And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz (1996)

I love history, and I love reading to my children. This little book called "And then what happened Paul Revere?" is a wonderful little piece of American History. It contains 45 pages.

We have a tradition of reading every night before bed in my house. Then I turn on classical music as my children fall asleep. Tonight we read this story, "And then what happened Paul Revere?" My children take turns choosing the book. Tonight my fourth grader chose this one.

This book written by Jean Fritz with pictures by Margot Tomes was written in 1973. Jean Fritz was born in Hankow, China where her father was a missionary. As a child she decided to be a writer and write stories about Americans. She has written a number of historical fiction stories.

The publishers, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan are publishers I have never heard of. However, this is a book meant for the Weekly Reader Children's Book Club.

The cover shows a cartoontype picture of Paul Revere on his horse. The pictures in the book are funny little pictures, mostly black and white cartoonlike drawings. Although there are some that are colored. that made my six year old laugh more than once. He especially enjoyed the picture of Paul Revere in his costume that made him look like and indian the night of the Boston Tea Party.

This book tells the story of Paul Revere. It tells the story of the beginning of the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party. It tells about the battles of Lexington and Concord. It tells about the Sons Of Liberty and the Spilling of the tea in Boston Harbor to stop the taxes. There is even a bit of genealogy of Paul Revere in this book, he certainly had a lot of children.

My fourth grader was all set to explore more information about the Boston Tea Party after reading this story. He was ready to learn more and every now and then told me things he already knew as we were reading. My first grader listened intently, and was especially interested in the horses and rifles.

The story opens and tells about Paul Revere and his life in Boston. He is a family man, with MANY children. The story ends with him telling his great grandchildren about his big ride.

Paul Revere was a very busy man in Boston in the 1700's. The story tells about the busy life that people in Boston led even then. It tells how the ships came and went and taxes were forced upon the colonies. Paul Revere was a silversmith and he made many wonderful items that are still around today in museums. He even made bells that are still in many steeples in nearly 75 churches in New England. Paul Revere even made a silver collar for a pet squirrel in his silversmith shop!

At the end of each page the question is asked "And then what happened?" and the story continues. Paul Revere is a piece of American history that all American's should know about. It is about freedom, and America and it is a wonderful little read. I enjoyed reading it with my children.

This is not a chapter book. It took about 1/2 hour to read with my two sons. The last part of the book offers more information about Paul Revere, more facts that are not in the story. This part is great for beginning discussions with children. I particularly like the end because the additional facts give pages in the story where they could be added. My fourth grader was pleased with this because it allowed him to look back at the story and learn more. It made him feel like this was not a "baby" book!

My first grader simply enjoyed the whole story, and I know that when he and I read together, he learns many facts, because he loves the closeness we have when we read together. This is important. Read to your children!

This is a story to read more than once with your children because it is filled with many facts. American history is required in our schools, and this little book will help to build the frameworks for our children as they prepare for US History in high school. I highly recommend that you read this with your children. It will help us adults to brush up on our history facts as well!