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Girls Survive
Charlotte Spies for Justice: A Civil War Survival Story
Twelve-year-old Charlotte lives on a plantation in Richmond, Virginia, where the American Civil War is raging. All around her, citizens and the Confederate army are fighting to protect slavery -- the very thing Charlotte wishes would end. When she overhears the plantation owner conspiring against the Confederates, Charlotte knows she must join forces with her. Maybe together they can help the Union win the war and end slavery. Helping a spy is dangerous work, but Charlotte is willing to risk everything to fight for what is right -- justice for all people. Nonfiction material on the Civil War, a glossary, discussion questions, and writing prompts are also provided.
102 pages, Paperback
Published July 31, 2019
9 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Shannon Smith
39 books36 followersI was born and raised in Oakland, CA and now live in Davis, CA with my husband and two children. I love to read, write, listen to music, dance, act silly, and visit the coast. I've worked at elementary schools for over 25 years, and love spending my days with children. My books include: The Little Christmas Elf (2011), Treasure Hunt (2019), Ann Fights for Freedom: An Underground Railroad Survival Story (2019), Noelle at Sea: A Titanic Survival Story (2019), and Charlotte Spies for Justice: A Civil War Survival Story (2019). I have two new titles releasing in 2020! The first is my new series with Capstone titled The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane, releasing January 1st. The second is Sarah Journeys West: An Oregon Trail Survival Story, releasing February 1st.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 21, 2022
There was nothing new here for me. It's based on the story of Mary Elizabeth Bowser. Charlotte is Mary's fictional cousin. The story will be more interesting and exciting to those who don't know it. The author's note doesn't go into much detail about the history behind the story. There are better books out there for young readers about Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Elizabeth Bowser.
Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies
Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies
November 28, 2019
This was purchased for my 3rd graders. I wanted to bring more female protagonists into their reading lives. I think my students would find this story intriguing. The story is fast moving and leaves room for discussion. I like that the author included her rationale for writing about this particular topic and situation.
June 8, 2020
I enthusiastically recommend this short chapter book in the new Girls Survive historical fiction series for elementary readers. Charlotte Spies for Justice: A Civil War Survival Story is based on the true story of two extraordinary heroes during the Civil War: Elizabeth Van Lew, who ran an extensive Union spy ring in Richmond, Virginia, the capitol of the Confederacy, and Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a formerly enslaved woman who could have stayed free in the North but chose to risk her life and freedom to do what she could to bring down the Confederacy. And what she and Van Lew did was extraordinary: Bowser was a spy in the Confederate "White House" itself, and the intelligence that Van Lew's spy network was able to gather and deliver to Union General Benjamin Butler was considered to be vital to Union victory.
Into the true backdrop of this fascinating story, Smith introduces 12-year old Charlotte, a fictionalized cousin of Bowser's whose freedom from slavery Van Lew purchases. (In real life, Van Lew spent much of her inherited fortune quietly acquiring legal ownership of the loved ones and friends of the people enslaved by her father in order to grant them freedom.)
Charlotte soon finds herself in the thick of the secretive and dangerous work of the Van Lew spy ring, and, eager to do anything within her power to bring down the institution of slavery, Charlotte volunteers to join Van Lew's covert Union underground. Smith places her in historically accurate settings for the spy ring: smuggling information to Union prisoners in Libby prison, assisting with hiding escaped Union troops, and relaying crucial intelligence regarding a mission to save Union prisoners from being sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia.
At 112 pages including full page illustrations every 10 pages or so, this is a very short read. The publisher says that it is Grade 3-5 reading level, but my first grader can read it easily. Similarly, the publisher tags the interest level at grades 3-7, but in my experience younger readers who enjoy history will also be riveted by the story.
Historical notes, glossary, and a real photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew provide background on the true history of Bowser and Van Lew's heroism. The only negative note I will mention about the book regards the black and white illustrations: Charlotte herself is rendered so dark in the illustrations that she appears nearly completely black. The color illustration on the cover shows that the illustrator likely meant for her to have warm brown colored skin, and an adjustment to shading should have been made when changing the color images to B&W.
This book is an excellent purchase for all elementary libraries and is a must-have in Virginia classroom libraries, particularly in 4th or 5th grade Virginia Studies classrooms. I look forward to more by Nikki Shannon Smith in this series!
