James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier - My Brother Sam Is Dead: Literature Guide

Pros: Great history lesson

Cons: sad ending

The Bottom Line: Pretty ok

Review: I just finished this book this morning. This book is a novel my 8th grade Language Arts class has to read. Great book! But sad ending. I would see the movie if there was one. I liked when Mrs. Meeker told the person who told Tim to ring the church bell...

Pros: Great history lesson for older children.

Cons: I didn't like the ending, but who does like all the results of war?

The Bottom Line: This award-winning book is great to use to get children interested in the Revolutionary War, and spur discussions on war and its atrocities.

Review: Can any of us in today's generation really know the sentiments of early Americans before and during the Revolutionary War? Do any of us know what sacrifices they had to make? Who paid the highest price? Would you have been a Loyalist, Patriot, or...

Pros: Stark language revealing a starker story

Cons: The epilogue is a trifle pat.

Review: The story of the American Revolution as told by Tim Meeker, a young adolescent living in the Tory community of Redding, Connecticut. His brother Sam is a Yale student infatuated with the idea of rebellion, whether from family or England, and joins the...