also wonderful are the illustrations for each volume. There are three illustrators for these books: Margot Tomes, Trina Schart Hyman, and Tomie dePaola. Though all three artists' styles suit the mood and content of the books, my personal favorite is Hyman. Her pictures have the most detail, and in my opinion, the most personality. Tomes is a close second - I especially like the way she draws children - but found that I associated dePaola too much with other books and other genres to feel like he was a good fit for this subject matter. Still, I think the designer for these books did a great job of keeping a consistent look to the whole series that places the reader in a particular frame of mind regardless of who drew the pictures.

Now that I have read all of these books, I understand why they were so popular in my school library during childhood and why I hear so much about them in homeschooling circles. I plan to use them with my kids when we study U.S. history and I hope they will learn to love history (as I never did as a child) by observing how much fun Fritz clearly had writing about it.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple, some-what conversing narrative about the life of Paul Revere. Fun details about his life included.

Planning a trip to Boston? We just visited and saw several historical sites mentioned in the book: watch my reel!

Ages: 5 - 10

Content Considerations: the word d*mn is used.

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[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fritz has created a cottage industry for herself by writing historical books in story form. All the ones I have read are interesting enough to engage children while remaining historically accurate (or so I assume) and informative. Use this one in conjunction with the famous poem, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.

[Leah Angstman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a kids' book that I found in the Little Free Library, and being that I'm always interested in being reminded of the whitewashed history we were taught as children, I was excited to dig in. And it's ... pretty folkloric, mythologized, and whitewashed -- surprise, surprise. Obviously, no one is going to write in a children's book that Paul Revere was a drug addict and a drunkard, but this book makes it seem like he actually finished his ride to completion, or that, at the very least, he consciously decided not to finish it himself. William Dawes is literally a footnote in the index, and Samuel Prescott -- the only rider who actually finished the ride, and then some, making it all the way up to Stowe and Acton to warn that the British were coming, and then actually partaking in the Battle of Lexington -- is not even mentioned, not even a footnote. So, the book is 1973, and maybe they didn't know what we know now, but be careful in letting your kids read this one. I love the myth of Paul Revere as much as the next Revolution-obsessed historian and as much as I love any of our steadfast American myths and what they mean to history's narratives, but this book is more myth and legend than fact.

I did enjoy, however, the listed aspects of the rest of his life, including all the items that he made and all the tinkering that he did with inventions and silversmithing, like the church bells that still grace New England towers. His failures are whitewashed, however, and he had quite a few, including being an instigator of the propaganda of the completely-unmentioned Boston Massacre (and a loudmouth, in general) and being a buffoon in the Maine retreat that got him court-martialed, which this author actually does mention in the footnotes in the index in a completely "aww, shucks, don't believe a word of it" sort of way that is disappointing. If you think kids can't handle a truth, then don't include it, fine, but don't whitewash it to fit your narrative. That's never okay.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember having to read And Then What Happened Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz when I was in elementary school. It was one of a number of books we had to read when we were learning about Revere and his contemporaries. While the book did teach me a great deal about the life of Revere I found it's saccharine cheerfulness to be unsettling especially at times when the book is covering the number of deaths in the revere family (especially those of Revere's young siblings, many of whom died as children or infants).

Now as an adult going back and rereading this book I found the disjoint between the serious subject matter and the almost comic book style of art unnerving. History books can be interesting to children without having them always completely upbeat. Paul Revere was an important historical figure but he is not a superhero!

[Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: a curse of condemnation is used.