Into the true backdrop of this fascinating story, Smith introduces 12-year old Charlotte, a fictionalized cousin of Bowser's whose freedom from slavery Van Lew purchases. (In real life, Van Lew spent much of her inherited fortune quietly acquiring legal ownership of the loved ones and friends of the people enslaved by her father in order to grant them freedom.)
Charlotte soon finds herself in the thick of the secretive and dangerous work of the Van Lew spy ring, and, eager to do anything within her power to bring down the institution of slavery, Charlotte volunteers to join Van Lew's covert Union underground. Smith places her in historically accurate settings for the spy ring: smuggling information to Union prisoners in Libby prison, assisting with hiding escaped Union troops, and relaying crucial intelligence regarding a mission to save Union prisoners from being sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia.
At 112 pages including full page illustrations every 10 pages or so, this is a very short read. The publisher says that it is Grade 3-5 reading level, but my first grader can read it easily. Similarly, the publisher tags the interest level at grades 3-7, but in my experience younger readers who enjoy history will also be riveted by the story.
Historical notes, glossary, and a real photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew provide background on the true history of Bowser and Van Lew's heroism. The only negative note I will mention about the book regards the black and white illustrations: Charlotte herself is rendered so dark in the illustrations that she appears nearly completely black. The color illustration on the cover shows that the illustrator likely meant for her to have warm brown colored skin, and an adjustment to shading should have been made when changing the color images to B&W.
This book is an excellent purchase for all elementary libraries and is a must-have in Virginia classroom libraries, particularly in 4th or 5th grade Virginia Studies classrooms. I look forward to more by Nikki Shannon Smith in this series!
January 30, 2022
This installment of the Girls Survive series is very suspenseful, and there are lots of well-researched details related to the setting and what the main character would have experienced if she had really existed. I especially like how the author connected her fictional main character to real-life women spies from the Civil War, tying in this story with true events.
I would like to give this book four stars, but I'm giving it a lower rating for dangerous historical oversimplification. In most cases, it doesn't matter to water down history a little bit for kids, because you don't want to make it too difficult for them to understand, but this book's glowing portrayal of the Union as anti-slavery gives the Union and its leaders far too much credit. This kind of misrepresentation can make Black kids feel betrayed later, and can make white kids more vulnerable to seeing the Confederate cause in a sympathetic light, since they can discover how badly books from their childhood distorted the truth.
Ultimately, the Civil War was about slavery, but individual motivations for fighting varied, and the Union did not go to war to eradicate slavery. Instead, the Union went to war to preserve the nation after states seceded and joined the Confederacy. This book's portrayal of all Union soldiers as anti-slavery, and of the Civil War as a righteous crusade, is misguided. At first, I wanted to excuse this as the protagonist's limited and hopeful perspective, but the author's note did nothing to nuance this portrayal. There were many, many Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War as a a righteous crusade, but equating the Union to the abolitionist cause is misleading and untrue. Slavery was still legal in some Northern states, and some Union generals owned slaves.
This book is an exciting, educational glimpse into a major turning point in American history, and kids who like spy stories and historical fiction will enjoy this. However, I can't give it the glowing recommendation that I would like to because of the author's misleading representation of the past. I'm not sure if she was just trying to make history seem more welcoming to kids of color, or if she was writing based on her own lack of understanding, but painting the North and the South in such broad, sweeping, Good Guys vs. Bad Guys strokes is misleading and potentially damaging. I would encourage parents who are reading this with their kids to provide additional context and learn more about the war with them.
I would like to give this book four stars, but I'm giving it a lower rating for dangerous historical oversimplification. In most cases, it doesn't matter to water down history a little bit for kids, because you don't want to make it too difficult for them to understand, but this book's glowing portrayal of the Union as anti-slavery gives the Union and its leaders far too much credit. This kind of misrepresentation can make Black kids feel betrayed later, and can make white kids more vulnerable to seeing the Confederate cause in a sympathetic light, since they can discover how badly books from their childhood distorted the truth.
Ultimately, the Civil War was about slavery, but individual motivations for fighting varied, and the Union did not go to war to eradicate slavery. Instead, the Union went to war to preserve the nation after states seceded and joined the Confederacy. This book's portrayal of all Union soldiers as anti-slavery, and of the Civil War as a righteous crusade, is misguided. At first, I wanted to excuse this as the protagonist's limited and hopeful perspective, but the author's note did nothing to nuance this portrayal. There were many, many Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War as a a righteous crusade, but equating the Union to the abolitionist cause is misleading and untrue. Slavery was still legal in some Northern states, and some Union generals owned slaves.
