Boston Tea Party

Description

Tells the events of the Boston Tea Party, one of the acts by American Patriots that led to the American Revolution. Written in graphic-novel format.

Matt Doeden is a freelance author and editor from Minnesota. He's written numerous children's books on sports, music, current events, the military, extreme survival, and much more. His books Sandy Koufax (Twenty-First Century Books, 2006) and Tom Brady: Unlikely Champion (Twenty-First Century Books, 2011) were Junior Library Guild selections. Doeden began his career as a sports writer before turning to publishing. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children.

It is hard to imagine that anything as commonplace as tea could cause such a fuss but in the English colonies in America in 1773 this is exactly what happened. In England the government decided that it would tax the American colonists for the tea that they bought from the English. Furthermore the Americans were not allowed to buy tea from anyone else. When the Americans said that they wouldn't buy the English tea, the English warned them that they would be taxed for the tea whether it was bought or not. A small group of Americans then decided that they had to show the English that they would not accept being treated in such a high-handed manner and the fought back by staging a protest. One night a group of disguised colonists dumped an entire shipment of English tea into Boston harbor. What followed was a series of disagreements which one and a half years later culminated in the American Revolutionary War. Illustrated in a comic book/graphic novel format, this account of what occurred during the infamous Boston tea party and why it occurred will engage even the most reluctant reader and the child who is sure that history is exceedingly dull. It brings the story to life, giving the principal characters in the story faces as well as names. This is one of the books in the excellent "Graphic Library" published by Capstone Press.-- "Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review" When the British Parliament passes the Tea Act requiring all American colonists to pay a tax on their tea, the colonists are outraged over being taxed without any representation of their interests in the British government. Deciding on a daring mission--dumping the tea overboard into Boston Harbor in the middle of the night--to avoid paying taxes on any tea that would touch American soil, the colonists risk everything to stand up for their rights. This "Graphic History" chapter book tells the famous story of the Boston Tea Party in bright illustrations and active dialogue in the graphic novel style. Although the dialogue is somewhat overly simplistic (even whining, at times, with the colonists yelling "It's not fair!" in the face of British tyranny), the overlying nonfiction narration is straightforward, and quotations are well documented and differentiated from the main text with yellow highlighting. Accompanying the text are a glossary, bibliography, an index, and extended reading list, as well as a resource for continued exploration of the book's subject via the Internet. The colorful and dynamic illustrations bring this well-known part of American history to life in a format that will engage reluctant young readers.-- "Children's Literature Comprehensive Database"