[Marissa Sansone]

Title: And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
Author: Jean Fritz
Illustrator: Margot Tomes
Genre: 3-5 Biography
Theme(s): United States, History, Massachusetts
Opening line/sentence:
In 1735 there were in Boston 42 streets, 36 lanes, 22 alleys, 1,000 brick homes, 2,000 wooden houses, 12 churches, 4 schools, 418 horses (at the last count), and so many dogs that a law was passed prohibiting people from having dogs that were more than 10 inches high.
Brief Book Summary: This book describes the infamous ride of Paul Revere. Although many people know the most famous parts of the story, this book describes some of the lesser-known details of Paul’s life and ride.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: CLCD
Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature)
The story of the life and famous ride of Paul Revere may seem just more dry history to many children, but this author’s approach keeps readers turning the pages to see what happens next. Among the facts, readers will find many fascinating stories. The details of Revere s silversmith business include the making of a silver collar for a man’s pet squirrel. Revere was a very resourceful man and found many ways to support his growing family, including the whittling of false teeth from hippopotamus tusks. Sometimes Revere was forgetful, and he often made mistakes; nonetheless, he served to warn his countrymen of the enemy’s approach and, for this, he has been immortalized. While students may think that the country’s early heroes were perfect, Fritz gives the reader a healthy dose of reality. This book takes a good-natured and humorous look at some of his foibles; and, yet, shows how Paul Revere persevered--a fitting lesson to go along with the history
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: PSU Libraries
Dean Schneider
Gr. 2-5. As much fun and as lively as on the day it was published, this is one of several books Fritz wrote about the American Revolution and its colorful characters. As with all of the fine informational works in this bibliography, the text and illustrations work closely together for an overall effect larger than the parts. Reading her books aloud-just for the fun of it-is a wonderful way to teach history.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The first review is more in depth than the second. I like how it mentions that this book gives a “dose of reality” to what really happened in history. Both of these reviews are positive. The second review explains that this is a great way to teach a subject that many see and think of as dry and not interesting.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pictures in this book give a nice break to the text. They enhance what the words are saying in an effective way. The plot is easy to follow, and the words are not too hard for the targeted age group.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I would use this book in a 4th grade classroom probably. I would review biographies first, and then begin reading this book with my students. My lesson plan would be for the students to create their own biography on someone famous. Unlike my K-2 biography lesson plan, I would have the children research a person to do this autobiography on.

[Ryan Rainey · Rating 3 out of 5]

"And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?" by Jean Fritz was a very good book. This book described the life of Paul Revere. It explained Paul Reveres child hood and family. Then the book stated Paul Reveres working life and all of the jobs that he partaked in. We were even told about how Paul Revere made his historical ride warning fellow citizens that the red coats were coming.

This book presented very factual information. The factual information presented was the about Paul Reveres midnight ride warning citizens that the red coats were coming. Also the information about the Sons of Libertay breaking the crates of English tea was stated in this book. I think that this book was very appealing to kids. There were many illustrations that went along with the text. Some of the pictures were even in color. The pictures made the text very easy to understand. The information presented in this book was presented in a very oragnized way. The book started out with Paul Reveres childhood and ended with Paul Revere as a grandfather. I think that this authors style was very clear. The writting was very simple and didn't use very huge hard to understand text. I think the author generated enthusiasm for the topic by how showing how Paul Revere was always moving and making the reader ponder about what he was going to do next.

I thought that this book was very good. I like how the book presented text in little sections letting students obtain a break from page to page. The readers are not overwhelmed with all the text presented. One thing that struck me about this book was how well the pictures went along with the text. You can almost read this book by the pictures with out the text. I would use "And Then What Happened? Paul Revere?" in my class to help introduce a section on the Revolutionary War. Paul Revere played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War and is a part or American history. I could relate this book to my life because I am always moving and working much like Paul Revere.

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Biography
2. Paul Revere is known for his riding up and down the upper east coast of the United States spreading news or warnings in opposition of the English. This book goes beyond his famous rides and talks about his family life and what he did out of job as an express rider.
3. A. Age appropriate
B. “The Americans lost a totally of 93 men at Lexington and later at Concord. The English lost 273” (Fritz, 1973, p. 47). These were the statistics of the battles that started the Revolutionary War. The writing style of this book seems appropriate for 4th to 6th grade. How does it handle what some may say is a grim topic? This book does so with much humor and lightheartedness with the narrator speaking to the reader at times. The narrator is personable and even gives thinking questions.
C. The book adds humor to bring a more a casual take on a serious topic. When Paul Revere heard that the French and Indians were attacking the border of the colonies, he readied himself to join the defense at Forst William Henry (p. 11). What he found was not what he expected. “Paul spent the summer sitting around, cleaning his rifle and polishing his sword. And swatting flies” (p. 12).

