The Flag Maker
Kindergarten-Grade 2-A fictionalized story of a historical event. During the War of 1812, the American army commissioned a local widow, flag maker Mary Pickersgill, to create an extravagantly large flag to be flown over Fort McHenry near Baltimore's harbor; the flag still exists and now rests at the Smithsonian. By relating events from the point of view of 12-year-old Caroline Pickersgill, the action becomes more immediate to youngsters. According to letters of the time, quoted in the end material, the woman was helped by her daughter and perhaps others (though the assistance of Caroline's grandmother, cousins, and a servant and slave is undocumented). The flag, which took six weeks to complete, was 30 feet by 42, weighed 80 pounds, had stripes 2 feet wide, and stars measuring 2 feet from point to point. Whether it flew over the fort during the bombardment that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner" is a matter of debate among scholars; the author's note suggests that, in fact, a smaller, less expensive storm flag may have been used. This slender story seems oddly incomplete in this telling; it is unclear if the British even continued their invasion. Capable if wispy illustrations in a folk-art vein (although, surely, young girls wore stockings with their shoes in those days) offer panoramas of the harbor and Baltimore. This book should be complemented by more academic materials in a school setting.-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public SchoolsCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.