This book is an exciting, educational glimpse into a major turning point in American history, and kids who like spy stories and historical fiction will enjoy this. However, I can't give it the glowing recommendation that I would like to because of the author's misleading representation of the past. I'm not sure if she was just trying to make history seem more welcoming to kids of color, or if she was writing based on her own lack of understanding, but painting the North and the South in such broad, sweeping, Good Guys vs. Bad Guys strokes is misleading and potentially damaging. I would encourage parents who are reading this with their kids to provide additional context and learn more about the war with them.
June 8, 2020
I enthusiastically recommend this short chapter book in the new Girls Survive historical fiction series for elementary readers. Charlotte Spies for Justice: A Civil War Survival Story is based on the true story of two extraordinary heroes during the Civil War: Elizabeth Van Lew, who ran an extensive Union spy ring in Richmond, Virginia, the capitol of the Confederacy, and Mary Elizabeth Bowser, a formerly enslaved woman who could have stayed free in the North but chose to risk her life and freedom to do what she could to bring down the Confederacy. And what she and Van Lew did was extraordinary: Bowser was a spy in the Confederate "White House" itself, and the intelligence that Van Lew's spy network was able to gather and deliver to Union General Benjamin Butler was considered to be vital to Union victory.
Into the true backdrop of this fascinating story, Smith introduces 12-year old Charlotte, a fictionalized cousin of Bowser's whose freedom from slavery Van Lew purchases. (In real life, Van Lew spent much of her inherited fortune quietly acquiring legal ownership of the loved ones and friends of the people enslaved by her father in order to grant them freedom.)
Charlotte soon finds herself in the thick of the secretive and dangerous work of the Van Lew spy ring, and, eager to do anything within her power to bring down the institution of slavery, Charlotte volunteers to join Van Lew's covert Union underground. Smith places her in historically accurate settings for the spy ring: smuggling information to Union prisoners in Libby prison, assisting with hiding escaped Union troops, and relaying crucial intelligence regarding a mission to save Union prisoners from being sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia.
At 112 pages including full page illustrations every 10 pages or so, this is a very short read. The publisher says that it is Grade 3-5 reading level, but my first grader can read it easily. Similarly, the publisher tags the interest level at grades 3-7, but in my experience younger readers who enjoy history will also be riveted by the story.
Historical notes, glossary, and a real photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew provide background on the true history of Bowser and Van Lew's heroism. The only negative note I will mention about the book regards the black and white illustrations: Charlotte herself is rendered so dark in the illustrations that she appears nearly completely black. The color illustration on the cover shows that the illustrator likely meant for her to have warm brown colored skin, and an adjustment to shading should have been made when changing the color images to B&W.
This book is an excellent purchase for all elementary libraries and is a must-have in Virginia classroom libraries, particularly in 4th or 5th grade Virginia Studies classrooms. I look forward to more by Nikki Shannon Smith in this series!
Into the true backdrop of this fascinating story, Smith introduces 12-year old Charlotte, a fictionalized cousin of Bowser's whose freedom from slavery Van Lew purchases. (In real life, Van Lew spent much of her inherited fortune quietly acquiring legal ownership of the loved ones and friends of the people enslaved by her father in order to grant them freedom.)
Charlotte soon finds herself in the thick of the secretive and dangerous work of the Van Lew spy ring, and, eager to do anything within her power to bring down the institution of slavery, Charlotte volunteers to join Van Lew's covert Union underground. Smith places her in historically accurate settings for the spy ring: smuggling information to Union prisoners in Libby prison, assisting with hiding escaped Union troops, and relaying crucial intelligence regarding a mission to save Union prisoners from being sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner of war camp in Georgia.
At 112 pages including full page illustrations every 10 pages or so, this is a very short read. The publisher says that it is Grade 3-5 reading level, but my first grader can read it easily. Similarly, the publisher tags the interest level at grades 3-7, but in my experience younger readers who enjoy history will also be riveted by the story.
Historical notes, glossary, and a real photograph of Elizabeth Van Lew provide background on the true history of Bowser and Van Lew's heroism. The only negative note I will mention about the book regards the black and white illustrations: Charlotte herself is rendered so dark in the illustrations that she appears nearly completely black. The color illustration on the cover shows that the illustrator likely meant for her to have warm brown colored skin, and an adjustment to shading should have been made when changing the color images to B&W.
