Take Command, Captain Farragut! - Hardcover

Roop, Peter; Roop, Connie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068983022X ISBN 13: 9780689830228

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

Starting his career in the U.S. Navy at the age of ten, David Farragut performed his tasks so well that he was fighting aboard a ship during the War of 1812 and put in command of his own ship by the age of twelve where he ruled over men twice his age.

About this title

About the Author

Peter and Connie Roop have written more than fifty children's books together, and for twenty-five years both have been teachers in Appleton, Wisconsin. Connie teaches high school science and Peter teaches elementary school. In 1986 Peter was named Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year. When not teaching or writing, the Roops enjoy traveling and playing games with their children, Sterling and Heidi.

Reviews

Grades 3-5--David Glasgow Farragut had a successful naval career, distinguishing himself during the Civil War by capturing New Orleans, opening the Mississippi River for the Union, and winning the Battle of Mobile Bay. However, more than 50 years before the Civil War, at age nine and a half, he became the second youngest midshipman ever commissioned by the U.S. Navy. It is of this time that the Roops write in this well-researched title. Through a series of fictional letters (based on Farragut's own accounts) addressed to his father from a prison in Valparaiso, Chile, the boy relates his adventures aboard the Essex. They included crossing the equator, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, confiscating cargo ships, and battling British warships during the War of 1812 that resulted in his eventual brief imprisonment. The writing style, the vocabulary, the typeface, and the complementary scratchboard illustrations lend an air of authenticity to the volume. The correspondence is so convincing that the presentation pushes this title very close to the historical fiction shelf. The difference between this biography and the "My America" or "Dear America" series (Scholastic) is slim. For that reason, the book's use will probably be more for enjoyment than for reports. Reading about the adventures and exploits of this young man can help students relate to history.-Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Take Command, Captain Farragut! by Peter Roop and Connie Roop, illus. by Michael McCurdy, presents the true story of 10-year-old David Glasgow Farragut, who ascended the ranks from midshipman to captain (at age 12) aboard a U.S. naval ship during the War of 1812. His rise unfolds through a series of fictional letters to his father; framed scratchboard illustrations depict the child's days at sea and eventual imprisonment by the British.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. In a series of fictional letters, the Roops tell the remarkable story of young David Farragut. Thirteen-year-old American naval officer Farragut, imprisoned onboard ship by the British, writes his father a series of letters in which he reflects on his three years at sea. Entertaining episodes include a battle at sea, Farragut's initiation upon first crossing the equator, and his first command, as captain of a captured whaling vessel. Though the book seems to straddle fiction and nonfiction, the first-person voice gives the narrative an immediacy sometimes lacking in historical writing and biography. McCurdy's illustrations, apparently scratchboard, have a period look well suited to the book's setting and design. An intriguing read-aloud for history units. A glossary, a bibliography, and an authors' note are appended. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 068983022X
• ISBN 13: 9780689830228
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: McCurdy Michael
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48