If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution

by Wil Mara

When British soldiers accuse Samuel Richardson's father and uncle of being rebellious Patriots, Samuel must work together with his cousin Molly to help the family make an escape. Follow along on their adventure as they witness the early days of the American Revolution and come up with a daring plan to save their fathers.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Wil Mara has worked as an author for over 34 years and currently has more than 325 books in print. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His books have won multiple awards, reached bestseller lists, earned excellent reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. 2005’s Wave won the New Jersey Notable Book Award, and 2012’s The Gemini Virus remained on Amazon’s list of ‘Ten Bestseller Medical Thrillers’ for 14 consecutive weeks. The most recent novel in his disaster series, Fallout, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Novel of the Year. And his children’s nonfiction publications have won countless awards and terrific reviews in all the leading trade journals, including Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and others.

Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.

Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.

Reviews

[Michelle Abuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution by Wil Mara is an example of a historical fiction and appropriate for elementary schoolers. The book explains how the American revolution begins and ended. It shows war, starvation, ownership, and colony. I gave the book four stars for the book provides an understandable and engaging illustration. It gives a real and factual information about what happened years ago. The explanation and used words are appropriate for children and it is easy to comprehend. In my opinion, a story is a great way to introduce a certain lesson for a child. A book is a good material for a visual learner. I can use this book to introduce how people leave and survive before freedom is not present. I can use this book to differentiate society before and after. I can also use this as entertainment for I can use the picture as my show card. I can also provide a further explanation using this book as I explain how and why we have a certain event such as Thanksgiving, Independence Day and revolutionary day.

[Naileah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If You Were a Kid During the American Revolution by Will Mara is an example of an outstanding historical fiction novel for elementary readers. The books introduces’ two children named Samuel and Molly. We follow their journey throughout the book as they live their lives in 1775 American Colonies. The two kids get in several situations. One of the situations being with the Red Coats. Another situation is they overhear soldiers talking about their fathers and do their best to warn their fathers before it’s too late. The novel takes us through major events and time periods of American history all while appropriately teaching young children. This book gives factual evidence that happened through this American history moment. I feel like this is a great book to incorporate into younger classrooms because having the two kids, Samuel and Molly introduce American history makes kids feel like they can relate to it more. They are able to look at the American Revolution through a kid’s perspective making it more understandable for them. I give this book four stars because I would have liked it to be more in a kids point of view.

[Katherine Pace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows two children, Samuel and Molly, through their lives in 1775 in the American Colonies. It tells about what was happening at that time and how some people wanted to be under British control and others did not. It shows how the family of these two children get out of a sticky situation with some of the red coats. I didn’t think this book was bad, but I do think the title is misleading. It was not about a child’s life during the American Revolution but just what was happening historically. I would use this, however, in a 2nd or 3rd grade class to discuss America. It would be good to teach about what happened in that point in America’s history. It would also be a great way to get children to think empathetically by asking them throughout the book how they would feel if what was happening to Samuel and Molly was happening to them instead.

[Haylee Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

History books can be boring but this book was super fun to follow along with. It take the student through a visual of if they were in this time period, which in history it is hard to get students to use critical thinking such as this. I would recommend for 1st - 2nd, and would read in a read aloud form while asking comprehension questions to test the knowledge from actual instructional material.

[Reagan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really creative! It allows for kids to follow along with two cousins who witness the early days of the American Revolution. I would use this book in my future classroom in a history unit about the revolutionary war. It will let my students imagine what it was like to live during that time period.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great fiction and nonfiction book which follows two cousins at the start of the American Revolution as there family deals with the change of the day. Each page gives a little of their story and an accompanying nonfiction fact about the time. Great and easy to follow. Elementary and up

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grades: 1-2,3-5
Genre: Historical Fiction
This was an interesting read. It was a shorter read and I enjoyed it. It was cool to read about and watch Samuel work together with his family member Molly as they witness the early days in the American Revolution. Rate 5-5

[Alondra Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets students thinking about how they could have acted or what they would haven done if they were alive during the American revolution. This book would be great for students to get an idea of what was happening during that time.

[Ethan Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be great in an American Revolution lesson. It would be read to a lower elementary-level classroom. The book would provide knowledge about the revolution and give them an idea of what it was about the general information and what happened.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might come in handy to help teach this content to life skills students. It was short and sweet but still had big topics/ideas that I personally teach my students during the American Revolution Unit.

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a general idea of what life would be like for a kid during the American Revolution.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A far-fetched story of kids out-smarting some British regulars. I was hoping for more of a peek into Colonial kids' lives.

[Coco Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent early elementary picture book with facts from the revolutionary war and time period mixed in. Best for 1st or 2nd graders.

[Emily Julienne]

This book places the American Revolutionary War in the perspective that young readers can understand. Readers can learn what happened and how it happened through a character that they can relate to.

[Zandalee Fowler]

This book is about two kids Molly and Samuel who like to go on adventures and they learn about things going on in America. It is a book that teaches kids about history in a fun way.

[Kate Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, the book is a very easy read! I love how it’s informative, yet engaging, all at the same time. It tells a great story of two young children and what their life looked like during the American Revolution. It’s a great eye opener for students today! It shows them how far we evolved. I also like how it included fast facts on every page. These facts weren’t apart of the story, but were interesting to read about.

[Susan Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's a kids' book, and I read it because I needed a Story for All Ages as part of a church service, and it was Independence Day weekend, and the sermon was about the American Revolution. It does something I really appreciate about a good kids' book, which is to be entertaining for people of all ages, and it's a great informative book for adults as well as kids. Enjoyed reading it and presenting it, and gave proper credit in the service.

[Megan Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. When cousins Molly and Samuel see British soldiers marching into Boston they knew nothing good could become of it. To make matters worse, they overhear the soldiers talking about their fathers! It becomes a race against the soldiers to warn their fathers and escape before both families are arrested by the soldiers!

2. The "If You Were a Kid..." series is a favorite of mine. It is so interesting to see major events and time periods from history come alive through the eyes of children. I also find these books draw students in more than other historical fiction books because they can really put themselves in the shoes of the character.

3. If You Were a Kid at the First Thanksgiving by Melisa Sarno; If You Were a Kid During the Civil Rights Movement by Gwendolyn Hooks

4. I would use this text as a mentor text to demonstrate how to use point of view to change a well-known story.

[Andrew Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about what the American Revolution would have looked like from a kids perspective. This is a great perspective because kids might not understand the reasons that some things happen so reading it from a kids perspective would make it more understandable.