Freedman, Russell Lafayette and the American Revolution

Freedman, Russell Lafayette and the American Revolution
Holiday House 2010 88p 24.95
978-0-8234-2182-4 all ages E-BN
This is a well written story of Lafayette, who joined George Washington during the Winter at Valley Forge.
This book is an enticing story of a young Frenchman who finds that he believes in the idea of liberty portrayed by the American colonies. The readers will gain an insight into the world of Lafayette when he came to America to fight a war and also persuade the French government to fund ships and troops for the Americans.
It also covers his return to France and his imprisonment. At this point readers will realize that many of our heroes did not have an easy life because glory isn’t everything.
.
In creating a format that intersperses text with visuals, the book has created a non-threatening approach for young readers. The format and text “are designed to fascinate as well as educate”. The inclusion of where to obtain more information, timeline, and an index make this a useful research tool.

The most outstanding part of this book for me was the exquisite selection of paintings and graphics utilized throughout the book to illustrate the accompanying text. The pictures credits are listed for others to locate if needed.

This book would also make an excellent coffee table book for a historian. This is a very well written book that will relate well to many young readers. It is recommended as a basic book for any school library. It would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries. It has been recommended for Books of Note. McNeil, Linda
U.S. History