#22 The Town that Fooled the British

Title: The Town that Fooled the British

Author: Lisa Papp

Illustrator: Robert Papp

Publishing Company: Sleeping Bear Press

Copyright Date: 2011

# of Pages: 30

Genre/Category: Historical Fiction

            I chose this book because I really liked the way the cover looked. It is a story about a boy named Henry, and it tells how he helped save the town of St. Michaels during the war of 1812. When the British sail their ships near enough to attack the town, Henry’s father goes to fight as part of the militia. Henry is dying to help, but he is told to stay with his mother and sister. Henry’s mother looks at their lanterns and states that she wishes Henry’s father had them with him. Henry immediately runs off towards his father’s camp with the lanterns. When he gets to the camp it is pouring rain, and Henry comes up with the idea of putting the lanterns in the trees. With nothing to aim at but the lanterns, the British miss the town entirely. Henry learns that it does not take a giant to defeat a giant.

            The illustrations in this book are so realistic that I thought they were photographs. There are some lines though that makes me believe that the illustrations were completed using oil and acrylic paints. The illustrations really pop of the page, and the characters have a lighter line around them that make them almost look like they are glowing. I really like the way Robert Pap uses perspective in this book. On one of my favorite pages, Henry is standing in the grass with his mother and sister. The grass looks like it is growing on the page, and that Henry, his mom, and his sister are actually standing in it.

            This book is appropriate for children ages 8-11. Anyone wanting to use this book would definitely have to point out some of the vocabulary words that are used in this book. A teacher could do an entire lesson with words from this book. These words include things such as militia, schooner, canteen, and cellar. This book talks about a battle during the War of 1812, so teachers could use this book to talk about this war. Teachers could also discuss with students what life was like in 1812 based on what they see in the illustrations, or teachers could discuss where the town of St. Michaels is located and find it on a map. This book has not won any awards, but it is still a wonderful work of literature.