Customer Reviews

The 18 Penny Goose (I Can Read Book 3)

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I think this is the only book we've ever found in the Beginning Reader section that deals with a real, historical subject.

My daughter read it to herself and loved it.

I also read through it and found it to be a fascinating children's book.

I got this book because most of the other early readers in American history are very boy-friendly and I have three boys. But after "Sam the Minuteman" and "George the Drummer Boy" etc, I needed something that my little girl could really enjoy. I picked this one up and was not disappointed. It is historically accurate (based on a true account), and fits right in with the other titles in the I Can Read Book (Level 3).

It's a neat story-- a little girl has to flee her farm when a Revolutionary War battle comes close. She is worried about leaving her pet goose behind because she has heard that British soldiers are destructive to property when they come by it. She leaves a message behind on the mantel for them not to kill her goose. When the family returns to their farm, they find it ransacked and all the other geese have been eaten. But the girl's special pet goose has been spared and on the mantel is a return note with 18 pennies for the 18 other geese the British soldiers took.

It is a great story because kids who cannot otherwise understand a war like the Revolution which was fought among farms and homes can definitely relate to the fear of a beloved pet being endangered. Also the story is very balanced in terms of the "good" and "bad" people. The British soldiers come across as threatening and careless, which they were, but also witty and sensitive to the plight of a child, which they were as well (see the author's note at the end). There is a happy ending, which most little children need, but also a gentle introduction to the cruelty of war.

Of course my boys loved the story too. It comes across as a classic which can be read over and over by anyone. But especially for little girls who may be having trouble getting into the muskets and Redcoats of the era, this is a real winner. It makes a nice companion to "Josefina and the Story Quilt" and "Clara and the Bookwagon."

This is a charming, easy-to-read account of one young girl's encounter with the American Revolution. All my children loved it - even the ones for whom it was too "young"! A well-told tale based on an actual event. This is a great story for putting your kids "in the shoes" of those who lived during the founding of our country.