History Smashers: The American Revolution

History Smashers #5

by Kate Messner, Justin Greenwood (Illustrations)

Myths! Lies! Secrets! Uncover the hidden truth behind the Revolutionary War with beloved educator/author Kate Messner. The fun mix of sidebars, illustrations, photos, and graphic panels make this perfect for fans of I Survived! and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales .

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere rode through Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, shouting, "The British are coming!" to start the American Revolution. RIGHT?

WRONG! Paul Revere made it to Lexington, but before he could complete his mission, he was captured!

The truth is, dozens of Patriots rode around warning people about the Redcoats' plans that night. It was actually a man named Samuel Prescott who succeeded, alerting townspeople in Lexington and then moving on to Concord. But the Revolutionary War didn't officially start for more than a year after Prescott's ride. No joke.

Discover the nonfiction series that smashes everything you thought you knew about history. Don't miss History The Mayflower , Women's Right to Vote , Pearl Harbor , and Titanic .

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Historical, War

224 pages, Library Binding

First published July 20, 2021

About the author

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com

Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner

...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well first and foremost, I guess I should point out that as a Canadian I do not know all that much about the minutiae of American history (since we mostly covered Canadian, British and continental European history at school, with only a very tiny bit about American history and as such mostly regarding how the Americans had repeatedly and callously tried to invade and/or annex what is now Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries). Furthermore, as a German Canadian and knowing quite a lot about German history and that this of course also includes WWII, the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, Nazism as well as the ultra-nationalism and the mythologising of the past that was so rampant during the Third Reich (and how all of this post WWII has generally been analysed and discussed with necessary and required criticism and condemnation both abroad and also in Germany, well, at least by those historians who are legitimate and not extremist right-wing Fascists), the problematic fact that said ultra-nationalism and mythologising of the past equally seems to be a huge part of some if not much of American "popular" history and seemingly in particular regarding the American Revolution (both in the past and also often still in the present), this does tend to render me hugely uncomfortable with in particular how the latter is often shown and presented to and for children with rah-rah-rah America first and with an all-encompassing glorification of the USA without all that much if any criticism, and how especially everyone considered to be a patriot during the American Revolution could somehow do no wrong and should therefore be above and beyond any criticism.

And indeed, and wonderfully, what I have read in Kate Messner's fifth instalment of her History Smashers series, what I have textually encountered and learned about in The American Revolution has been interesting, educational, engagingly and sometimes even gently humorously penned, and that I certainly do find it delightfully refreshing how Messner with The American Revolution trounces and smashes many myths about the American Revolution although without actively criticising the patriots and the revolution in and of itself (except for pointing out and thankfully so that both the patriots and the British callously used, abused and totally denigrated Native Americans and African Americans) but instead showing with The American Revolution what is fact and what is fiction, what is mythology, and also proverbially clipping the wings of individuals like for example George Washington (and wonderfully toppling him off his pedestal, showing for example that Washington not only owned slaves and always justified slavery but also seemingly ripped the teeth out of his salves' mouthes to use for his own dentures, his own false teeth). So as one example of many in The American Revolution, the combination of Kate Messner's text and Justin Greenwood's illustrations (both his single image pictures and his images for the graphic novel sequences) show that the so-called Boston Massacre was in fact not a massacre at all but a case of British soldiers justifiably defending themselves from a rabidly armed and dangerous mob, with very few casualties (and that while it makes sense for patriots such as Samuel Adams calling what happened a massacre and claiming that the soldiers had shot into a peaceful and unarmed crowd in order to rile up Bostonians and advance wanting independence from England, that even today the mythology of the Boston Massacre is still often being shown as representing as reality is pretty problematic and rather intellectually questionable).

A very good both textual and visual reading (and learning) experience is The American Revolution (and although I personally find Greenwood's cartoons for the graphic novel sequences a bit exaggerated regarding their facial expressions and think that his icon featuring spies like Nathan Hale looks a bit like the Austrian folk singer Heino with his whitish hair and dark sunglasses, well, they do nicely reflect Messner's words and vice versa). And with the user friendly and expansive supplemental information (including great bibliographical material), for me and in my opinion the combination of what Kate Messner textually and Justin Greenwood illustratively provides is solidly four stars and that The American Revolution is also warmly and strongly recommended (but that The American Revolution might also end up being censored and banned for supposedly being anti-American with its smashing and exposing oh so many myths of the American Revolution).

