Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
Grade 3–5—The stories of 22 "Revolutionary Grandmothers" take center stage in this well-illustrated volume. A few of the names are familiar—Phillis Wheatley, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Deborah Sampson—but as the author establishes, there are many women and girls whose large and small contributions to the cause of independence have been largely ignored. Prudence Wright and Sarah Shattuck guarded their village when the men were fighting at Concord and Lexington, and they captured a British spy. After her husband was killed in battle, Margaret Corbin fired his cannon until she was shot, making her the first American woman to receive a military pension. Whether the women were disguising themselves as men in order to be soldiers, raising money for suffering soldiers, sewing and knitting for the troops, or participating in protests or a boycott of British goods, their actions were significant. Faulkner's ink-and-watercolor illustrations are exuberant, often amusing, and filled with crosshatching and dialogue balloons. The spreads are busy and information-packed, and readers will be both engaged by and educated about this critical period.—Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.