Liberty or Death: The American Revolution, 1763-1783

The American Story #5

by Betsy Maestro, Giulio Maestro (Illustrator)

It began in Boston, with angry colonists objecting to the tyranny of a king who ruled from an ocean away. It was voiced by patriots such as Sam Adams and Patrick Henry and echoed by citizens from New England all the way to the Carolinas. It was fought by many -- colonists and patriots, Loyalists and slaves, Frontiersmen and Indians, British and French soldiers. Over more than ten years, sides were taken, guns drawn, lives lost. But through it all, one man -- a general from Virginia named George Washington -- held the young colonies together and led them to victory, beating almost impossible odds. History lovers Betsy and Giulio Maestro tell this true story of extraordinary times, incredible drama, and the birth of a new nation.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, War, Geography

64 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2005

About the author

Before beginning her career in children's books, Betsy Maestro was a teacher. Her first book with Giulio Maestro was A Wise Monkey Tale published in 1975, and since then they have collaborated on more than one hundred books. Their on-going American Story series began with the highly acclaimed The Discovery of the Americas and continues to help young readers understand and appreciate our nations history.

The Maestros live with two cats and a goldfish in a converted cow barn in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and tells about many battles and the people in important sieges and battles. It is a great resource for our LA. Read it in class if you want to ace everything.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of the American Revolution is told by author/illustrator team (and husband and wife) Betsy and Giulio Maestro in this sixth installment of their picture book series, The American Story. Opening just where the fourth volume, Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars: 1689-1763 left off, at the close of the French and Indian War, the book details the growing tension between Britain and its North American colonies over issues of taxation and representation, covering the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, the Tea Act (not named in the main narrative), Boston Tea Party, and the resultant punitive "Intolerable Acts." The resultant sympathy for Massachusetts in the rest of the colonies, and the growth of a colony-wide movement is also covered, before the book moves on to the beginning of the Revolution itself, at Lexington and Concord. What follows is a narrative of the major battles and events of the war, until the final victory at Yorktown, in 1781. The book closes with a Table of Dates; a collection of biographical snippets about the Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution; sections devoted to Blacks in the American Revolution, Women in the American Revolution and Native Americans and the American Revolution; a selection of facts and additional biographies, entitled More About the American Revolution; and in index...

Liberty or Death: The American Revolution, 1763-1783 is an outstanding history of the Revolution for young people, presenting a fairly detailed and coherent picture of the major events and movements of the war, and highlighting many of the major people involved. Unlike the previous installment of The American Story series, A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution , which really ought to have come after this one, chronologically speaking, and which was published long before the series existed, this one appears to have been published after the series came into being, and was always meant to be part of that series. The blurb on the back cover states that the series "introduces America's history to young readers in an appealing picture book format," and that "each volume contains an objective and balanced account of a segment of America's history and tells of both the glories and tragedies of our past." I think that this description is entirely true, and I am in agreement with its analysis of these books, particularly as it concerns the balanced picture they give of the events in question. As I have mentioned in reviews of earlier books in the series, I appreciate the fact that the Maestros don't occlude less-than-admirable aspects of our history, whether that be slavery or the treatment of Native Americans, but that those aspects aren't allowed to dominate the entire narrative, as one feels they might today. The statement in the blurb that "these books encourage young readers to see history as a continuum—connected events that together form a meaningful whole," is also one I agree with. In sum, this is an engaging history for young people, being both well told and well illustrated, and is one I would recommend as a basic text for this subject, when teaching children—both in a classroom and homeschool setting.

[Bookbag_Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Sun Never Shined On A Cause of Greater Worth.

A Government Of Our Own Is Our Natural Right.

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death!

Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.

TRAVELED TO // The Original 13, Boston, Carpenter's Hall, Williamsburg, Lexington & Concord, Battle Of Bunker Hill, Fort Ticonderoga, Dorchester Heights, Halifax, Pennsylvania Statehouse, The Battle Of Trenton, The Battle Of Princeton, France, Morristown, NJ, Bemis Heights, Paoli,Pennsylvania, Valley Forge, The Battle Of Monmouth, Charleston, South Carolina, Yorktown,
MET ALONG THE WAY // King George III, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Massachusetts Minutemen, British Regular, General Thomas Gage, Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, George Washington, William Howe, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, John Hancock, John Glover, German Soldiers, King Louis XVI, Silas Dean, Arthur Lee,John Burgoyne, Horatio Gates, Daniel Morgan, Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, John Paul Jones, Joseph Bryant, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis, Banatre Tarleton, General Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Admiral de Grasse, Francis Marion, Henry Knox, George Mason,

[Leila Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series of books on American history. The pictures are very nice and the layout is attractive. It tells the history like a story book. My only complaint is that there were an awful lot of names, and instead of saying "The British army" and "the American Army", the author would use the name of their current general/military leader. This was confusing and made me have to flip back a bunch, especially as their generals changed quite frequently. We read a few pages every week (in our homeschool) and then would write and illustrate a history page for our notebooks. When a page starts with "After Camden, General Gates was a ruined man", I had to flip back and refresh my memory. It might've been better to say "After the Battle of Camden, at which the Americans suffered a shameful defeat, General Gates was a ruined man".

