reneeisreadingbooks 's review for:

Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson

5.0

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When I was still in the classroom, I loved teaching Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 and her Seeds of America trilogy. So it’s no surprise that I would jump at the chance to teach/integrate her newest, Rebellion 1776. The beauty of Anderson’s books is that they are rigorous for early (and maybe even late) high school but accessible (and maybe best suited for) middle school. And they would be an ideal addition to a social studies classroom, too!

Rebellion 1776 starts each chapter with a small primary source excerpt—many are letters or journals from names you and your students will recognize. And then the story itself unfolds linking to key historic moments but emphasizing the everyday lived reality of the people. And this is where I think Anderson really shines. Readers are pulled into the history because it feels like it could happen today—spreading disease, war, and a changing America—are all recognizable, but it’s Elsbeth’s story of caring for the sick, worrying for the safety of her father and dear friends, and yearning for some independence that really connects to the adolescent reader.

There’s so much potential for her books because they serve both academic and joyful reading purposes. If you have an adolescent reader (or even a young reader you might read with), consider Rebellion 1776 and Anderson’s other historical fiction works. She’s a one-of-a-kind author that your kiddos deserve to know and love.