Calvert the Raven in The Battle of Baltimore (Flying Through History) - Softcover

Fuqua, Jonathon Scott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1610880781 ISBN 13: 9781610880787

Publisher: Bancroft Press, 2013

Synopsis

You think history is boring? Baltimore kid Daniel does―until a chance encounter with a magical talking raven named Calvert sends him flying back to 1814, where he finds his home city under siege by a British army on the verge of defeating the United States of America in the War of 1812. The beautifully illustrated pages of Calvert the Raven in the Battle of Baltimore, the first book of the Flying Through History series, are as close as you can get to the Battle of Baltimore without going back in time yourself. Author and illustrator J. Scott Fuqua takes you on a harrowing journey through a history of near misses, narrow escapes, and brave soldiers with no idea what tomorrow would bring. When you're flying through history, history is never boring.

About this title

About the Author

J. Scott Fuqua is the author of four award-winning young adult novels. He has also written three highly acclaimed literary novels and the award-winning graphic novel In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe. Fall 2012 will see the publication of the multimedia project Medusa's Daughter, which is coming out as a novel, graphic novel, and graphic novella, and in all ebook formats. He's penned and illustrated two books on the history of architecture and a children's book on the history of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. For elementary students, he wrote the graphic chapter book Catie and Josephine. He has also written, illustrated, and created The Adventures of MT Pitt and The Synagogue Speaks.

Currently, he is writing and illustrating new books for kids; his sixth novel, The Mystery of the Greaser Hotel; and living history plays for the Maryland Historical Society and the Jewish Museum of Maryland.

Calvert the Raven in the Battle of the Baltimore is the first of what he hopes to be many installments of the Flying Through History series.

He has received three Maryland State Arts Council writing awards and teaches writing and illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

From Booklist

Daniel has gotten a poor mark on his paper about the War of 1812. Maybe it’s because he thought the subject was so boring. Enter Calvert, a talking—make that wisecracking—raven who flies Daniel back to the war, where he can see for himself the intensity of battle. This oversize offering has some strong points. The breezy tone and plentiful dialogue will draw in readers, and the dramatic, well-executed watercolors add impact to the telling. The text also has its ups and downs. The descriptions of the fighting—almost hand-to-hand combat—will surprise and inform children, who will also learn something about the causes of the war. The climax, however, in which Francis Scott Key writes The Star-Spangled Banner, isn’t well explained, perhaps because the truth is, well, a little boring. After a nighttime firefight, the British basically called off the attack and retreated. There’s not much written about the War of 1812, so this will find a place on library shelves. Expect more from Calvert in the Flying History series. Grades 3-6. --Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1610880781
• ISBN 13: 9781610880787
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32