BOSTON TEA PARTY

Here is the Boston Tea Party in a format that uses the cumulative repetition of “This is the House that Jack Built” to unfold events. Elementary school teachers introducing the Revolutionary War may find this a novel approach, but the lines are awkward when read aloud, and lack the gentle rhyme and cadence that makes “Jack” a perennial favorite. Edwards begins in India: “These are the leaves that grew on a bush in a far-off land and became part of the Boston Tea Party,” and progresses to the first battles of the wars, concluding with “These are the Americans, independent and free, who honor the soldiers who fought for freedom remembering the tea chests, 340 in number, which bobbed in the harbor stained dark brown. ‘Like a giant teapot!’ shouted the sailors. . . . ” Cole’s illustrations are handsome and humorous, with resolute patriots, an indolent King George, and cheeky mice commenting on the humans while paddling around Boston Harbor in a tea cup. A final double page provides a timeline of events from 1763, the end of the French and Indian War when England decided to keep troops in America, through 1783 and the signing of the Treaty of Paris. A good idea, only partially successful. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)