Will has dreams of being a superhero during the Civil War. While he is only 10, he envisions himself as the drummer boy leading troops to victory. That’s when the reality of war comes about as he witnesses first hand the battles around his home in Gettysburg. The book gives a perspective of war that shows that the people on both sides are just people, but the deaths and cruelties continue. Will befriends a drummer boy from the rebel troops, and then when the opportunity for him to serve as a messenger comes, he is unable to leave his family and go.
Review by Fay Mason, Churchill Jr. High School Media Center
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 Stars)
Interest Level: Grades 4-7
Will at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (Boys of Wartime)
Written by Laurie Calkhoven
Dutton Juvenile
144 pages
Release Date: February 17, 2011
ISBN: 9780525421450
This sounds like it would be a great historical fiction novel for the boys who are enamored of war. It could lead to a very interresting report and discussion on the Civil War…