Darlene's Book Nook: Book Review - The Winter at Valley Forge: Survival and Victory by James E. Knight

Friday, December 28, 2012

Book Review - The Winter at Valley Forge: Survival and Victory by James E. Knight

TITLE: The Winter at Valley Forge: Survival and Victory

SERIES: Adventures in Colonial America
AUTHOR: James E. Knight

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Inc.
PUBLICATION DATE: May 1982

FORMAT: Paperback, 32 pages
GENRE: Non-fiction, History
ISBN: 0439668883

Through dramatic depictions of significant moments in American history, this informative series gives young readers a vivid sense of Colonial American life -- its farms and villages, cities and ports, and the struggles and dreams of its inhabitants. Illustrated and indexed.

MY REVIEW:

I read this non-fiction book aloud to my children.

The book is told in epistolary fashion as a series of diary entries from December 1777 to May 1778. It relates the harsh conditions that the soldiers had to endure through the winter at Valley Forge. The soldiers suffered in the bitter cold and had little sustenance. Diseases, such as typhus and smallpox, were rampant in the unsanitary camp. Their clothes were threadbare, and many men had limbs amputated due to frostbite.

General Washington remained with his troops and gave them encouragement, and he suffered along with his men.

The black and white illustrations depicted the different types of tents that were constructed, tools and weapons that were used by the soldiers, how they dressed, a surgeon's instruments, and some important historical figures including Marquis de Lafayette, Count Pulaski, Baron De Kalb, and Baron von Steuben.

We really enjoyed this book and intend to read more of this series! It is a good addition to your American History studies.

MY RATING: