In 1776

by Jean Marzollo, Steve Björkman (Illustrator)

This exuberant rhyming tale about America's fight for independence offers a unique introduction for very young children to the nation's heritage and prepares them for history lessons to come.

Genres: History, Picture Books, American Revolutionary War

1 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Jean Marzollo was an American children's author and illustrator best known for the I Spy series, a best-selling and award-winning collection written entirely in rhythm and rhyme and illustrated by Walter Wick. Over her career, she wrote more than 100 books for children, parents, and educators, including Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20, The Little Plant Doctor, and Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. Born and raised in Connecticut, she graduated from the University of Connecticut and earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She taught high school English and later worked in educational publishing, serving for 20 years as editor of Scholastic’s Let’s Find Out Magazine. Later in life, she began illustrating her own books.

Reviews

[Jordan Croom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although there is very little detailed information in this book, it does give a good overview for very young audiences, as to what happened during the American Revolution. Each page has full page illustrations with three to five lines of text, which have a loose, sometimes inconsistent rhyming pattern.

I believe the author could have made the story a little more complex so that it appealed to a wider age range. At its current level, it only reaches kindergarten/first grade readers, but it could very easily be changed and adapted to reach older students. That being said, it would be useful for younger students who are just beginning to learn about American history, or who are having a hard time understanding what happened in this period. It is a quick and easy way to introduce kids to the topic. The vibrant illustrations draw your attention. Although they do not add to the words, they do not detract either.

Teaching Idea: Draw a picture in the same style as the illustrations, or depicting a scene from the book.

Reading level: K-1st grade

Marzollo, J., & Björkman, S. (1994). In 1776. New York, NY: Scholastic.

[Jeanie Cullip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated by Steve Bjorkman and written by Jean Marzollo, In 1776 is a historically written picture book which introduces the American Revolution to students of all ages through fun and fact-filled verse. The book starts with explaining that the colonies were ruled by Great Britain, ever though they were thousands of miles away. Then, the book carefully discusses how they wrote a declaration which would separate the colonies and King George III, which led us into a war to both earn and proclaim our independence. On July 4, 1776 this declaration was adopted by the thirteen colonies and we officially became the United States of America. The story concludes with the US voting for the first president, George Washington and an eloquently written statement which calls readers to action, "The Declaration still guides as all; the struggle for liberty never ends."
As I stated, this is an incredible book to introduce the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the birthday of the United States of America, and the election of the first president. However, it is the final words that call readers to action that I love the most about this book. A simple reminder that these historical moments are not stagnant and placed on a shelf somewhere, they are living, breathing, active moments that must be cherished in the lives of people through the actions of the citizens that live in the U.S.; the ability to create a fully democratic society is more than a document, a war, and a birthday.

[Kirsten Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1776 by Jean Marzollo is a children's nonfiction book intended for readers between the ages of seven and ten. The story is about how American won it's independence from the British. The illustrations worked well with the text as they went into detail with what the was going on. The effectiveness of the plot made it very easy to follow and understand exactly how everything happened. I think this story is appealing to children as it uses words they can understand while talking about something so big in our history. The book also uses rhyming words which helps appeal to the younger readers. I would definitely use this story as a part of a history lesson in my classroom.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see where it’s a good read for PreK or Kinder but somehow my district had this for 2nd grade readers. I think first grade is the oldest I’d go here. It’s very oversimplified but can appreciate that for very young readers. The foreword is helpful for teachers, I hope they read it. It’s important not to over glorify the American Revolution as there was (is) lots of room for improvement regarding USA equal treatment in the legal/political system.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and sweet version of the beginning of the United States of America. This would be a great book as an introduction to the topic of how America won their independence from Great Britain.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Fourth of July book to read with your children to introduce them to America's history. Colorful pictures and told in rhyming pose, it shows that history is fun to learn about!

Ages: 4 - 8

#fourthofjuly #independenceday

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[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had cutesy rhymes with nice illustrations. Each page had a 2 to 4 line rhyme with a picture that related, sometimes spread over 2 pages. It took about 3 minutes to read.

This doesn't provide any "information", it's mainly a fluff type book. But it is one I think you could use if you have little kids while studying American history. They'd enjoy the pictures and the text and it would be 'for them' while the older kids are reading more advanced books.

Will most likely use for the two little guys when we're studying American history next year.

[Jody Kyburz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This poem is a great little summary! However, as I was looking to use it for common core RL5.4, I couldn't find enough words that I thought would challenge my students to find meaning from context and I couldn't find any metaphors. Glad I read it!

[Monica Albright · Rating 2 out of 5]

nice rhyme...a little hard for the kids to "get"