Jules, Jacqueline. Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation. Illustrated by Jef Czekaj. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-58089-189-9.
Author website: http://www.jacquelinejules.com
Illustrator website: http://www.czekaj.com
Illustrator media used: Ink on Bristol and then scanned and colored on an Apple iBook using Adobe Photoshop 6.0.
Award: Annual Whitney & Scott Cardozo Award for Children’s Literature, 2010.
Curricular Connection: California History / Social Science, Grade 5, California Standard: 5.7: Students describe the people and events involved in the development of the U.S. Constitution and the impact and consequences of the document for the new nation.
Annotation: Lively readers’ theater style story about the causes, events and consequences of the American Revolution. Humorous illustrations give this two century old story a fresh face.
Personal Reaction: This book will appeal to upper elementary school students raised on Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it combines history with cartoon drawings and plenty of speech bubbles. Cartoon characters act out life in the thirteen colonies and tell the story of how the Constitution was written. The play is nicely broken into parts based on the interests of each new state after the Constitution is adopted. Plenty of laughs are available via illustrator Czekaj’s drawings and Jules’ writing is geared toward those looking for just the facts. More detail is available in the notes at the back of the book. A solid bibliography for additional study is also provided. This book is ideal for adapting to a class presentation, combining history and drama.
