HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION

Adler presents 12 heroes of the American Revolution in an attractive, if slight, volume. He selected his subjects “as examples of the many brave and diverse heroes of the Revolution.” Presented with such iconic heroes as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Paul Revere are Crispus Attucks, a former slave killed at the Boston Massacre; Deborah Sampson, whose epitaph reads “the female soldier”; Lydia Darragh, a spy; and Mary “Molly Pitcher” Hays, who served at the Battle of Monmouth. With no introduction to provide context, the one-page vignettes offer cardboard heroes at best. The dramatic, full-page watercolor illustrations provide the energy the text lacks. The bibliography is an odd assortment of sources—mostly older books for adults, with nothing pointing younger readers to the wealth of materials—including some of the author’s other works—on the subject for them. Useful only if matched with more informative sources, such as Doreen Rappaport and Joan Verniero’s recent Victory or Death! Stories of the American Revolution (p. 539). (contents, author’s notes, important dates, source notes, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)