Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Flag Maker



Module 8

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2004. The flag maker. Ill. by Claire A. Nivola. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

The "star spangled banner" mentioned in our national anthem, is a flag that still exists today in the Smithsonian Institute. It was sewn by a flag maker named Mary Pickerell, with the help of her young daughter Caroline. The flag weighed eighty pounds, took about four hundred yards of bunting, and about 350,000 stitches to complete. The story is told in a way that helps children see things from Caroline's perspective. They will see the amount of work that went into creating such a large flag, especially when it was sewn by hand. Also, they will be taught a slice of our early American history. The author did her research well and recorded facts accurately. Some of her reputable reference sources include the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C. among others. Actual letters from the Pickerell family and others living at the time were other sources consulted by the author and lend additional credibility. The colorful illustrations by Clair Nivola, rendered in watercolor and gauche, will be appealing to children. She has fully captured the dress, architecture and lifestyle of the times. This is a great read for children ages 6-10

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