This book is an excellent purchase for all elementary libraries and is a must-have in Virginia classroom libraries, particularly in 4th or 5th grade Virginia Studies classrooms. I look forward to more by Nikki Shannon Smith in this series!
January 18, 2021
Charlotte is a 12 year old former slave who Miss Van Lewis freed. Now Charlotte works for Miss Van Lewis at her estate in Richmond, Virginia. The Civil War is raging between the North and the South, and Miss Van Lewis is caught in between. She's in the heart of the South but very vocally supports abolition, and as Charlotte discovers, is helping feed information to a Union general. Can Charlotte help Miss Van Lewis help the North while keeping the Southerners clueless about what they are doing?
Nikki Shannon Smith has managed to tell an exciting, heavily historically based Civil War spy story that is very light on the violence. This is a great pick for more sensitive readers, or class read alouds that need to appeal to a broad audience. I like that readers get to learn about a real lady spy master who boldly stood up for abolition when it definitely wasn't popular, and she was so clever with her spy ring that she never got caught. It's also a nice, quick read perfect for reluctant readers. Highly recommended.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Deaths in the war are mentioned, and Charlotte knows if she gets caught spying it could be deadly, but no deaths on page. A dead body is carried out in front of Charlotte. The horrors of a prison camp are mildly described. The horrors of slavery are conveyed in tactful ways that communicate the seriousness and horribleness without many details at all. Charlotte is slapped by someone, but it is to protect her and she knows it.
Nikki Shannon Smith has managed to tell an exciting, heavily historically based Civil War spy story that is very light on the violence. This is a great pick for more sensitive readers, or class read alouds that need to appeal to a broad audience. I like that readers get to learn about a real lady spy master who boldly stood up for abolition when it definitely wasn't popular, and she was so clever with her spy ring that she never got caught. It's also a nice, quick read perfect for reluctant readers. Highly recommended.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Deaths in the war are mentioned, and Charlotte knows if she gets caught spying it could be deadly, but no deaths on page. A dead body is carried out in front of Charlotte. The horrors of a prison camp are mildly described. The horrors of slavery are conveyed in tactful ways that communicate the seriousness and horribleness without many details at all. Charlotte is slapped by someone, but it is to protect her and she knows it.
March 11, 2021
This book is about Charlotte who is a freed slave. She was freed by a real person named Elizabeth Van Lew. Ms. Van Lew was a rich person, but she didn’t own slaves. She was a spy for the Union army, but Charlotte had no idea. Ms. Van Lew kept it a secret from Charlotte and there were secret rooms Charlotte wasn’t allowed to go in. One day Charlotte listened through the door and overheard that Ms. Van Lew was a spy and so Charlotte became a spy too. She gets sent on missions where she has to act like she is a slave.
I liked this book. I liked reading about survival and how dangerous being a spy was. Charlotte was a great character because she was brave. Ms. Van Lew acted like she was crazy so people wouldn’t suspect she was a spy. She died a poor woman because she spent all her money supporting the Union and fighting slavery. Knowing Ms. Van Lew was a real person was crazy amazing. Mary was also a real person.
I liked the illustrations in the book.
I’d say kids who like survival should read this book, but don’t expect giant action scenes.
Review by Penny, age 8
I liked this book. I liked reading about survival and how dangerous being a spy was. Charlotte was a great character because she was brave. Ms. Van Lew acted like she was crazy so people wouldn’t suspect she was a spy. She died a poor woman because she spent all her money supporting the Union and fighting slavery. Knowing Ms. Van Lew was a real person was crazy amazing. Mary was also a real person.
I liked the illustrations in the book.
I’d say kids who like survival should read this book, but don’t expect giant action scenes.
Review by Penny, age 8
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2021
Things I liked:
a gentle introduction to the Civil War
cool spy techniques for sharing information
based on real people and their actions
Black and White people working together to change things for the better
Things I was less excited about:
Charlotte is a free person, but she still acts as a servant and there's no talk of her wages -- as an adult who has more context I can see the ways in which her situation is far improved from what a slave child might endure -- a clean and tidy cabin with a floor and windows and heat and furniture; protection rather than abuse from the white people who have direct power over her; regular food -- but she's still absolutely subject to the whims of her employer, with little explanation. She still seems to be hungry and cold on a regular basis, and she's still censured for defiance. Again, it makes sense in the context of the story that these things protect her from worse, but it troubles me as a reader. I guess that's what real history looks like -- often uncomfortable and hopefully troubling to the reader.