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to like these books so bad. I really do. The pictures are gorgeous, the length is perfect, but the text is just so bare bones. One thing that's nice is that every page is its own episode you don't have to turn through several pages the end of the page is pretty much the end of a complete thought. I also really liked in this book how Benedict Arnold was emphasized over and over again in his role prior to turning traitor, that was something I never really understood growing up. However, when it stated that he turned traitor the text felt the need to re introduce him as if the reader had no idea who he was which was odd to me in that sort of thing gets on my nerves. But over all, it's a really nice book it is really pretty pictures it's a great summary, and I'll keep it from my kids to reference in their own spare time period

[Sarah Coller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as my nonfiction pick for the Red, White, and June reading challenge. I thought I'd read an easy one and then see if I was interested in something full length (and for adults --- ha!). Not sure if I will pick up another nonfiction Revolution era book this month, but I definitely enjoyed this one. Packed out with great illustrations, lots of maps and a good amount of index information, I thought this slim middle grade book packed a punch! I've had it on our homeschool shelves for a really long time--- I'm glad my kids have had access to this great resource!

[Anna Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trying to work through this series. One left to go. I enjoyed the earlier books is the series A LOT, but these last books are more detailed and cover less time, so they can get pretty long for my kids. Great series, though.

[Chappyfamily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to put the whole American revolution into a timeline. Great pictures, great information!

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be used in a 4th grade American History class to condense the American Revolution history as a read along with the textbook. Lovely traditional illustrations and maps.

[Clarice]

2024
Jan. 2026 with N.

[Becker Children · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was perfect for our homeschool study of the American Revolution; a great blend of lots of vibrant illustrations, lots of information but easy to understand language, a good number of words per page, and a timeline and index of important people in the back. I learned a lot; hopefully my 8 year old will remember a thing or two as well!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took us quite a while to read because we'd stop and read another book about a topic mentioned. For example, when they gave a sentence or two on Henry Knox and the campaign to bring the cannons from Ticonderoga, we stopped and read Guns for Washington. When we hit Valley Forge in this book, we stopped and read Winter at Valley Forge.

Liberty or Death gives a good, basic introduction to the Revolutionary War. It moves fairly quickly in order to cover everything and fit it into a children's book, but it didn't dumb it down. The illustrations were fantastic and the maps were especially helpful in figuring out what was going on. There are a few pictures with fairly violent scenes, soldiers laying around with blood all over, some Indians scalping people, etc. Not as graphic as it could be, but some kids might find it scary.

I think this book is best used for a spine (meaning you read a bit then find a more specific book on a topic, as we did above) or as a basic overview/review. For younger kids, this might be all you need. For my older boys, it's just the beginning!

[Jeffrey Gao · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only William Howe took the war more seriously he would've crushed Washington like a bug! If only Johann Rall was more alert at Trenton, then he would've destroyed those puny rebels! If only Howe and Burgoyne had properly coordinated the planned two-pronged attack, then Saratoga would've been won! If only the bullet that hit Benedict Arnold in the thigh hit him in the heart instead! If only the Japanese had joined the fight, then a mighty army of cocked hats and horns would've been marching all the way to Philadelphia! If only Patrick Ferguson had unleashed the power of Excalibur turning those uppity rebels into goop, Britannia would've ruled America like the waves!

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book about the American Revolution that is easily accessible for younger readers. I purchased it as preparation for my literature unit on the American Revolutionary War. This gives an account of the events between 1763 - 1783 that led up to the war, and the events that transpired in order to end it. It also includes information about lesser known men and women and events.

Students interested in this time period should enjoy this book, and for teachers who need to teach a similar unit, this book gives a decent overview and refresher.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided a quick overview of the Revolutionary War (60+ pages) in terms for upper elementary through junior high students (and not-so-sharp teachers teaching a Revolutionary War novel). It included many familiar war phrases we here, but place them in context (eg: don't fire until you see "the whites of their eyes" or "give me liberty or give me death"). Includes illustrations and maps.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave a good, basic introduction to the Revolutionary War. We used it more as a spine to learning about the Revolutionary War and would pause reading it to delve deeper into a subject the kids were interested in. The illustrations are great with maps to help you understand where things were taking place.
For younger kids, this might be all you need. For my older son, it was just the beginning

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a historical young adult book that has maps to refer to --Yeah!

The maps helped me to figure out what was going on a a time when communication was slow. Since I grew up on the west coast, I did not fully understand the geography of some of the events.

The illustrations helped me to understand and visualize what was going on during that time period. Instead of text books, I think this type of book would have been wonderful.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Maestro's history books for younger children. This book is especially good at explaining the events of the Revolution in a clear and interesting way. I recently used this to fill in some details missing from Joy Hakim's book.

[Augoustine Andreou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I strongly feel that the authors of Liberty or Death present the historical facts in a comprehensible and intriguing way. I feel that the authors touch upon the most vital historical information necessary for young children to learn about the of 16th century.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great descriptions of people in the American Revolution. I will use this as a nonfiction trade book for my thematic unit.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves history so this was an instant win.

[Barbara Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty much a text book retelling of the Revolutionary war, with troop movements, alliances, strategies and everything else that goes into a war.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are using Maestro's books this year to learn about American History. This book has a lot of information and wonderful illustrations and maps to refer to.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what this was trying to be, but it wasn't great. Too many words for the pictures that were clearly aimed at a younger audience, skips over crazy important details.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book, I finally understand the American Revolution! I knew most of the events, but after reading this, it helped immensely with understanding the chronological order. Great book.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the American Revolution for kids.

[Lissette Bustamante · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liberty or Death, is an informational text that provides the reader with a lot of insight based on the American Revolution. It gives the reader a lot of factual information that actually did happen in history. However, since the book is very short, a lot of important information was left out as well. Something that really helped the book was the fact that it had lots of visual content, that helped the reader understand the text better. For example, when the author would list a certain place, there would be a map directing and helping the reader understand where the place is.

The story provides a lot of great information and illustrations that enhance the quality of the book. The main targeted audience for this book would be 12-16 because there was plenty of text that would make it difficult for younger children to read and understand. The illustrations from the book helped enhance the text because the illustrations gave more information than the text would.