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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 973.3341 AMM | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | Q J 973.3341 AMM | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The odds were against George Washington as he marched the defeated Continental army toward an old ironworks known as Valley Forge. After losing two important battles, the untrained and poorly equipped soldiers now faced winter. With no quarters, little food, and few supplies, how could they survive? Yet over the freezing winter of 1777-78, the Continental army transformed itself from a ragtag outfit into a professional army. Valley Forge tells how inspiration, determination, and a genius for organizing enabled Washington, his talented staff, and his courageous soldiers to overcome extreme hardships and remake the army.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Featuring large, dramatic paintings, this book presents a clear look at the events at Valley Forge. An introduction sets the scene, mentioning only one cause for the Revolutionary War: taxation without representation. Next, a time line notes important war dates and deals specifically with Valley Forge, even giving the temperature on selected days. Two-page sections cover the American occupation of the area from September 1777 to June 1778. The left-hand side contains text, while masterful impressionist oil paintings appear opposite. Most of the book is devoted to the harsh living conditions and coping mechanisms adopted by the American troops. A sample entry, "January 1778: The Army," discusses the number of men, the average age of the soldiers, and their ethnic and occupational diversity. The corresponding illustration shows a determined African-American soldier. Sidebars discuss important personalities of the period and highlight specific events at Valley Forge. Although much of this information is available within broader works on the Revolution, this slim volume with its engaging artwork helps revive a legendary period in American history and present it to children who might be intimidated by longer books. Louise Peacock's Crossing the Delaware (Atheneum, 1998), which recounts the Battle of Trenton from several viewpoints and is also beautifully illustrated, is the perfect companion volume.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Moody full-scale oil paintings placed on the right-hand pages of this brief picture book show the misery of soldiers encamped at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778. While the pictures do a good job of capturing specific moments, the choppy, dauntingly dense text doesn't provide readers with a complete account. Relevant sidebars appear occasionally. Timeline. Bib. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Noting that the Continental Army's winter at Valley Forge has become "a saga wrapped in myth and legend," Ammon uses a mix of primary and secondary sources to separate fact from fiction. In topical passages, between accounts of Washington's appointment as commander-in-chief and the army's June 1778 march to the battle of Monmouth, the author chronicles Washington's effective style of leadership, introduces Lafayette and Von Steuben, and describes how the ragged, ill-supplied troops survived disease, privation, and dreadful weather to emerge as a cohesive, trained fighting force. He includes a snatch of song, highlights the soldiers' ethnic and cultural diversity, and even mentions camp followers. But the value of his account is not enhanced by the illustrations; instead of period images, modern views of the site, or even a map or two, Farnsworth's full-page paintings offer generic, idealized, heroically posed figures, usually in static compositions, that provide more of a patriotic backdrop than a sense of time or place. This could supplement, but not replace, Richard Conrad Stein's Valley Forge (1985), or Libby Hughes's more detailed Valley Forge (1998). (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-6. From the writer and illustrator of Conestoga Wagons0 (2000), this large-format book presents a pivotal time in the Revolutionary War: the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. The stage is set with an introduction to George Washington and the war as well as a time line. In the two-page sections that follow, the text appears on the left, illustrated by facing full-page artwork. These solid oil paintings effectively portray the soldiers in action and in reflection. Many books have noted the hardships endured by the army at Valley Forge, but Ammon does a good job of giving readers the historical background and context as well as the sort of vivid, concrete details that make the facts memorable. He doesn't just list the sicknesses that plagued the army; he notes that with no showers and little soap, the soldiers groomed their hair by sprinkling it with flour, which attracted disease-carrying lice. Pair this with David Adler's book George Washington0 , reviewed above. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2004 Booklist
