Jacqueline Jules' narrative of how the thirteen colonies became one nation is told from the perspective of children in a school play. They cover the events as they occur including the Treaty of Paris, Articles of Confederation, Virginia Plan, two-house legislature, New Jersey Plan, Connecticut delegation, the house of representatives, the senate, executive, legislative, and judicial branches, constitution amendments, how documents become law, etc. The story includes conflicts states had and may have had with each other before uniting as one. The main text on each page describes what is happening while quote bubbles add and simplify what is happening. It's a fun and comprehendible take on this long and complicated process the United States underwent.
I really enjoyed this story of United or Die especially because I was curious how the author and illustrator would achieve telling a true process in simplistic terms so children would understand. This book could be used in a unit itself because although the process is described simpler than most, it still requires expanding on what happened and further explanation; it could be read over a week or two. I enjoyed the illustrations as well. They reminded me of the characters in "Hey Arnold!" and it's told in a comic book kind of way which makes it a story you could interact with. It's great to introduce this important event in our history and I'd recommend this book for 3rd grade and up because of the complexity of the events.
I liked this story a lot! I think it would be a simple and fun way to explain U.S. history to a younger group of kids!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun way to introduce all these topic of history. I know from experience that it hard to remember what each thing is, and this book would help give children an easy way to remember it. Instead of having a boring textbook describe the facts, you have a children's book that has a unique way of explaining our history. I can't wait to read this book.
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