The narrator often uses the second person to “talk” to the reader. For example, “You would think that with all Paul Revere did, he would make mistakes” (p. 14). The narrator also asks the reader questions that allow the reader to predict what will happen before turning the page. “Paul Revere had started out for his Big Ride without his spurs. What could be done?” (p. 28).

4. This is an excellent book to be used within a language arts class to teach predictability. Teachers could also be paired up with the famous poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It could also be used in a Social Studies class to talk about the Boston Tea party or the Revolutionary War.

[Catherine Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography

This is the biography of Paul Revere, and it tells about his life from his birth until he was an old man. It is very detailed, explaining how his life was before, after, and during the Revolutionary War. It describes his younger years, his marriage and family life and the jobs that he had in order to support his family. It also tells about his famous ride, including the details of things that did not go so well. For example, Paul Revere forgot his spurs at the beginning of his ride and had to send his dog back to get them. This book also gives information about the jobs that Paul Revere held after the war. I thought it was particularly interesting that he made church bells, and some of those bells still ring in New England today.

The illustrations were okay, but I think they could have been better. Even though this isn't a picture book so the illustrations aren't really meant to tell the story, I feel like they could have been more detailed to give readers clues about what was happening. I also would have liked them to be more realistic, because these events really did happen so I think it would help readers if they could see more realistic images of the story.

Overall, this book was pretty good. I liked the way the story was written because it was interesting even though it was mostly facts. The illustrations were a little disappointing to me. I would have been happier if they were more realistic and interesting. I would use this book with fourth and fifth grade students when talking about the Revolutionary War or important figures in American History.

[Evette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Biography
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
Summary: Most people know of Paul Revere because of his famous “ the British are coming” warning. However, this book delves into the background of his life making it interesting to young readers who often find history to be boring. It tells of his early life as a child, jobs he help, his marriage and children and even about a secret club that he was a member of.
a) Area for comment: Accuracy
Critique:
b) The strength of this title is its accuracy. Information in a non-fiction (biography) must be accurate, and this book presents true information to children in a way that they will find it interesting. The book helps children relate to Paul Revere by presenting him as a real person who started out just as any other normal child did. The reader is presented with his famous speech, but we also learn that he was the father of 16 loving children.
c) The book opens with the accurate date of Paul Revere’s birthday, January 1, 1735 (p.5). We also see on (p. 7) that his father died when he was 15 which is the time when Paul took over his father’s business as a silversmith. Additionally, farther along within the story, the reader learns of the famous December 16, 1773 night: the night of the Boston Tea Party. The author presents the facts about Paul Revere’s life in fun and interesting manner for children to enjoy learning about history.

Curriculum connection: Easily, this book may be used in history classes to provide a fun and more vivid depiction of one of America’s most famous historical figures.

[Stacey Borror · Rating 5 out of 5]

LIBS 642 Bookshelf - (Kimmel)
Genre - Biography

Summary:
This story tells the tale of Paul Revere’s extraordinary ride during the American Revolution and the near escapes that he encountered. You also learn about the different skills and jobs that Paul Revere had to support him and his family. Find out interesting details about Paul Revere that usually aren’t learned.

A) Content
B) This story is full of details of Paul Revere that are often overlooked or not learned. Fritz is able to provide the reader with an overall view of the man, Paul Revere, by using humor and through a humanistic side.
C) There are many details about Revere’s life that are provided to help the reader understand this man better. Also they help in the telling of his tale and his adventure.
For example, on page 14 you learn that he made false teeth out of whittling hippopotamus tusk. On page 18-19 you learn that he became a leader of the Sons of Liberty and was involved in the dumping of the tea at the Boston Harbor. He also forgot his spurs before he rushed off to warn his compatriots that the British were coming. He was lucky because his dog followed him. On page 30 it tells how he wrote a note to his wife and tied it to his dog’s neck and his dog went home. His dog then came back with his spurs.

