I Survived The American Revolution, 1776

"The 15th in Lauren Tarshis’ meticulously researched series is, like its predecessors, a clever marriage of history and character. The title is a spoiler: Each book follows the thrilling (terrifying) path of a young person encountering an historical event, from Pompeii to 9/11. In this one, a boy named Nate wanders into the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. It’s filled with the kinds of detail that will pleasantly surprise adults and transfix middle-graders who have grown up bopping to Hamilton. (My 6-year-old found answers to lyrics that had been vexing him – “Mom, what’s a bayonet?”) Tarshis’ treatment of the heroes of the Revolution and their relationship to slavery – the country’s original sin – is smart and straightforward and a great way to take the political conversation of the moment, into the personal."