The Boston Coffee Party

by Doreen Rappaport, Emily Arnold McCully

During the Revolutionary War, times are hard in colonial Boston. Greedy Merchant Thomas is overcharging for sugar. Then he locks up all the coffee so he can overcharge for that too! Young Sarah Homans wants to teach him a lesson. Merchant Thomas is about to attend a party he won't soon forget.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Picture Books, 1st Grade

63 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Doreen Rappaport has written many books of fiction and nonfiction for young readers, specializing in thoroughly researched multicultural history, historical fiction, retellings of folktales and myths, and stories of those she calls the "not-yet-celebrated." Among her recent books is Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, which received a Caldecott Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award for illustration. Doreen Rappaport divides her time between New York City and a rural village in upstate New York.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age group: primary grades
Intended audience: grades 2-4

Characters: Emma and Sarah, two sisters; Mrs. Homans (Mama), their mother; Mr. Homans (Papa), who is not present but referenced significantly; Merchants Smith, Forbes, and Thomas; Mrs. Arnold; Aunt Harriet; Mrs. Smith; other ladies

Setting: Boston, Massachusetts; 1770s

Summary: Emma and Sarah are two young girls who experience first-hand the injustice of the economics taking place during the Revolutionary War era. When all of the merchants in town run out of sugar, Emma and Sarah are forced to turn to Merchant Thomas, who quotes them an exorbitant price but then sells the sugar to another customer for even more. When the women of the town discover that Merchant Thomas is hoarding coffee with the intention of overpricing it once the other merchants run out, they band together to host a "party" inspired by the Boston Tea Party. Rather than throwing the coffee in the harbor, however, the women dump Merchant Thomas' barrels of beans into the streets, then scoop it up in their own pans and cups and take it home with them.

Curriculum ties: Revolutionary War; taxation; Boston Tea Party; history of coffee and tea in America; injustice; government; people's rights; the Constitution; protesting

Personal Response: The Boston Coffee Party delivers a wealth of pertinent historical information to the young reader: the pictures depict the clothing, streets, and general lifestyle of the time period; the events are based on true incidents. Additionally, the struggles the characters experience are accurate to the time and are portrayed through young girls that primary grade students can connect to. The whole story starts off with the girls trying to make jam, which is something simple but also something that children both know about and like. The book is written at a level that makes it accessible to the intended age range. The ending, however, is controversial; it could prompt valuable classroom discussions, or it could confuse students about the outcome of the Boston Tea Party. While this book could accompany a Social Studies or History unit, it should not stand alone as a representation of the historical event it is based on.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a real problem with this one. It's an easy reader that glorifies looting. Whereas the organizers of the Boston Tea Party strictly prohibited participants from stealing tea for themselves, here we have a bunch of women who are unhappy with a coffee-hoarding merchant kidnapping the man, looting his warehouse, and making off with the goods. At no point do we get any discussion of why this might be bad, and the looters never seem to consider any other options. They wanted something really badly; the "villain" would not supply them with it; they took it by force. And we are talking about coffee. The writing and the illustrations are good, however, so they raise the rating by one star.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is exciting to find an early chapter book on American women's history! The author's note at the end includes the passage from Abigail Adams' letter that inspired the story. Yes, women were active participants in boycotting, rioting, making homespun cloth, and sewing thousands of shirts for the Continental soldiers. (Rappaport silently transplanted the Philadelphia Ladies' Association to Boston for the purposes of this story; she even preserves my favorite detail of that historic action: how the woman who made each shirt "signed" it with her name).

[DPM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awkward how they got the keys!

[Sharmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fun book for 4th graders who are learning about the American Revolution. It has all the required information but when you read it, you feel like you are having a conversation with someone. The pictures and dialogue make this a fun read for students. They will learn the required information minus the boredom :)

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a true story the took place during the Revolutionary War. Ellie devoured this book.

[Kristie Hinckley · Rating 2 out of 5]

More readable.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. Found on a school bookshelf, I picked this one up thinking I might learn something new. I did learn that this story is based on a true incident that I had never heard of before. This book does not do it justice. There is no discussion of the incident, no true historical context, and no reflection about the events. The writing is horrendous. I would not want this book in the hands of students. If I was going to teach this particular event in history to students, I would choose a different resource, or create my own. Sorry, but this book is 🗑️🚮

[Trulee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very helpful book in understanding history. They kids didn't really like it either.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on a true story. A group of women working to support their husbands and sons fighting in the American Revolution shows a greedy merchant what they think of his tactics when he tries to exploit his customers during hard times. Taken from a letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams. A pretty strange story...especially for an easy reader...

[Lindsay Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: The story is set in colonial Boston during the Revolutionary War. There is a greedy merchant who is overcharging for sugar and locks up all of the coffee in town so that he can overcharge for that too. A young girl decides to teach him a lesson by having a party to convince the greedy guy to give them some coffee.

Class: This book would be really good to introduce the revolutionary war with and it portrays what life would be like then, which is hard to imagine as a 1st grader. This book would help aid them in their understanding of this.