Redcoats and Petticoats

Redcoats and Petticoats is a story about a young boy and the influence that war has on his family. It is good for elementary aged students who are currently learning about the Revolutionary War. As with many other historical fiction books, it is great for teaching children about a tough time through a relatable and less violent way.

This book is based on true events that occurred during the American Revolution on Long Island from 1778-1784. Young Thomas runs strange errands for his mother who seems to have lost her mind since her husband was captured by British soldiers. She spends her days hanging laundry that already appears to be clean and dry, but Thomas doesn’t realize until the war is over that he and his mother were acting as spies for George Washington and actually helped win the war.

Summary: This book is about a family, among several others who became a spy against the British for George Washington. This book focuses mostly on one family that were spies for him. The back of the book in the author's note gave greater description on how the family spied on the British which made things more clear to understand. This book is very different from the other book of George Washington because the last book was very behind the scenes, where as this book was George Washington in action in the army and then president.

Personal reaction: It's an awesome way to introduce the American Revolution and how average Americans helped in the Revolution

Extension: Read a loud to my class to teach them about the war.

This is a picture book biography; however, it's fiction based. It's an awesome way to introduce the American Revolution and how average Americans helped in the Revolution.

I loved this book. It'll be a great reading for hyper little boys. It also has a very clever twist to it. It will be a great read when talking about history during the American revolution.

"Redcoats and Petticoats" by Katherine Kirkpatrick was about a family, amongst several others who became a spy against the British for George Washington. This book focuses mostly on one family that were spies for him. The back of the book in the author's note gave greater description on how the family spied on the British which made things more clear to understand. This book is very different from the other book of George Washington because the last book was very behind the scenes, where as this book was George Washington in action in the army and then president.

Summary: A story about how a boy and his mother helped spy for America to win the war against the British. This book shows how little steps can make a big difference.
Grade: Primary