Saving the Liberty Bell (On My Own History) - Softcover

Figley, Marty Rhodes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1575056968 ISBN 13: 9781575056968

Publisher: First Avenue Editions ™, 2004

Synopsis

Eleven-year-old Johnny Mickley longed to be a hero and have some part in helping America gain its independence. The British Army was just miles away from colonial Philadelphia, planning to invade the city and melt down all of its famous bells for cannons. The colonists were worried, they had to save the bells, especially Old Independence, now called the Liberty Bell. They finally came up with a plan – and Johnny got to help! But would it be enough to keep the bells safe?

About this title

About the Author:

Marty Rhodes Figley is the author of sixteen books, mostly about her favorite subject―remarkable people from our country's past. She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College. Marty, whose two children are grown, lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Paul, and their Airedale terrier, Scarlett.

Review:

Children's LiteratureIn an easy-to-read format, this book relates how John Mickley and his son Johnny smuggled the Liberty Bell, then called "Old Independence," out of Philadelphia as the British approached in 1777. Drawing well on historical material, the story imagines that young Johnny took over the driving of the hay wagon while his father pretended to sleep to draw the attention of patrolling British soldiers away from the man and to the sleepy farmboy in his farm wagon. The next day when the axle of the wagon broke, the bell had to be quickly transferred to Frederick Leaser's wagon to get to Northampton Town (now Allentown) and the boy must have suffered deep disappointment in not being able to complete the journey. But the author has Johnny visiting the church to view the bell hidden under the floorboards and safe from the British. This is a fitting ending because, as the text states, one person couldn't do what everyone working together could do--save the bell, and by inference, free the country. It's a stirring story aptly illustrated in paintings that show the solid farm boy persevering through the night and standing proudly with his father's arm around him at the end. An afterword explains how the author used facts to bolster this part of the American Revolutionary saga. 2004, Carolrhoda Books, Ages 7 to 11. 
--Susan Hepler, Ph.D.

About this edition

• Publisher: First Avenue Editions ™
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1575056968
• ISBN 13: 9781575056968
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Lepp Kevin