A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy [Paperback]

Jim Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 1998 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

In the summer of 1776, Joseph Plumb Martin was a fifteen-year-old Connecticut farm boy who considered himself "as warm a patriot as the best of them." He enlisted that July and stayed in the revolutionary army until hostilities ended in 1783. Martin fought under Washington, Lafayette, and Steuben. He took part in major battles in New York, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He wintered at Valley Forge and then at Morristown, considered even more severe. He wrote of his war years in a memoir that brings the American Revolution alive with telling details, drama, and a country boy's humor. Jim Murphy lets Joseph Plumb Martin speak for himself throughout the text, weaving in historical backfround details wherever necessary, giving voice to a teenager who was an eyewitness to the fight that set America free from the British Empire.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up?Murphy presents the life of Joseph Plumb Martin, a 15-year-old Connecticut farm boy who enlisted in the Continental Army in 1776. Through well-selected quotes from Martin's self-published memoir, A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier, readers experience the young soldier's excitement and fear during battle, his boredom while marching, and the deprivation of a winter encampment. The author's compelling writing intertwines major events of the American Revolution with Martin's own story, rendering historical events and military strategy readily comprehensible. The book is generously illustrated with black-and-white maps and reproductions; captions present information that complements rather than repeats the text. Unfortunately, there is neither a map of the colonies from the Hudson to Yorktown, nor a glossary of military terms. Important figures such as Burgoyne, Cornwallis, and Washington are portrayed as individuals as well as military leaders. The index is comprehensive. This volume compares favorably to Doris and Harold Faber's The Birth of a Nation (Scribners, 1989) and is certainly more accessible than Yankee Doodle Boy (Holiday, 1995), an abridged version of Martin's memoir edited by George F. Scheer. An outstanding example of history brought to life through the experience of one individual.?Lisa Von Drasek, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. Murphy tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of Joseph Plumb Martin, who enlisted in the army in 1776, at the age of 15. Murphy frequently quotes Martin, evidently drawing from Martin's book A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier (1830), listed in the extensive bibliography. The lively quotations give Murphy's account a feeling of immediacy, heightened by the many details of life in the army. For instance, few history books for children even mention the mutinies among the American troops, but Murphy vividly explains their causes and consequences, or lack of consequences. He quotes Martin on the mutinous soldiers: "venting our spleen at our country and government, then at our officers, and then at ourselves for our imbecility in staying there and starving . . . for an ungrateful people who did not care what became of us, so they could enjoy themselves while we were keeping a cruel enemy from them." Many black-and-white reproductions of period engravings, paintings, and documents appear throughout the book. Although source notes would have been a welcome addition, young readers researching the military and social history of the American Revolution will find this an excellent resource. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (March 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395900190
• ISBN-13: 978-0395900192
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > Colonial & Revolutionary
  • #98 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States > Colonial & Revolutionary

More About the Author

Jim Murphy began his career in children's books as an editor, but managed to escape to become a writer, entering a life of personal and creative happiness and enduring financial uncertainty. He's convinced that the latter keeps him coming back to his computer to write every day and feels that a sense of impending doom is the doorway to creativity. He has never counted the number of books he's published (feeling the time and energy is better spent doing research and writing) but guesses that he has over thirty books to his credit. Jim's work has been honored with numerous awards, including two American Llibrary Association Newbery Honor Book Awards, an ALA Robert F. Sibert Award and Sibert Honor Book Award, three National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Awards, a Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and a BG/HB Honor Book Award, two SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, and been a finalist for the National Book Award. Recently, he was given the ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award for "his significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book!, April 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy (Paperback)

I'm 12 years-old and I thought this story was very exciting. My older brother read it also, and he said it was great. It is about a fifteen-year-old boy who is eager to go to war. However, it ends up being the most horrifying life a young man could have. I would give six stars if I could. Since I can't, I'll write it down: six stars!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Young Patriot, November 17, 2003

By 

loveitayp (Madison, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy (Paperback)

I am 13 years old and i absolutly love this book, Murphy (the author) describes the American Revolution so clearly that u actually feel like you are in the story! This book is about a boy named Joseph who signs up to be in the Continental Army, he goes through hard times and good times as well! I would say any history fan would love this book!!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars useful starting point, January 6, 2010

By 

R. Edgar "Colonial Man" (Somers, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy (Paperback)

As an author of both adult and children's books on the Revolutionary War, I think I am qualified to pass judgment on this book. I highly recommend it to teachers, school librarians and youngsters interested in learning what it was like to be a private in the Continental Army. Older readers will want to read J.P. Martin's entire memoir. I found it quite useful. I also recommend that youngsters learn about the Revolution by reading historical novels of the period. I personally find the Revolutionary War the most fascinating of all our US history periods, and I think you will to. Give it a try. - Gregory Edgar