Curriculum Connection:
Let students choose one of the jobs/skills of Paul Revere’s and research on the Internet about that trade. Write a report. Afterwards let students share with the class.
Create a timeline of the Paul Revere’s major accomplishments.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Critique- Junior Book/Biography

This is a story about the life of Paul Revere. It starts from his childhood, to his important ride to Lexington at the start of the American Revolution, and follows him into his old age.

a. Accuracy
b. Accuracy is an important element in biography. This is what separates fiction and non-fiction. In the case of this story the author has taken simple facts about Paul Revere and presented them in a way that young readers can easily follow and learn about this important American. The story also tries to be entertaining to keep the readers attention. This can be challenging to do with non-fiction and biographies since the material can sometimes be a little dry. However, the author provides additional information that she was not able to include in the context of her story about Paul Revere.
c. On page 16, the author talks about Paul Revere and how he had a page in his Day Book for doodling, but then goes on to discuss the important changes that were effecting Paul’s life around this time and how he became involved in some important events in American history. This provides a way for students to relate to the character, but also learn about significant factors in his life and in our country’s history.

I think this book is appropriate for readers in grades 3-6. It would be a great addition to a lesson on important Americans or the American Revolution.

[Mary Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography by Jean Fritz was a good read. It describes events in Paul Revere's life that lead up to the night he road from Lexington to concord to warn the arrival of the Red Coats. There is not an overwhelming amount of facts within the book, however it includes enough to understand Paul Revere and his life.
Jean Fritz has a very unique way of describing the patriot Paul Reveres life. The patriot who is responsible for the famous ride during the revolutionary war. Children would find his life interesting, especially including the details prior to the ride. Readers would believe that the character is an authentic human being. Informing the reader of events in his life prior to his famous ride help provide a realistic feel. All the information is authentic, and accurate in reference to Paul Reveres life. He presents information in a fun way. Rather than history books that bore readers and list facts, he tells the story of his life. The author include events that the reader will find interesting, and want to hear about. He kept the reader on their toes.

I would bring this book into my classroom. I think children would appreciate the presentation of historical facts and Paul Revere. The style is entertaining, rather then listing facts, it makes the topic interesting. I would use this book to catch my students attention and make them excited before I begin a unit on the revolutionary war.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter took this book out of the library to read as part of the requirements for the "Birth of Our Nation" Junior Girl Scout council's own badge from the Eastern Massachusetts council. I was originally a bit surprised that a book at this level would have been chosen for 4th through 6th graders (at the time the program was designed) - from the outside, the book seems aimed at a much younger age level.

As my daughter read, she was laughing throughout the book. As she often laughs for reasons that I cannot discern, I was then intrigued as to what was so funny about the book and picked it up to read for myself.

What I found was a completely age and grade appropriate biography of Paul Revere, filled with cute pencil drawings. There was a lot more going on in his lifetime than just riding to warn that the British were coming and whether it was by land or by sea. I had no idea that he fathered 16 children nor the sheer number of trades and activities that he pursued.

As far as what was so funny, I have no idea but I'm glad she enjoyed the book and is retaining the information.

[Logan Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
While the book was very informational on the life of Paul Revere, I personally was not a fan though. The book goes very in depth on his life and some of his accomplishes, but there was also a lot unnecessary information that is just used as a filler. I was also not a huge fan of the artwork just because they were very plain, simple, and the drawings were just not proportional. Overall, I thought this book was rather boring and would not retain an elementary schoolers' attention.

