Henry and the Cannons: An Extraordinary True Story of the American Revolution

During the American Revolution, the British and American Army were at war in Boston. The British army was huge and the American Army knew they were at a disadvantage. General George Washington decided he wanted cannons that he knew he could take them down. However he did not know how he was going to get those cannons to Boston. I learned that Boston bookseller named Henry Knox was the person who obtained cannons for General George Washington in the time fo the war. He taught himself "soldiering" from books he sold and set out to get the cannons. Through rain, snow, thick mud and over frozen lakes, Henry got the cannons to Boston in time for General Washington and his soldiers to prepare and win the war. This book is excellent in show more teaching students about the American Revolutionary War. show less

Henry Knox is not a name I remember learning about in the Revolutionary War in school. This picture book biography taught me about someone I never heard of before playing a big role in the battle for Boston. Brown also touched on a lot of hardships men faced in those times like harsh weather conditions and a lot of traveling.

I found the illustrations to be the best part of this picture book as they seemed to actually tell much more about Henry than the actual text. I learned the facts about Henry but didn't feel like I got a sense of his accomplishments from the words on the pages.

An excellent story from the American Revolution about courage and perseverance wonderfully illustrated and told for younger readers. Could have benefitted from a historical note in an afterword.

The illustrations of this picture book seemed to share more about Henry than the text. Henry Knox is not a name I remember learning about in school, and this biography taught me about his part in the battle for Boston. The author also touched on the hardships men faced, like harsh weather conditions.

I found this to be a difficult read. The text was dry and quite boring. I found myself skimming the pages instead of reading the actual words, because I wanted the book to over with. I felt like I was reading a textbook not a storybook. The only saving grace of the book were the illustrations. I felt they were fitting for the times and pretty much told the story without any need for text. A good example of the illustrator’s art of storytelling was the three panel picture of the horse depicting the horse in clear weather, rain, and snow. The picture alone tells the story of the difficult 40 mile voyage.

The main purpose of the book is to tell the story of how Henry Knox brought cannons to Boston and assisted in taking back over the show more city. It is also a story of perseverance and dedication. show less

Local bookseller Henry Knox did the impossible to support General George Washington. Using ropes, chains, boats, and sleds drawn by oxen and horses, Knox organized and moved 59 cannons over 300 miles from New York to Boston for the fight against the British. Bibliography