The Fourth of July Story

Great overview of the holiday. I read it with my children and pointed out that while our country was free from England it didn’t mean all people were free. The book did a good job explaining that not everyone shared the same ideas. There is some older language used such as the word “gay” meaning happy.

This was the perfect supplemental book for our 4th of July lessons this summer! We will be reading it every year.

This book is aptly named; it is indeed a story. The basic elements are true. Flourishes are added to make the story more accessible for a young child. Those flourishes work well. They add excitement and a sense of pride to the story.The book starts with the Liberty Bell ringing on the very first Fourth of July. It starts by addressing the reasons colonists wanted to be free from the British, and how the tension between England and the colonists mounted. Next we see Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence, followed by spreading the news about the Declaration of Independence, and then the victory of the Americans over the British. All of this is told by three time Newberry Honor Winner Alice Dalgliesh, a seasoned storyteller with a rich voice and a keen eye for the elements of history that must be told if the story is to impart the awe of the founding of a nation.Dalgliesh also adds scenes that might have happened. For example a rider with the Declaration of Independence in his saddle bag, stops to talk with a farmer of German ancestry about the Declaration. The farmer continues thinking about what it means to live in a free country as the rider moves on through the countryside.The major figures of independence and the revolution have a place in the story: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington. There's a nice anecdote about a very young Andrew Jackson reading the Declaration of Independence to his neighbors."The Fourth of July Story" was originally published two years before I was born. The illustrations look like the illustrations in many of the picture books, novels and textbooks I grew up with. They bring a simple view of the revolutionary time alive. The artist is not trying hard for reality. The last picture in the book makes this particularly clear. At the end of the war, Washington is reviewing his troops. Almost all the troops are wearing uniforms that look spotless. My understanding is that soldiers were lucky to have any part of their uniforms left after the war."The Fourth of July Story" is great choice for reading on the 4th of July, or anytime the subject of the American Revolution comes up with young children.

This is such a great book. Fast shipping and arrived quick

Great homeschool read for the 4th of July study

very well written with beautiful illustrations. I got this to read to my 9 and 11 year old girls, they enjoyed the nugget of VERY important history to prepare them for our upcoming Independence Day celebration and trip to Philadelphia. this was not just a story like some review said, this is accurate history told in a way children can understand and absorb. very well done!!

I have a 10 year old that is homeschooled. We read the book in one sitting and it was a perfect intro to the story of Independence. Though we did US History in grades 1-3 it was mostly just stories and biographies so we are just starting to dig deeper. Great intro to the Revolutionary War, Independence Day, writing the Declaration and how the word was spread to the 13 States. Classically beautiful illustrations. Great buy for elementary age children.

A great book for beginning understanding of our great country’s history for children.