Paul Revere's Ride: The Landlord's Tale
Grade 2-8-Set in the Sudbury, MA, hostel of the author's "Tales of the Wayside Inn" fame, the poem is told as Longfellow wrote it-as a story being related to a group of 19th-century gentlemen gathered around a parlor fire 100 years after Revere's historic ride. Immediately, of course, the tale goes back in time to show details of the fateful night, and it does so beautifully. Santore's acrylic spreads, done primarily in somber blue, green, and brown tones, suggest the cover of night of the attempted secret attack, as well as the seriousness of the event itself. Each illustration conveys a tremendous sense of forward movement, not only from Revere's horse as he presses ever onward, but also from the body movements of the colonists as they rouse themselves for battle. The final painting showing Revere racing through clouds above a peaceful village with a large clock looming behind him gives the sense that this tale will continue to be told "through all our history, to the last." Less stylized than Jeffrey Thompson's version, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (National Geographic, 2000), and giving a more retrospective feel than that of Christopher Bing's you-are-there approach (Handprint, 2001), this edition should not replace either of those fine works. Rather, it should serve as a point of comparison, as a means of introducing young listeners to the many possibilities an artist faces when interpreting a classic piece of literature.Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RICopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.