Victory or Death!: Stories of the American Revolution

by Doreen Rappaport, Joan C. Verniero, Greg Call (Illustrator)

What was it like for George Washington and his troops as they crossed the Delaware River in a ferocious snowstorm late in the evening of Christmas Day 1776? How did sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington rally her father's militia to battle the British? What did Peter Brown do as cannon fire exploded all about him during the Battle of Bunker Hill? How did James Armistead, a slave in Virginia, spy for Lafayette and the Americans during the Revolution and win his freedom?

These are only some of the people you will read about in "Victory or Death! "Stories of the American Revolution. Doreen Rappaport and Joan Verniero vividly transport readers to the years of the American Revolution through the actions of real people -- some famous and others not yet known. These stories provide inspiring and riveting glimpses into the lives of people who took part in the fight for independence -- on the battlefield and off.

Preparing for war : The soldier with the pen : Peter Brown --
The oath : Francis Salvador --
"Yours, Portia" : Abigail Adams --
The decision : George Washington --
Tarnation Sybil! : Sybil Ludington --
A question of justice : Grace Growden Galloway --
The spy : James Armistead --
The recruit : Robert Shurtliff

Genres: History, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2003

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

[Holly Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories told from the perspective of slightly less primary revolutionary war characters such as "The Spy: James Armistead" illuminate various aspects of the war in language and form that struggling readers might find tangible.

[Alyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5 because it isn't the book's fault that it skewed a bit younger than I'd expected; see https://www.eatreadandbemommy.com/202... for details.