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn’t very impressed with this. The author takes the Revisionist presentation too far. For example, she mentions John Adams defended the British soldiers but didn’t point out he did this at the detriment to his own reputation or that it involved an important principle that was established in American history: that the unpopular deserve top lawyers to represent them. The main problem I had were two fold: the publisher (I’m assuming) chose low quality paper so that details in the many paintings were blurred, often including points that the author was trying to make. And part two of this complaint is why does the author feel so strongly that paintings should be documentation? Most people understand that paintings are done for the person paying for the painting, yet that point was never mentioned. It got boring reading her whining about paintings not being exactly correct. Number two, and much more important: the book is boring! It’s written like a textbook! “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin is fascinating! I read it on the edge of my seat: what happens next?!?! We need more books kids will read! This really should have been written for an adult audience, not children. Children, unless they are required to read a book, don’t have much patience. Well, adults don’t either, but often more than kids! Finally, I’m circling back to my original comment. Too much revisionist history. This title will make kids completely disparage our history. Washington comes off terribly in this book: borderline incompetent and racist as hell. Was he racist? Yes, of course! He was a Southerner! Does that mean he shouldn’t be given respect as one of our important founding fathers? The comments about teeth is an example. Did he have teeth pulled from slaves for his own use? Likely but I’m not sure. The page from his accounts could have been many things. It was too blurred to be read easily. These teeth might have been pulled as the typical way of dealing with dental pain. They might not have been pulled for his own use. If they were, I think a corresponding page of accounts should show that the dentist installed them into George’s mouth at the same time. It might, I couldn’t read the page well enough to see if it does. I might try another in this series if it’s written by different people. I’m not recommending this.

[Lacey Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it’s HILARIOUSLY poetic (and honestly sad on a logical level) that all these adults bought this book, which is written on the premise that it smashes myths and misconceptions about history, and then get upset at the truth it tells and call it “revisionist.” The author does an exceptionally good job at stating facts and the truth, which can be very sordid and horrific, in a way that informs without overly influencing the reader. If history makes you feel badly, chances are you’re learning the truth.

If anything is revisionist, human beings are as we constantly try to improve how we treat each other, animals, and the planet. If you’re going to take issue with something that states objective, unobjectionable facts, then go read a fantasy story on American history because any responsible history book, for any age, is going to be hard to swallow. That’s part of growing on a logical and moral level and it’s what children’s books should be. Books are meant to make you uncomfortable and push you to think beyond your own experience.

I know quite a bit of American history and I find this author’s books right on the money. You can love your country in some ways while acknowledging its injustices. There aren’t many countries that are without sordid pasts. If you can’t handle the truth, non-fiction history is not your genre.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: When Americans celebrate with cookouts and fireworks on the Fourth of July, the story of Independence Day often begins and ends with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the document that declared the colonies would be free of British rule. But...

Premise/plot: In the newest History Smashers book, Messner is smashing the myths and lies surrounding the American Revolution. Her book provides context for understanding the conflicts and tensions that lasted decades between the colonies and Great Britain. One way she 'smashes' history is by deconstructing famous pieces of artwork that have celebrated the American Revolution. She often asks, what is wrong with this picture??? And she means it literally. Her approach is unapologetic. There are no exceptions to the rule--if the truth has been covered up--dressed up--becoming legendary and larger than life, then she's going to smash it and reevaluate it.

My thoughts: I definitely liked this one more than the one on the Mayflower. My favorites remain the ones on Pearl Harbor and Titanic.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertainingly-written book that goes through the Revolution from beginning to end. The only problem I had with it was due to the rendering of paintings and engravings. The author had a great idea to examine famous portrayals of historical events; the publisher printed them so poorly in the book that you have to Google them to get an idea of what the author is talking about. Otherwise an excellent book. Suggested age is 8-12, but I would say more like 10-14.

[kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping to be more impressed with this book, but if you’ve ever read an adult book on the American Revolution then you’d know that most of these “history smashers” are mostly minor quibbles. The cover is misleading, and she spends a good deal of time portraying the founders in the worst possible light. The primary sources she used are blurry in the book. And like another reviewer said, this book is just plain boring. It took me almost two months to even finish it. Would not recommend.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to be so impressed by this series. I especially love Kate’s focus on how “more than one thing can be true” (p. 188). She describes the major players of the Revolution as exactly who they were— both heroic and flawed human beings— rather than putting them on false pedestals. Absolutely, wholeheartedly recommended!

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Held my kids' attention all the way through. Gave them many things to think about instead of accepting history at face value

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drat, I was so hoping this would be great: along the lines of Steve Sheinkin's history trio or Nathan Hale's books, and it was almost within range before it veered off the track .
The idea of smashing misapprehensions and falsehoods about history is a great idea, as is pointing out all the different motivations for why the false histories were created or remain fixed in legend. There was no Molly Pitcher but there were many women who bravely assisted soldiers during battle or took over when their male relatives were injured. Rather than trying to figure out which one is most deserving of recognition someone in the past came up with one composite character to enshrine. Paul Revere's name fits poetic meter better than the name of the man who actually reached Concord, so he goes down in legend. (Likely doesn't hurt that he was and is a noted silversmith, so we have artifacts and info about him.) Probably not appealing to paint the death scene of a revered British General and show his actual, gaping facial wound, so we get a decorous hand over a bloody spot on a shirt. If you are trying to rally support for the colonists vis a vis the British troops, better to call the violence a massacre. All of this is worth knowing.
But there are two major flaws that make it hard for me to recommend this series and that preclude me putting it on summer reading. The paper quality is too low to support a major objective of the book - to show paintings/etchings and then critique the accuracy of the representation of historic events. If you can barely tell what the reproduced image is meant to show it's pretty pointless to read a discussion of the finer points of what people are represented as wearing in it. I do agree with another reviewer that to pretend paintings were, then or now, ever expected to be perceived as accurate is odd. We have a common phrase - artistic license - that embodies an understanding that the artists primary job is to create a compelling image not accurately represent history. The larger problem is a very present-ist attitude in which we hold people in the past to today's moral standards. Absolutely we should talk about the unmitigated evil of slavery and the contradiction of penning a declaration of independence while holding hundreds in bondage. However to criticize without comparing to what other countrys and individuals were up to at the time, does a grave disservice to establishing an understanding of history. I was particularly sorry that Messner didn't reference any of the really interesting scholarship found in the 2013 children's book Master George's People: George Washington, His Slaves, and His Revolutionary Transformation by Marfe Delano, published by National Geographic. Absolutely Washington took command of the continental army with a dismally low opinion of African American soldiers. Absolutely those soldiers' brave service changed his mind. Delano lays out the primary sources and we can read Washington's revised opinion. Does this make GW a paragon of virtue? No, but it is very different from Messner's allegation that the only reason Washington let Black soldiers serve was he needed warm bodies. Ditto the truly repellent and seemingly inaccurate allegation that Washington had teeth extracted from his enslaved workers to put in his own mouth. (This is in service of debunking the idea he had wooden teeth.) Turns out other historian's reading of the ledger indicate that it wasn't Washington who received the teeth but a visiting itinerant dentist and that it had been relatively common practice since the Middle Ages for the poor to sell teeth to dentists. Yes, deeply disturbing, but not unique to enslaved people and certainly not unique, or maybe even connected to GW's mouth. (It would seem possible that this could be definitively decided with DNA analysis of the Washington dentures we have.) There was a discouraging, persistent tone of derision about the founding fathers, as if all they cared about was being fancy and snobby. Was Franklin, who titled his yearly publication "Poor Richard's Almanac" and wrote one of the most searingly honest autobiographies of any political leader ever, really trying to pretend he came from wealth? All of this was very discouraging and hardly seems in the service of deeper or more accurate understanding.

