I have a 5-year-old son named Sam. I read him this book for many days--day after day after day. He even slept with the book. So obviously, I believe this is a good book for kids! I had to give it a high rating--he never slept with any other book. The book, I believe, is rated at about a 3rd grade reading level. It involves guns and redcoats and things that interest young folks.
Anyway, the book is about the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Sam's father takes him along when the British come to Lexington. At the battle, one of Sam's friends gets shot in the leg, so children know that war is not all fun and games, and carrying a gun involves responsibility. The author also says things like the British soldiers burned some houses, but "their heart wasn't in it." This leads to good questions about why that was so. The author follows the British as they make a run for it as the "farmers" shoot at them the whole way back. And when Sam gets home, his worry is about his friend who was shot. Nifty drawings, good length, history--this is a very good book for the age group.

This early reader features Sam, a boy who joins his father as a Minuteman, and takes place in Concord and Lexington on the day the American Revolution begins. At 62 pages, with simple vocabulary, this book does a nice job of capturing the uncertainty and excitement of these events for a young person, and would be a good selection for a young reader interested in history. The companion volume by the same author, 'George the Drummer Boy', tells the story of a boy on the side of the loyalists on the same day. Simple but nice illustrations.

My kids loved this book. This book can be read by any reading level, because of its historical perspective. It appears to most adequately suit 1st graders. With my older children I used it as a tool, along with George the Drummer Boy, to teach perspective in writing and history. These two books in combination do an excellent job. Sam the Minuteman is told from the perspective of an American boy. George the Drummer Boy is told from a British boy's perspective. This book has 61 pages, about 1/4 of the pages are full page illustrations. Both books portray the same event in history - the beginning of the American Revolution.

We bought this tape because we thought it would be a good way to expose our kids to American history. The Colonial Radio folks seem to have a knack at making dry history lessons fun (we own a couple of their tapes). This particular production is not as flashy as some of their others, but it is none the less a good one. Unfortunately, my Father-in-Law is a history fanatic, and we have not seen the tape since his last visit. The family gives it a hearty four thumbs up.

I live in the area and have been along Battle Road many times. This tape has really brought the historical events alive for me. I have since gotten the Plimouth tape and am eagerly looking forward to the rumored Gettysburg series.

We stumbled upon this wonderful little tape purely by accident while doing the tourist thing in New England. When visiting the Lexington visitors center, we over heard the park rangers saying great things about this cassette, we bought one and must have listened to it a dozen times during the trip. The story of Paul Revere's ride and the battle of Lexington is truly a great one, and this tape makes listening to history fun and exciting. The kids love it (as do we) thought it is by no means a childrens product. It is apparently well researched and very well performed. We will be ordering some of the other items written by Jerry Robbins to see if they are of equal quality.

This early reader features George, a boy who drums for the army of British General Gage, and takes place in Concord and Lexington on the day the American Revolution begins. At 61 pages, with simple vocabulary, this would be a good selection for a young reader interested in history. The companion volume, 'Sam the Minuteman', tells the story of a boy on the side of the rebels on the same day. Nice illustrations in red and blue.

For second graders who have to read history books for school, this book is a good option. The vocabulary is manageable and the storyline is interesting. The author brings the Revolutionary War to life in a personal way which delights young readers. (Mom's part) This is information you normally do not learn in class. The Minutemen are people in the Revolutionary War who can load their guns in a minute. That's why they're called the Minutemen. (Munroe Woodward's part, Age 8)

I read this book, along with Sam the Minuteman, to show writing and historical perspective. The book is probably intended for the lst grade readers. There are 61 pages in the book, 1/4 of the pages are full page illustrations. This book tells of one moment in history from the perspective of a British boy, as opposed to Sam the minuteman, which is the same moment in history told from the perspective of an American boy. The moment in history explored here is the beginning of the American Revolution. All of the kids from ages 4 to 10 liked hearing this book. ...

