Picture Book Exploration: Paul Revere’s Ride, The Start of America250!
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Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Today we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the ride of Paul Revere! How incredible is that? We are entering into a time of great celebrations here in the United States for the next 18 months-ish. We are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country! Months long celebrations known as America250 are underway throughout the nation. And it all started with Paul Revere’s ride through the night… Using Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Ted Rand, let’s explore this famous day and year.
Who was Paul Revere?
Born in Boston on January 1st, 1735, Paul Revere was a silversmith and an influential citizen of Boston. In 1765, after the Seven Years War and the enactment of the Sugar and Stamp Act, he joined the Sons of Liberty, an underground political organization of Patriots who led the resistance against the British government of the American colonies. Paul Revere was an active member of the association and helped create a network of spies as well as their system of communication. Thus bringing him to April 18th, 1775 and his famous midnight ride.
What did it mean to be a Patriot in 1775?
In 1775, you were a patriot if you supported American independence from British rule by self-governance, desired individual liberty and believed in democratic ideas. Being a Patriot meant that you were willing to sacrifice much for the freedom and independence of the American colonies. Paul Revere was a Patriot and an intelligence officer for the Sons of Liberty. During the Revolutionary War he became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Massachusetts Artillery. He did not fare as gloriously as with his famous ride in that role and ended up being court martialled for insubordination, neglect of duty and cowardice during the Penobscot Expedition. He was later exonerated.
The famous Midnight Ride
Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride was the result of intelligence gathering and indications that British troops were heading to the towns of Lexington and Concord to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, well known leaders of the Sons of Liberty. It was also suspected that the British would cease a sizable depot of ammunition in Concord. Paul Revere rode from Charlestown to Lexington without being detected by the British. He discreetly warned patriots along the way of the coming of the British Regulars. The countryside was full of British patrols and many colonists were still royal to the king of England. However on his way to Concord he was intercepted by British troops and taken prisoner near Lincoln. He was later released, near Lexington, when the British went to the rescue of their troops being attacked in Lexington. But that is a story for another day.
Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord took place early in the morning of April 19th, 1775. Big to-dos are planned in both towns to commemorate the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Check out each town’s website for more details: Concord250 and Lexington250. And A Daily Picture Book’s Booklover April booklist for ideas on how to commemorate it at home.
Picture book
I am a big fan of Ted Rand and his illustrations. His vibrant watercolors enhance Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem. They dramatize it and bring it to life. I really appreciate the fact that he has done his research and that everything is historically accurate. What a feat to illustrate an entire picture book with night scenes! This is a true illustrations’ masterpiece!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem
Longfellow’s poem is a ballad, a narrative poem used to recall the story of legendary heroes or events. This poem, written in 1861, almost a hundred years after the actual event, established Paul Revere’s ride in American lore and elevated Paul Revere to the rank of hero. While based on facts this poem embellishes Paul Revere’s role and romanticizes the alarm spread through the Massachusetts countryside. It is a wonderful example of a ballad, and though it has not been set to music, as most ballads are written to be sung, you can still feel its tempo while reading it out loud. What better way to learn about history than through poetry?
Teaching history through poetry
Even with its embellishments, this poem is the perfect example of learning about historical events through living books, or in this case, poems. There are so many clues as to the times, the events preceding and succeeding the ride in this poem that we could build a monumental history study on it. For this time around I have decided to focus on military uniforms after coming across this phenomenal book: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms From 1775– 1783 (The American Revolutionary War). This book is an amazing resource to teach the history of the Revolutionary War. The details of the illustrations on each uniform and the explanations are wonderful. The free Picture Book Exploration contains a link to the free version of this book. Uniforms are important because they can literally help win a war. So read more about them and spend some time writing about them in your Notebook.
Geography
I love that this book has a wonderful map on each endpages of Paul Revere’s ride. I love maps. In my dreams I would use a map of the entire country, then create an insert of the 13 colonies. On that insert I would create a smaller insert of Massachusetts, and from that insert I would add a yet smaller insert of the map found in the book. A nesting map of sorts. It would be time consuming but how much more would we remember about this ride’s geography? Talk about an in depth study! And there would no longer be any question of where exactly Lexington and Concord are. I might be up for the challenge. Follow up on A Daily Picture Book to see if it happens!
Book of Century
Enter the Ride of Paul Revere to your Book of Century. It is regarded by many historians as the official starting point of physical and violent conflict between the American Patriots and the British government. The Revolutionary War was a one of a kind revolution, it was not a civil war, like the French Revolution, it was truly a fight for freedom. The first colonists had come to the Americas for freedom, especially freedom of religion. The Revolutionary War pursued that desire from freedom and established a new form of government where freedoms were granted to all and not just a few elites. It is a pivotal event in our history but also in the history of the world.
America250
For the next many months, I will endeavor to find the best picture books to bring our American history to life and especially highlight the Revolutionary War. So look for the America250 logo on the booklists. Collect all the America250 picture book titles for a wonderful picture book based unit study on the American Revolution! As a new American and a lover of history I am very excited about this wonderful opportunity to study the Revolutionary War closer and will be making a special effort to share a lot more about this topic in the months to come. If you have any special request please let me know at: adailypicturebook@gmail.com .
Love,
Mattie
PS: As I was researching for this blog post I came across this fantastic book: Why Longfellow Lied: the truth About Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride by Jeff Lantos. I fell down a rabbit hole and I am far from out of it… Ihave hardly been able to put it down since I started it! It is a hybrid of picture and chapter book. But it is very well written, and does not take away from the love I have for the poem. It just puts it in its proper historical place and really helps understand what a ballad is all about. Love it!
