My Brother Sam Is Dead (Apple Signature) (Paperback)

by James Lincoln Collier (Author) "IT WAS APRIL, AND OUTSIDE IN THE DARK THE RAIN whipped against the windows of our tavern, making a sound like muffled drums..." (more)
Key Phrases: General Putnam, New York, Captain Betts (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father.

From the Back Cover
The classic story of one family torn apart by the Revolutionary War --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439783607
• ISBN-13: 978-0439783606
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (335 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,607 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #4 in	Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > Fiction > Colonial
  #5 in	Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Fiction > Military & Wars
  #36 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Parents > Fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is awesome!!, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: My Brother Sam Is Dead (A Newberry Honor Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

In my 8th grade English class I had to read My Brother Sam Is Dead as a reguired historical fiction book. I read the book in class as well as out of class on my own time. My Brother Sam Is Dead takes place during the Revolutionary War in a little town called Redding. Tim, a teenager, is telling the reader his feelings of the war and how the war affected him. I think teh author choose to tell the story through Tim because he was torn between being a Loyalist like his father or a Patriot like his older brother Sam. Tim's father doesn't think that his family shoyuld be involved in the war and Sam thinks it's his duty to fight for his country. Irony, was what made the book My Brother Sam Is Dead interesting. A good example is when Tim finds out his father had died on a British Jail Ship. This was unexpected because he was a Loyalist and he died on British Jail Ship. I expected him to die on a Patriot Jail Ship. Once you read what happens, your like I didn't expect that to happen. The same thing happens to Sam at the end of the book, but in a different way. In My Brother Sam Is Dead there were three main conflicts. The conflicts were personal, political, and character. Tim was the character withthe personal conflict. He was trying to decide whether to be a Patriot or a Loyalist. Tim knew his father had his reasons for being a Loyalist and so did his brother Sam. Tim wanted to be like his father, but also wanted to be like his brother Sam. The next big conflict was the political one. England and The Colonies were fighting over who got to run The Colonies. England thought they should get to run them because they had founded The Colonies. The people living in The Colonies thought they should get to run The Colonies because they lived there and didnt' believe in England's rule. The last conflict was between Sam and his father. This kind of conflict is called a character conflict. Sam wanted to go to war and fight an the Patriot side, while his father didn't think he should fight in the war. Sam's father was also a Loyalist so he didn't believe in anyhting the Patriots did or thought was right. In the book My Brother Sam Is Dead there were many great parts that I enjoyed. One part of the book that really got me interested was when Tim and his father were ambushed on their way to Verplex Point to trade the cattle for supplies they needed for their tavern in Redding. An other part was when Tim finds out Sam took his father's only gun, Brown Bess, when Sam's father specifically told Sam not too. If I had to pick a theme for the book it would most likely be "Everything happens for a reason." To me, it was like everything that happened to Tim changed the way he lived, acted or even thought. My Brother Sam Is Dead was full of suspense all the way through the book. I could hardly put the book down since I started reading it. I also read a historical fiction book called, One Thousand White Women. It was great too! One Thousand White Women was written in a journal form and I liked that format better than the traditional story form of My Brother Sam is Dead. I hope you enjoy both of these books as much as I did.

40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars readable coming-of-age story set in the American Revolution, November 8, 2001

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: My Brother Sam Is Dead (A Newberry Honor Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book describes the fictional adventures of the Meeker family of Redding, Connecticut, though much of the context of the story -- including setting, characters and situations -- is true. The action takes place between April 1775 and February 1779. Tim Meeker begins as an 11-year old boy; his father runs the town's tavern and general store and remains loyal to the English king, while his beloved older brother Sam has just run off to join the Rebels and fight for freedom from the British.

The narrative voice of Sam is effective and well-written. A lot of choices are made and many changes take place for anyone between the ages of eleven and fifteen, but just imagine if you were also going through those important times while the American Revolution was happening around you! Sam is confused. He doesn't understand all the issues and has seen acts of good and bad from both sides. He loves his father and his brother. He cannot decide where his loyalties lie. Sam's dilemma makes clear that the Revolution was really America's first civil war -- neighbors fought neighbors, people were right and wrong on both sides, and everyone suffered.

This is a realistic book with no struggles or acts beyond the believable abilities of the characters involved. There is no explicit violence but the narrator sees a beheading and an execution, so this book would be inappropriate for young readers; but it captures the dilemmas of growing up and the difficulties of the Revolution in a way that would make it interesting and valuable to pre-teens and teenagers.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS, March 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Brother Sam Is Dead (A Newberry Honor Book) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my favorite among the Collier brothers' books. This has been a successful book for me to hand to many (usually boys) reluctant readers. Young readers can relate to Tim Meeker's conscience telling him to do "what's right" and his desire to be like his big brother Sam. Conflict over the Revolutionary War(which is just beginning at the start of the book) brings emotional confrontations to the Meeker household. Most readers can sympathize with Tim as he watches his family torn apart by the question of loyalty to the King or to the colonists. Tim just wants to be loyal to his family, and he wishes Sam would too. This novel is an easy read and is an enthralling read with its taps into the violence of this war. Readers are so involved by the end of the novel that they want to pick up another of the Collier brothers' historical fiction. And as the authors say, if they said there was two-feet of snow in January of 1778, then it really happened. This is realistic historical fiction throughout. One of the authors does the research & the other does the creative writing to complete this package. This is a great literary addition to any history class. If you like this one, I suggest also reading Bloody Country & The Winter Hero, both by the same authors.