Anderson, Laurie Halse. Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution. Illustrated by Matt Faulkner. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008. ISBN: 0689858086.
Media: Watercolor, pen and ink.
Awards: CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Storytelling World Award.
Author Website: http://madwomanintheforest.com/
Illustrator Website: http://www.mattfaulkner.com/
Curricular Connection: 5th Grade History/ Social Studies, California State Board of Education Standards, 5.6: Students understand the course and consequences of the American Revolution, 3. Identify the different roles women played during the Revolution (e.g., Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Molly Pitcher, Phillis Wheatley, Mercy
Otis Warren).
Annotation: Everybody knows about the heroes of the American Revolution George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, but how much do you know about the women and girls who fought for America's freedom?
Personal Reaction: Independent Dames is a great combination of interesting and fun. I also like the idea of introducing readers to Laurie Halse Andersen who has also authored much talked about novels, Speak, Fever and Chains. In this book, Anderson endeavors to teach students about the many ways in which women were involved in The American Revolution. A running timeline along the bottom of each page puts these women’s contributions in perspective. Illustrator Faulkner not only adds pictures, but his own story, as well. Humorous illustrations show women from revolutionary times upstaging the male stars of a production about The American Revolution.