Hannah of Fairfield (Pioneer Daughters) - Hardcover

Van Leeuwen, Jean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803723350 ISBN 13: 9780803723351

Publisher: Dial, 1999

Synopsis

For almost nine-year-old Hannah Perley of Fairfield, Connecticut, growing up means facing new challenges, both great and small--from saving the life of a baby lamb to helping the family prepare to send her brother Ben to join the colonial soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.Almost nine-year-old Hannah is facing new challenges, from saving the life of a baby lamb to helping the family prepare to send her brother Ben to join General Washington's army

About this title

Reviews

Grade 2-4-The encroaching effects of the Revolutionary War are being felt more and more by the Perley family of Fairfield, CT, in the spring of 1777. Hannah, nearly nine, is worried that her beloved brother will defy their father and run away to war and is also struggling to master the tasks (knitting, spinning, and embroidery) expected of her. Her desire to meet her family's expectations coupled with minor resentment of the female conventions of the day is something that any child can relate to and brings Hannah to life for young readers. The resolution of events brings closure yet leaves room for the projected sequels in what is planned to be a trilogy. Short sentences, relatively easy vocabulary, and large type together with an age-appropriate protagonist mark this as a transitional chapter book. Diamond's finely detailed artwork expertly helps to set the scene and identify the characters. A solid entry by an amazingly versatile author.
Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-5. The first of a projected trilogy about nine-year-old Hannah Perley and her family during the Revolutionary War in Fairfield, Connecticut, this simply written docu-novel will give middle-grade readers a strong sense of what it was like to be a young girl then. As the war gets closer, Hannah's older brother cannot wait to be a soldier in General Washington's army; finally, his father gives his permission, and the family prepares to send him off. The focus is more on the domestic scene than the battlefield, and much of the story is about Hannah's chores in the fields and kitchen, including details about what the family ate and how they cooked it. There's a subplot about Hannah's struggle with traditional women's work--she would rather be working with the animals in the barn than at her knitting--but her late grandmother's work as midwife to the community is an inspiring model. In the moving climax, Hannah is part of the loving family's work to spin the thread, weave the cloth, and sew a shirt and breeches for her beloved brother to wear to war. Hazel Rochman

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0803723350
• ISBN 13: 9780803723351
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Diamond Donna