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I am a big fan of this series of books. They are really good. I just picked up two of these books last week. I've read one and am in the middle of the second. They read just like the diary of a young girl around the ages 11-14. They are written at about a 4th to 6th grade reading level, yet I learned a lot from The Winter of Red Snow so I can't say that only students in grades 4th-6th should read them. Even high schoolers could learn from these books (though high schoolers might find them childish); they're great historical fiction. Reading historical fiction is an effective way to learn. It seems that much information from the stories is retained for years to come.
The Winter of Red Snow is a diary by a young girl named Abigail Jane Stewart who lived in Valley Forge during the winter that George Washington and his troops stayed there. This book tells what it was like for the soldiers and also for those civilians living in Valley Forge.
There are many incidents that illustrate the desperation of the times such as the soldiers stealing Abigail's family's fencing. Abigail visiting the troops with Martha Washington and seeing first hand how dreadful the conditions were. Women being drummed out of the army and lashed for trying to get soldiers to desert. This isn't a book to be read by someone looking for a "sunshine and roses" experience. It's a book that mixes the good in with the bad. And the winter spent at Valley Forge was not a bed of roses.
Many interesting customs were mentioned in the book. One I found particularly unique was how the folks cleaned the chimney. A rooster was dropped into the top of the chimney, and the wild flapping and fluttering of its wings did the cleaning. It greatly tired out the rooster, so they ate it for dinner. This in only one of the many customs; bounty coats and an ingenious way to churn butter are also included.
Historically, the book is accurate as far as I can tell. I was able to verify that Martha Washington did spend some time in Valley Forge that winter. Baron von Steuben really did drill the soldiers and curse (none are included in the text). George Washington did write letters asking for food for his troops. The British did spend their winter in Philadelphia. Many Americans sold their food to the British for gold while the American army starved. Overall, the book seems historically accurate, though I can't verify everything--such as Mrs. Washington praying with the soldiers she visited. The author consulted with the Valley Forge Historical Society, and the Martha Washington's cake recipe was provided by The Women's Committee of the Valley Forge Historical Society.
Also included is a historical note of seven pages which follows the diary. Following the historical note, which discusses the Revolutionary War, is an eight-page section containing drawings, a map, and reprints of one of Washington's letters along with other miscellaneous historical drawings.
In addition to the Winter of the Red Snow, there are 14 other books
in this series that cover many periods in United States history.
I feel good about recommending these books. They are published by
Scholastic and seem to be very much a quality endeavor. All of these
books are on my list of "to be bought." The books are listed below
in a table and may be purchased from Amazon.com. A Diary and Stationery
Set are also available. Click on the books that look good below,
and you'll be able to read more reviews written by folks that have read
the books! (You may want to bookmark this site before you leave here.)
My Name Is America Series
They've now come out with a boys' series of journals!
It's called My Name Is America. We've got a couple of them
and hope to buy a few more. Here's the titles that they've got out
as of the writing of this review. Just click on the titles.
The Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civil War Union Soldier
The Journal of Joshua Loper: A Black Cowboy
The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot
The Journal of Ben Uchida, Citizen 13559 Mirror Lake Internment Camp (1942)
The Journal of Sean Sullivan : A Transcontinental Railroad Worker: Nebraska and Points West, 1867
The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier
The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce: A Pilgrim Boy, Plimoth Plantation, 1620
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner
The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968
The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948
The Journal of Jedediah Barstow: An Emigrant On The Oregon Trail
The Journal of C. J. Jackson, a Dust Bowl Migrant, Oklahoma to California, 1935
The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds : The Donner Party Expedition, 1846
The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: A Chinese Miner, California, 1852
The Journal of Rufus Rowe: A Witness to the Battle of Fredricksburg
The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838
The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804
The Royal Diaries
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile
Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor
Isabel Elisabeth: The Princess Bride, Austria-Hungary, 1853
Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia, England, 1829
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914
Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, Southern China, A.D. 531
Kaiulani: The People's Princess, Hawaii, 1889
Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553
Kristina: The Girl King, Sweden, 1638
Jahanara: Princess of Princesses, India, 1627
Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts, 1653
Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595
Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595
Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136
Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts, 1653
Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595
Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595
Question: I'm thinking about using Dear America series as our History curriculum next year for my 9-year-old daughter. What do you think?
Answer: I'm not sure that they could actually *be the whole curriculum* for the year, but you could definitely use them as your basis. I'm guessing that's probably what you meant. You could put them in chronological order (or some other order) and then study the time frame that they're depicting. Like for the Irish Mill Girl (Mary Driscoll) you could study the Irish Potato Famine, the biology of potatoes and potato disease for science and possibly grow some potatoes, effects of starvation and famine for health, other events occuring in the U.S. at the time, the current president, how the Irish settled here in the U.S., immigration laws through the years, Ellis Island, discrimination of ethnic groups (Irish were strongly discrimated against), working in sweat shops, child labor laws, weaving with a loom, textiles and cloth, etc., etc. It's a neat idea that could be easily (well, it would take a little work!) developed further. Hey, you could even get (buy/make) a timeline and place the main character from each book in their proper place on the timeline and then discuss what else was happening on the world scene at the same time.
