Lynda Durrant

An interesting book based on the true story of a young boy who served as a spy for General George Washington. Although the publisher describes it as a picture book, I'd classify it as a juvenile chapter book -- most of the pages in the book have no illustrations at all on them.

The watercolor illustrations are excellent. (I almost wish it were a traditional picture book so that there would be even more illustrations.) They are a good depiction of the time period and don't feel too modern.

Kids tend to enjoy any books in which kids are spies or go on adventures, but I think they'll especially appreciate that Ariel, the main character of this book, was a real person. (Although kids today, having grown up in the era of Disney, may find it a little funny that Ariel is the name of a boy in this book.)

Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley.… (més)

I loved that this book was based on a real boy and a story that actually happened, and looked forward to reading it with my grandson. Unfortunately, the book didn't format right on my Kindle, which I've read has been a problem for others, as well. There seemed to be whole paragraphs missing, and since this was such a short book to begin with, this made it very difficult to read. I'm giving it 3 stars, though, because the parts that I was able to piece together were interesting and showed promise.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion,.… (més)

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to get this book. I think it's wonderful that this book exists. It's a short, exciting bit of historical fiction about a nine-year-old boy who served as a spy during the Revolutionary War. While the story may be simply a local legend, it's generally accepted as true. What more could you want, really?

The story itself is quickly paced, and while it's lacking for an adult to read it for the most part, for a child I think it would be riveting. The illustrations are fun, and the language is easy to read. The back of the book contains a glossary to define he more difficult words. I think a child would be able to read it on their own, and more, I think a child would likely want to. There's a fun bit of a meat to it that would likely spur a deeper interest in history than a child might otherwise have.

This book is interesting, and I certainly would like to get it for some of the younger children in my extended family.… (més)