[Christina Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book. While the facts are true, this book is slanted and seeks to find whatever it can to make white men the enemy. I hope Kate is giving the profits of this book to the native Americans and not continuing to reap the benefits of her horrible ancestors

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would be as good as the other ones, but it wasn't. This series is supposed to be revealing the truths, right?
Kate Messner made this book as fascinating as the others with the all of the details, but she had some false evidence against Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, along with a few other Founding Fathers. She claimed George Washington was racist, and that Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite, talking about freedom but not freeing his slaves. As I said in the notes I put in the book for the next reader of this specific copy, George Washington was not racist and Thomas Jefferson was not a hypocrite. Most people at the time inherited slaves, and there was no way to free slaves without going to jail or getting sued.
Now that I know her opinion on the Founding Fathers, I wonder how many other twisted truths are in her other books.
And Kate, Opinions are not facts. This book was not your best.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that discusses the truths and myths about the American Revolution.

This book gives so much information and it delivers it in fun and engaging ways. I appreciate that it even shares the whole story, even though it's not always flattering or wholesome. This book holds nothing back about all the misconceptions of this period of time.  It even gives detailed information about all the people who were taken advantage of during this time period, such as, slaves and native people. This book teaches kids that America was able to achieve something amazing during the American Revolution, but there was also much hypocrisy and inequality that was established during this time.

[Jennifer Willoughby · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about smashing myths that helps create new preconceived notions. I agree that children should be taught the nuance of history, but from my experience, a lot of them need a lot more support from a balanced source to grasp the full nuance. Otherwise, they become one-sided zealots, who only see the negativity in our history. I imagine a lot of elementary school students who read this book walk away only remembering the bad things about George Washington rather than any of the good things. There are several places in the book, but particularly in the George Washington takedown, where the author inserts her own questionable research and conjectures, she questions whether George Washington forced his own slaves to give them their teeth, but the evidence she provides is flawed. If she’s going to bust myths, she shouldn’t create more and should take a very careful view on conjecture like this. What she writes will be remembered by children , especially when it is highly critical, shocking, and salacious. I didn’t really notice a strong attempt to contextualize the negative aspects of the revolution and compare them to how other cultures of the time treated the poor and disenfranchised. Like many well intentioned historians who set out to upend established “truths,”this writer falls into the trap of presentism, which is when people judge the past with modern sensibilities.

[Julia Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to preview it as a selection for the gift shop at the museum I work in, and YES. This is best young readers book on history I have ever read. It is very challenging to find books for elementary-middle readers that have historical nuance and the willingness to address the hypocrisies of the "founding fathers." Messner does this with skill, tact, and emotional awareness; highlighting the myths of history while addressing why they exist and how their consequences affect people today. This is especially true in the last 30 pages in a section on the unfulfilled promises to indigenous and black people involved with the war, and the immense divide between George Washington the "father" and George Washington the enslaver. My historian-brain also loves the appendixes with public history, primary and secondary source lists. If you are a teacher/parent/librarian/museum educator this is a must.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Informational
4th-6th grade
This book was horrible! It was boring, first of all. It had too many different sections that it began to feel like a textbook. I found the organization to be confusing to follow. It attempts to present primary sources through pictures of those original documents, but the pictures are far too blurry to read. In another section it takes a stab at demolishing inaccuracies in famous paintings. Paintings are art and are not meant to be a completely accurate historical image. Paintings add and subtract things to tell their own story. However, worst of all is the revisionist history shoved into the book. I suppose this should have been obvious from the title "History Smashers." It trashes the founding fathers and doesn't even attempt to tell the truth about why the war happened. I think kids would be bored and confused by this book's layout and it doesn't present the truth anyways. This book is not worth reading.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent series. This is one of the ones that includes not only the bibliography, but further reading suggestions. And other back matter as usual. It is also one of the ones that includes "What's wrong with this picture?" sidebars to engage students in active learning & in developing the skill to critique sources.

And it was an engaging read. I loved that Benedict Arnold (still not a traitor) was given proper due.

And so were the efforts of Native and African Americans:

"Washington's rule against African Americans serving in battle didn't last long. Military leaders decided having soldiers was more important than hanging on to racist ideas about who should be a soldier."

"It was clear... that America's Black soldiers had been among the very best in the Continental Army."