I personally hated this book and wish it was never written. I am an American Sign Language student and usually find reading about deaf culture to be interesting, but this book was horrible. The plot jumped around too much and I found it to be incredibly boring. Save your time, don't read it.

I really enjoyed this book. Once I started it I could not put it down. Leah Hagar Cohen described the school, the deaf students and their teachers, her family all so well that I felt like I was there with her walking down the school's corridors. I really felt like I got to know the people that she focused on and appreacited her sharing her own personal story about her contact with the deaf community.

What a delicious book. I love that each chapter is to some extent self-contained (one girl's bat mitzvah, or the life of the author's grandmother, for two fine examples), allowing easy parceling of its treasures. I have enough familiarity with the culture Cohen is describing to know that she is terrific at representing the complexities and seeming contradictions of Deaf life. I also welcomed the author's willingness to include some of her own struggles with her position in relation to Deaf culture. An excellent book. If you like this one, you may also enjoy _Mother Father Deaf_ (I forget the author, but you're already at Amazon, so you can get it yourself). It's form is very different, but its insights are just as thoughtprovoking on some of the same issues.

I grew up near where Read did around the same time. There were probably times we crossed paths at area malls or movie theatres. This canvas gave me motivation to read the book.
Apart from that, our lives are incredibly different -- I am the straight mother of a toddler living in the suburbs. Yet Read's conversational tone and personable writing style made this accessible and enjoyable. Reading the book gave me the sense of having had a conversation into the wee hours of the night with a new friend, where incidents from the past become valuable character insight and cause for endearment.
I am not always a fan of memoir/autobiography, and found this more entertaining and freshly original than most in its class.

Kirk Read's first book is one of the most refreshing, entertaining books to come down the gay pipeline in quite some time. Most people will find something that they can relate to, even if they aren't gay. Part David Sedaris (the "not in-your-face" gay humor) and part Judy Blume (the coming of age part...although I don't think Judy's ever written about gay teens!), Kirk's words read like a gentle, Southern, summer breeze. He is very matter-of-fact and really does not make much of an issue out of being gay.

Some of the things that Kirk writes about might be a bit shocking for some (sex with an older guy at such a young age, for instance) but the writing is so warm and honest, that I really didn't think about how serious some of the situations were. I don't want to imply that the book makes light of these situations, because it doesn't at all.

The other thing that I loved about this book is that each chapter is quite short. It's the exact opposite of "wordy"- Kirk gets right to the heart of each story he tells. This book would be perfect for someone who likes to read a little before going to bed. I was able to read the entire book in a day.

Don't miss out on this great book! It has a permanent place on my bookshelf!

If you enjoy some of Kirk Read's syndicated columns in the gay press, prepare for an equally insightful and amusing voice, but with a sweet anecdotal and utterly Southern charm.

Read recounts his teenhood as an ongoing process of learning, suffering and coming out bit by bit, yet he dispenses with self-tortured misery, and offers an uplifting and often hilarious take on the horrors of high school.

Read provides an updated version of the teen coming out memoir, with modern updates. It made me wonder how many other new queer kids cut out pictures of Sir Ian McKellan and put them on their lockers. Read recounts his personal activism in rural Virginia. Diet Coke, Casey Donovan, gym teachers, Judas Priest, drama club; "Child," this is a fun and uplifting account with all the style and richness of the best young adult fiction. But it's all true!

Not a bad introduction to Lexington, although one should check with a few local agencies to get a more comprehensive picture of the city.

This is an easily read collection of first hand remembrances of the loss of the first carrier Lexington, CV2. The author has gathered a large number of accounts from both crew members of the Lexington and from those on the escorting vessels. The book is divided into two parts - the first focusing on the attack on the carrier when there was hope she would survive and the second focusing on the events leading to her loss. An enjoyable book that gives an insight into what it was like to serve on a carrier in the early days of WWII.