Purpose/Use in Classroom:
This book would be used in a social studies unit that would cover the revolutionary war and the life of Paul Revere. This book would probably be best if read aloud because a teacher could use the open ended questions included in the book and see if their students can predict what happens next. One literary element, that would be great to teach on would be characterization since they do a very thorough job at showing how Paul Revere progressed from childhood all the way to adulthood. The only conventions that are useful are the authors notes in the back which go into further detail on his life

[Sarah Landwehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

"And Then What happened, Paul Revere?" by Jean Fritz and illustrated by Margot Tomes is a picture book autobiography that details the life of Paul Revere. The book details, not only Revere's life as a blacksmith before the night of his famous ride from Lexington to Concorde, but the situation in Boston before the revolutionary war. Then, after the war, it discusses both Revere's situation and the state of the city once more. This biography includes just the right amount of information to make one feel that they have an adequate understanding of Revere's life, but does not provide too much that the reader gets bored. Therefore, I think that third, fourth, and fifth graders can enjoy this book. The simple pictures with minimal colors do not impress the reader, but they do make the book less intimidating because every page includes an illustration. Nevertheless, this book makes an excellent addition to revolutionary war history lessons and details one man's experience in the context of the larger American Revolution.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this auto-biography about Paul Revere's midnight right, it tells his story from a 3rd person point of view. It includes many facts about Paul's job as messenger and about the night the British came. I thought it was a good book for a 3rd or 4th grade read aloud because it had easy vocabulary but didn't go into many details. I think it could have been more challenging as far as content, but it seems it would be a great introduction to Paul Revere. The main reason I would recommend this class for a read aloud in class is because it is an example of an auto-biography that isn't in the typical format. When most people think about biographies/auto-biographies, they assume its just a list of facts; this book is nice because it tells a story and keeps readers (especially younger ones) interested. It also has illustrations to help children picture the story and comprehend what is going on if there is stuff in the book that children aren't familiar with. The illustrations also help English Language Learners understand the book if they don't comprehend all of the words.

[Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean Fritz. And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?. (1973)
As the name would imply, this book is about Paul Revere, an important figure in early United States revolutionary history. This book is non-fiction and although it is intended for about a 4th through 8th grader reader, I actually enjoyed it as an adult as well. The book takes us through several phases of the life of Paul Revere, from later childhood into adulthood, family, jobs, and his many exploits in the American Revolution. The book gives us some solid history, but also includes some fun facts throughout, like the fact that Revere was a church bell-ringer, or that he supplemented his income by being a dentist, carving false teeth out of Hippopotamus tusks. The illustrations are better on some pages than others, but all help to visualize some aspect of the written words on the page. This book would be great for supplemental reading in 5th grade history, or for a short book report on an American historical figure.

[Zach Naegele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Paul Revere. He was born the first day of the year in the town of Boston. When Paul was 15 his father died, and he took over the silversmithing business. To make extra money, he took a job ringing the bells at Christ Church. When war came, Paul went to fight the French and Indians at Fort William Henry on Lake George, but he never had to fight. Paul returned to Boston, married Sarah Orne, and had six living children. When his wife died, Paul married Rachel Walker and had five more living children. Paul became a leader of the Sons of Liberty, a secret club that opposed the English. With this group he participated in the Boston Tea Party. On April 18th, Paul made his famous ride across the Charles River and warned the citizens the British were coming. He rode many messages to important people to deliver news of the British occupation. Into old age Paul told his stories to all who asked. He died in 1818 at the age of 83.

[Dorinda Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grades 3-6 Jean Fritz has an amazing way of writing history facts that makes it entertaining for young readers. The biography of Paul Revere and his famous rides are expertly detailed in a story that is both amusing and colorful, with factual information and an appendix of additional notes from the author. The story is told from the timeline of Paul Revere's parents to his grandchildren. The setting is Boston and the many jobs that Paul had over his lifetime to support his large and growing family. By the end of the book, Paul had 19 grandchildren and numerous, uncounted, great-grandchildren. Margot Tomes is the pen and ink illustrator and the illustrations depict small events and scenes. The vocabulary and writing is true to form for an average higher 3rd grade to lower 6th grade reader. This book would make an excellent read for students learning to use biographies for writing and pulling facts from text.
Accelerated Reader Level 5.3

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my yearly organization of the classroom, I tackled the bookshelves this week. There is a rather sizable collection of books that have not been entered into the system nor tagged with the genre information. This morning I collected the titles and ISBN of those books so I could get to work. This is one of those books.