And of course no matter which army of white men won, the Native peoples were doomed; it didn't matter whose side they fought on.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm learning stuff I didn't know, and I've read a LOT about the American Revolution. Stuff like the truth about Paul Revere, how much of our historical facts come from literary or artistic renderings long after the events took place, getting the two Adams more clearly understood, etc. It's Messner's style that makes it stick and points out the interesting bits for what they are; I cracked up multiple times and wanted to talk about these stories after I read them. This is for kids, but....LOVE IT! I want to read all of the History Smashers now!

"In the end, the white men who made up the Continental Congress decided they wanted quick support for their declaration more than they wanted to fight for equality and freedom for everyone."

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great non fiction history book about the American Revolution. I always love History Smashers series because Kate Messner writes middle grade history books about different topics in History and she writes the truth. Sometimes history books get it wrong and children today are not learning all the facts about different topics and most of the time they won't learn the truth until they are adults or in college. I think Kate Messner writes in a way where kids will understand the topic and have fun while reading it.

[Erin Ching · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about the American revolution that was (mostly) interesting to a middle grade kid who didn't know much about it.

I appreciate her balanced take on some of the famous heroes and "more than one thing can be true" - Benedict Arnold did some heroic acts for the colonists before he was a traitor; Washington was a military hero for the Continental army but also a slave owner; people can be complicated, and do both good and bad things in their life, and we tend to oversimplify in legacies.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually quite like the audiobook versions of this series because they're focused to dispelling myths around the American Revolution-- and in this case, really hitting hard that Revere was only ONE of the many that got the word out. Who took part in writing the Declaration of Independence. How the Indigenous tribes aligned with either British or American forces. And then a few pieces I had picked up from the biography by Sheinkin about the traitorous Benedict Arnold.

It's a cool series that shares awesome factoids that kids love to share.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Messner does it again! She has a talent for writing engaging and steady-paced history that mixes well with all the different genres within the book to keep the reader going. In this book, I got a kick out of the breaks for "Spy Alerts" and enjoyed learning about each spy. I feel this series is a must-have for anyone homeschooling, and we will be grabbing these when we start our homeschooling adventures.

[Jonna VanWienen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for many little known facts and smashing many things we were taught that just aren't true. Thoughtful descriptions of founding fathers. Should be required reading for 5th grade teachers! Kids will enjoy playing what is wrong with this picture and become curious about our country's past

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Messner brings readers through the build up to and the years of the American Revolution. She uses a combination of text styles to share information with middle grade readers to keep their interest. As with other books in this series, Messner addresses the actual history and identifies the myths that have been shared as history. Further resources are provided at the end of the book.

[Emily C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter is enjoying these books for some of her history subjects. The writing style is engaging and entertaining especially for a topic that normally wouldn’t interest her. The photographs of paintings are too blurry to be usable, unfortunately. We end up having to find the image in another source.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/14/2021 ~ Messner has given us a fabulous look at the American Revolutionary War, complete with spies, myths that need busting, and lots of action. The range of formats will make this appealing to elementary readers.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this one definitely showed the side of the war that wouldn’t make any American proud. I’m surprised at how much I didn’t know, because the “bad sides” of American leaders weren’t taught to me as a kid.

I think this will be a controversial addition to the series, but I, for one, loved it.

[Melissa Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about the American revolution . Filled with action packed writing and cartoonist comics, Kate messenger makes the subject fascinating. I learned a lot and I considered my self an expert. I hope she keeps writing more of this fun series

[Karen Kurth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book at the Corresponding Secretary Office / Store at the Daughters of the American Revolution Headquarters in Washington DC. Very quick read with a lot of information. It is on the Accelerated Reader list as well. Reading level 7.4 points3.0.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my kids, who have huge gaps in their US history knowledge. (This is what happens when American kids live abroad!) They mostly enjoyed it - pretty quick and painless, although I don’t think any of us retained many of the names and dates. But at least there’s the gist of it all.

[Jeanne]

This is my first in this series, and I would highly recommend for any upper elementary or middle school readers. It’s the perfect tone for that age, and encourages a healthy skepticism for a romanticized version of history.