I really love this series -- in particular, I love what Nikki Shannon Smith is doing with it -- her stories keep centering Black children in history in a way that most other writers have failed to do. She's bringing visibility to the fact that not only have Black people been in this country since its founding, but they've also been active participants in most, if not all of the significant events. She backs up her fiction with really great spotlight nonfiction in the back matter, and she consistently involves lesser known historical figures in the narrative.
a gentle introduction to the Civil War
cool spy techniques for sharing information
based on real people and their actions
Black and White people working together to change things for the better
Things I was less excited about:
Charlotte is a free person, but she still acts as a servant and there's no talk of her wages -- as an adult who has more context I can see the ways in which her situation is far improved from what a slave child might endure -- a clean and tidy cabin with a floor and windows and heat and furniture; protection rather than abuse from the white people who have direct power over her; regular food -- but she's still absolutely subject to the whims of her employer, with little explanation. She still seems to be hungry and cold on a regular basis, and she's still censured for defiance. Again, it makes sense in the context of the story that these things protect her from worse, but it troubles me as a reader. I guess that's what real history looks like -- often uncomfortable and hopefully troubling to the reader.
I really love this series -- in particular, I love what Nikki Shannon Smith is doing with it -- her stories keep centering Black children in history in a way that most other writers have failed to do. She's bringing visibility to the fact that not only have Black people been in this country since its founding, but they've also been active participants in most, if not all of the significant events. She backs up her fiction with really great spotlight nonfiction in the back matter, and she consistently involves lesser known historical figures in the narrative.
November 20, 2024
Charlotte a former slave, who was granted freedom by Miss. Van Lew works as a house maid, but there are rooms she can’t go in and things Miss. Van Lew does that are strange. Then one day she overhears a conversation she shouldn’t have and she’s take on as a secret spy for the Union helping send secrets to help the soldiers.
Charlotte was adorable and became such a great spy, she knew how important everything she was doing was, and she wanted to protect the people that cared about her. But she knew the dangers and injustice of the situation, she was so brave and strong the whole time with all the scary things she was sent out to do each time.
This was an interesting story, I knew about the civil war and about the secrets and the underground to hide the soldiers but it was really interesting learning more about all their secrets and the ways they did everything. The author did a really great job sharing all the finer details of the situation, with how they passed the messages and where everyone that was part of their organisation were, I really enjoyed learning more about it.
Charlotte was adorable and became such a great spy, she knew how important everything she was doing was, and she wanted to protect the people that cared about her. But she knew the dangers and injustice of the situation, she was so brave and strong the whole time with all the scary things she was sent out to do each time.
This was an interesting story, I knew about the civil war and about the secrets and the underground to hide the soldiers but it was really interesting learning more about all their secrets and the ways they did everything. The author did a really great job sharing all the finer details of the situation, with how they passed the messages and where everyone that was part of their organisation were, I really enjoyed learning more about it.
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May 10, 2021Charlotte Spies for Justice: A Civil War Survival Story by Nikki Shannon Smith and Alessia Trunfio is a story based on the events of a girl trying to help the Union during the Civil War. When she overhears a plantation owner conspiring against the confederates, she decides to help and ally with the women. I think this is a great read. It teaches children about history while still being child-friendly. I think this book is great for ages 7-10. It has a lot of diversity and a view of what life was like in it.
August 24, 2019
Cute story! I liked the real life history notes that followed the book even more!
February 3, 2021
I wish this book could have been longer!!
June 14, 2021
Wonderful read aloud for 2nd/3rd grade!
December 2, 2021
Another aspect of history of which I knew nothing. I love learning from these books.
December 22, 2021
I feel like this book didn't have as much action as the last one. I think I would've liked this series better if I read it when I was younger.
March 5, 2022
Makes me want to look up information about Mary Bowser and Elizabeth Van Lew. These women were so important to the war effort, and I had never heard of them before!
September 3, 2022
Really well written for kids. Probably fourth grade or higher.
February 10, 2023
Very interesting
July 16, 2023
These books are so good!
December 28, 2023
3.5 stars
December 30, 2025
Spies and lady spymasters are cool.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews