Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The 4th of July Story
Illustrator: Marie Nonnast
Nonfiction
For ages 5 to 9
Simon and Schuster, 1995 ISBN: 978-0689718762
Often, on the Fourth of July, children ask their grownups what all the fuss is about. Why do we have a national holiday on this day and why do we fire off fireworks? Within the pages of this excellent book children will read the story of how the United States of America came to be an independent country which could govern itself, decide its own laws, and where people could live together in peace, equal under the eyes of the law. They will come to understand what an exciting and significant time it was; a time when the people living in the original thirteen colonies had to begin working together for a common cause; and a time when they could become part of something that was important and meaningful not just for themselves but for people living all over the world.
The author has written this book in a style which brings the events she is describing to life. She gives her characters feelings and thoughts which they share with us, helping us to understand what it must have been like to stand on a town green to listen to the Declaration of Independence being read aloud. She helps us see what the events of the summer of 1776 meant to the average man and to appreciate that the events changed the lives of all kinds of people.
Folkloric style paintings in bright colors beautifully compliment the text.