We are learning about the American Revolution presently and I thought this might be a good read aloud given we just finished our read aloud book. I read this on my break.

This is a good biography of Paul Revere. It explains his big ride in a manner where I learned some new things as well as in a manner that children will be able to enjoy it.

Paul Revere was involved in many activities. In addition to his big ride, Revere was also present at Lexington Green when the skirmish commenced. He plated the dome on the Massachusetts statehouse and printed money for the colonists. On top of all that, he had a slew of children!

I think this is a good read.

[Karen Doornbos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was just alright. I have heard a lot about the Jean Fritz books and was excited to read it; however, I think the overall look of the book made me less intersted. There were pictures to supplement the text, which I liked as a teacher of struggling readers; yet, I found them a bit boring. It made the book seem old and outdated, which I think would date away from students' interest in the story.

When just looking at the story I think it was pretty well done. I could see using this book to supplement an American Revolution unit. It could be good for the reading teacher to use with the Social Studies teacher. I could also see using this in a genre study of biographies.

I wish there was some type of headings, chapters, titles, etc. Not having these components takes away from the genre of informational, as I work with students on using these parts as guiders.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually review short/picture books here, but this one by Jean Fritz is meant to represent ALL of her American history books, including ones about Sam Adams, Ben Franklin, King George III, Christopher Columbus, etc. We've been very impressed by them. Some are longer than others, some hold the kids' (6 and 4) interest better, but I'm always surprised at Fritz's knack for including details that delight and interest children. And best of all, she's a good writer! I highly recommend these books, illustrated by various artists, including Tomie dePaola and Margot Tomes, among others, as a great supplement to American History studies.

[Sharne' Cherry]

1. Junior book Biography
2. This biography explores the details of Paul Revere's famous horseback ride during the American Revolution.
3.a. Appeal
b. The author of this book presents factual information in a way kids will be interested.
c. As children learn about Paul Revere, they are also entertained because she uses child appeal to communicate the story.
4. This book can obviously be used to provide a creative twist of Paul Revere. Students can relate this book to what they learn about the American Revolution.

[J.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually get to read this once a year while I teach fifth graders, as it is a story that is included in the fifth grade reading anthology textbook (basal). It is a great children's story that is both very entertaining and surprisingly accurate to history. We learn about Paul Revere the Midnight Rider, but also Paul Revere the silversmith, dentist, spy, courier, Son of Liberty, and father of sixteen children. A great story about one of our busiest and most influential American patriots, and a perfect read for any young person wishing to know more about the Revolution.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this biography aloud to my children. It is recommended for ages 8-11, but even my 4 year-old enjoyed it.

Fritz presents factual information in such a way that it is entertaining and fun! We enjoyed learning more about Revere's involvement with the Sons of Liberty and, of course, all the details surrounding his famous ride to Lexington.

We loved this biography, and we plan to read more of Fritz's biographical series! This book makes a great complement to your American history studies!

[Mr. Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little more straightforward than I had thought, but still fun and entertaining. Also educational, don't forget that. I read it to my son while he was drawing Pokemon monsters and he was having a good time multi-tasking. Of course the part he remembered the most had to do with Paul's dog fetching the spurs. On a side note, having to explain spurs and what you use them for to a 6 year old really made me look like a cruel s.o.b. " you put them on your feet and jab them into the side of a horse?!?"

[Kelliec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this sweet book packed with insightful information on Paul Revere. Everytime I read it with one of my growing children, I remember I tidbit about this amazing founding father of our great nation that I had forgotten. Reading this book last week has spurred me on to finally planning that family trip to Boston. It's time to walk the streets of Paul Revere, Sam Adams and the Boston Patriots.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Jean Fritz. We enjoyed learning about Revere, not just his famous ride, but his family and all the things he did. He had some great character traits we discussed - he worked hard, even if bad things happened he kept going, he took care of his family instead of relying on charity, etc.

We had many great discussion while reading this. I think it took us 4 or 5 days because we wanted to talk about it instead of just plow through it.

Highly recommended.