Title: My America: Five Smooth Stones (Hope's Diary--Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1776)
Author: Kristiana Gregory
Target Audience: Elementary
Approximate reading level: 4th
Summary: The author writes as Hope, a nine-year-old girl living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the start of America's history as a new country. The book is written as her journal. Entries are short and not daily, but mostly dated (a few are marked as something like "the next morning"). The author includes a "Historical Note" at the end of the book to put some of the details from the book in historical context.
Review: A few words may be unfamiliar due to the historical usage of words and language ('twas, 'tis, arithmetick, dost, for example). I enjoy this type of book because it can make history more interesting because the story is told from the point of view of an average person. The book mainly covers daily life, but also mentions historical events such as the writing of the Declaration of Independence and George Washington's Christmas night attack on the British soldiers.
**** Four stars
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