Paul Revere's Ride

This classic poem, originally published in 1861, is retold and brought to life in a colorfully illustrated picture book that captures the drama, excitement, and power of this period in history that led to the beginnings of the American Revolution.

Grade 2-5-Another version of Longfellow's classic poem is brought to light. Vachula has chosen a burlaplike background for her historically accurate oil paintings, giving not only an antique but also a homey feel to her work. Each spread features 5 to 16 lines from the poem and a small picture opposite a full painting. For instance, the "spark/Struck out by a steed" is accompanied by a close-up of a powder horn, while another page that tells of the patriot who would be "Pierced by a British musket-ball" shows the fallen soldier being attended by a clergyman. Each thumbnail sketch draws attention to specific ideas that might otherwise be lost in the larger illustration. Although Longfellow's poem is not known for its total historical accuracy, Vachula's paintings are so carefully rendered that anyone familiar with the area will recognize Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the bridge at Lexington and Concord. Done primarily in somber blues, greens, and gray tones, the artwork conveys the seriousness of the political situation and makes the touches of red from the grenadiers' uniforms all the more startling. Much more traditional than Jeffrey Thompson's highly stylized art in The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (National Geographic, 2000) and even more realistic than the engravings and paintings by Christopher Bing (Handprint, 2001), this edition will be welcomed by purists who prefer an almost photographic look at Revere's historic ride.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reviewed with Paul Revere's Ride, illustrated by Charles Santore.

Gr. 2-5. Maybe it's the swelling tide of patriotism or just coincidence, but the spring publishing season has brought two new picture-book editions of Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride." Both are colorful, attractive, and well researched, and either book will make a good companion to Stephen Krensky's historically accurate prose version of the same events, Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (2002). Of the two new books, Vachula's version offers more decorative artwork--bordered paintings that place historical events within the context of a broader setting. The pictures, full-page and smaller on the verso, depict quiet scenes--a cat stalking through a churchyard; a picture of sheep and cattle in the farmyard with the small figure of Paul Revere riding by in the background. Figures in motion seem somehow arrested for a moment in time. In contrast, Santore's more dynamic paintings seem barely contained within the edges of the pages. They thrust the viewer right into the action, with cinematic close-ups of characters as well as broader scenes in which Revere urgently rides to spread the alarm and his countrymen rise up to battle the British. Even a relatively quiet churchyard scene is full of motion, with curving, crisscrossing paths that draw the eye precipitously down to the town and the river below. In the tradition of N. C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle, these dramatic pictures have great appeal. If there's money in the budget and room on the shelf next to the excellent editions of Longfellow's poem illustrated by Christopher Bing (2001) and Ted Rand (1990), consider both books, which provide new, yet traditional, visions of this classic American poem. Carolyn Phelan
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