4 1/2* An I CAN READ History Book by Benchley and Lobel

books:


	• Sam the Minuteman (An I Can Read Book, Level 3) Nathaniel Benchley HarperCollins, 1969 - 64 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Helpful

This book helps children understand what the Minutemen did for the British. It gives explainations that young children can understand. It also keeps their attention in wondering what is going to happen next. Characters are great. My son was able to visualize himself as being Sam. Wonderful book.

Sam The Minuteman

My eight-year old son has been reading Sam The Minuteman for several years. He loves the book so much. Although the reading doesn't challenge him anymore, he continues to check it out at our Public Library time and time again. I am glad that he has chosen a good wholesome book as one of his favorites. I have gotten this copy for him as a Christmas Gift. Hopefully, he will continue to enjoy it and pass it on to his children. Good reading material is getting increasingly more difficult to find for 4-6 graders.

for more information click here

4 1/2* An I CAN READ History Book by Benchley and Lobel

In plain language, and with just a bit of humor, prolific author Nathaniel Benchley (son of the great humorist Robert) and the equally experienced Arnold Lobel tell the story of the beginnings of the American Revolution, as seen through the eyes of a young boy. On the night of Paul Revere's famous ride, Sam accompanies his father to the village green. The pensive faces of the Minutemen and the monochrome and two-toned drawings of Lobel build tension as they await the possible arrival of the British. Finally, they hear the "TRAMP TRAMP TRAMP" of the British soldiers-the "lobsterbacks": "Over the hill and past the tavern came the soldiers! They came on and on and on." At close range, the British kill eight men (they're shown lying on the ground), and wound Sam's friend John in the leg. "'Sam!' John cried. `I'm hit.' John held his leg and fell down."

Soon after, the British attack again. Sam joins his father, despite his mother's loud protest. This time the Minutemen shoot back from behind trees and rocks. Benchley's dramatic narrative continues: "No one knew it then, but that day was the start of the American Revolution." Lobel shows the Minutemen's strain, the families' agony, and the fatigue of Sam and others.

Although a simply told story intended for young readers, Benchley and Lobel convey some of the key elements that went into the eventual American victory. Perhaps a little violent for the younger audiences, this is a realistic story with the look and feeling of an archetypal children's book.

for more information click here

Excellent Historical Fiction

My kids loved this book. This book can be read by any reading level, because of its historical perspective. It appears to most adequately suit 1st graders. With my older children I used it as a tool, along with George the Drummer Boy, to teach perspective in writing and history. These two books in combination do an excellent job. Sam the Minuteman is told from the perspective of an American boy. George the Drummer Boy is told from a British boy's perspective. This book has 61 pages, about 1/4 of the pages are full page illustrations. Both books portray the same event in history - the beginning of the American Revolution.

for more information click here

The Battle of Lexington from a boy's perspective

When young Sam grabs his gun to enter The Battle of Lexington alongside his father, young readers won't help but wonder: What's going to happen to him? This central, suspenseful question is just one of the mature thematic elements encountered in Sam the Minuteman, a lean, accurate, and surprisingly contemplative historical narrative of the American Revolution's opening days. Benchley slips in key events and characters (the anonymous first shot, British Redcoats, Captain Parker, guerilla warfare) that may encourage young history enthusiasts to uncover the other stories behind Sam. Most provocatively, Benchley takes Sam on a hell-bent ("I'll shoot [the British soldiers]--every one!") revenge quest against his protective mother's pleas. This sub-plot alone may spark deep dialogue usually encountered in higher-level books.

Lobel, of Frog and Toad lore, illustrates with a smoky yet highly detailed pencil, and inks in a sparse amount of red and shades of ocher. His limited media and autumn palette connote the era's harsh agrarian lifestyle, and the stark "do-or-die" mentality of the colonists. Benchley douses his prose with rich poetic metaphors, describing the warring British troops as "a bright river of red," and deadly bullets that "buzzed about like bees."

The ending is abrupt, but Benchley's intention is to extend the conversation beyond the book's pages; quite likely to George the Drummer Boy, the companion piece to this book written from a British boy's perspective during the revolution.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

"Get your gun!" Sam's father said. "The British soldiers are coming this way!" Sam's father was a Minuteman. Sam was ready in a minute.

Father and son rushed to the village green. Other Minutemen were already there. Through the long night they waited and waited. Then, at dawn, the soldiers came!

In this exciting I Can Read Book, Nathaniel Benchly recreates what it must have been like for a young boy to fight in the Battle of Lexington. Arnold Lobel's vivid pictures give a poignant reality to the famous battle that marked the beginning of the American Revolution.

for more information click here

hot or not? What's your opinion? Write a review and share your thoughts!

minuteman

Spiels Of A Minuteman
Sam the Minuteman (I Can Read Book 3)
Samuel Hale Ancestors and Heirs of a Minuteman -- The Ancestor ...
Preludes to U.S. Space-Launch Vehicle Technology: Goddard Rockets to ...
Through These Doors: The History of the University of Massachusetts ...

level

Cell-Level Healing: The Bridge from Soul to Cell
Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High ...
Leaders at All Levels: Deepening Your Talent Pool to Solve the ...
Glencoe Spanish ¡Buen viaje! Level 1, Student Edition (Glencoe ...
Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to ...

book

The Post-American World
When You Are Engulfed in Flames
Dungeons and Dragons Core Rulebook Gift Set, 4th Edition
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, ...
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)

search for books
sam the minuteman, book, can, level, minuteman, read

Impressum / about us