Customer Reviews

Sybil Ludington's Midnight Ride (On My Own History)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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The story of Sybil is not as well known as that of Paul REvere. Sybil is the daughter of a American patriot officer in the REvolutionary War. A courier tells her father that the British have sprung a devastating attack on Danbury, CT. Sybil volunteers to ride through the night to recall her father's 400 soldiers who are on leave. She is finally successful and alerts them all. The British are pushed back and the girl's efforts may also have saved WAshington and his forces from destruction.
The author shows and tells the story in a simple, suspenseful style appropriate for easy access by 2nd. and 3rd. graders .
I found the illustrations very appropriate. Having grown up in the CArmel-Mahopac region, the illustrations of homes and countryside rang true to me.

Marsha Amstel's Sybil Ludington is a fast paced high-interest novel that grabs the attention of the reader from the first page to the last. It's popularity with the 8 - 12 crowd shows that children can still be turned on by the written word. The success of this book begs Marsha to keep on writing for this age group. More historica novels please, and soon!

This was an excellent example of an early feminist. Sybil is both serious and light-hearted, a good famly book to read alone or together. It shows a piece of history that incorporates a young woman with fierce determination. For those of us that live in New York, it is validation that a young woman was involved in the war effort from Putnam County.

This book depicts a young woman's role in our countries fight for independence. It should be required reading for every elementary age history class student. Young girls need more role models. Marsha Amstel's depiction of Sybil Ludington will give boys and girls positive influences to emulate. I enjoyed reading this book to my eight year old nephew who was in awe of the help Sybil was to her family and our soldiers. Ms. Amstel has written a winner in Sybil Ludington's Midnight Ride.

What a wonderful book for young readers! It is such a refreshing pleasure to hear about history through a woman's perspective. Ms. Amstel has a talent for conveying this event with excitement that just keeps the reader motivated to read on. I recommend this book especially for young adult readers.

My 7 year-old son and I have exhausted the Magic Tree House books and I remembered that I really liked biographies when I was his age. I searched until I found the "On My Own" series and we have both been really happy with them. My two favorite things about them are the art, which is lovely, and the fact that most of them are stories that are less common than the usual ones the kids read. I had not heard the story of Sybil Ludington and I really enjoyed it. Last night we read about Ellen and William Craft -- another story I had never heard and another very good story. The quality of these books all around is outstanding. I'm so glad we found them.

My 8-year-old son read this to me for reading. I had not heard this story before. It is about how a 16-year-old girl saved the day during the American Revolution. We enjoyed the story and it would be just as appropriate for History as it was for reading. Part of the On My Own History series recommended for grads 2-3rd.