American Adventures: Thomas

From School Library Journal Grade 4-6-This first installment in a new series tells the story of Thomas Bowden, a 10-year-old living in the wilderness of northeastern Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War. His father has gone off to fight with General Washington, leaving the boy to look after his mother, sister, and baby brother. After the Tories burn their home, the Bowdens make their way to the Forty Fort for safety. There, Thomas and Eben, another young patriot, embark on a dangerous adventure to spy on the British. They are caught and eventually escape, but not in time to save their troops from ambush. After the battle, the Bowden family decides to try and reach Philadelphia; facing dangers from the war and from nature, they make their way across rugged mountains. The descriptions of snakes, bears, and other perils are vivid and readers will feel as though they are traveling alongside Thomas. The characters are solid, but really don't change much within the story. Pryor does a superb job of weaving real events into the narrative and includes brief historical notes at the back of the book. Kristiana Gregory's The Winter of Red Snow (Scholastic, 1996) is another fictionalized account of real incidents during the Revolutionary War, told through a young girl's diary. Libraries will want to have both books for a nice balance of viewpoints.