By the Light of Fireflies
Age of Revolutions |
---|
By the Light of Fireflies: A Novel of Sybil Ludington
|
American History > Age of Revolutions > American Revolution
Sybil Ludington believes in the legend of fireflies--they appear when you need them most. But it's not until her family is thrust into the dangers of the Revolutionary War, and into George Washington's spy ring, that Sybil fully experiences firefly magic for herself--guiding her through the darkness, empowering her to figure out who she's supposed to be and how strong she really is--as she delivers her imperative message and warns against a British attack.
BY THE LIGHT OF FIREFLIES is the captivating tale of a young girl's journey as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a spy, and eventually a war hero, completing a midnight ride that cements her place in history as the "female Paul Revere."
Emily's Review
I was excited to read a story about a girl hero of the Revolutionary War. There isn't a lot of information about Sybil Ludington, beyond that she rode to alert her father's militia on a ride that was twice as long as Paul Revere's. So the author had to do quite a lot to flesh out this story.
I felt that Sybil's age wasn't clear throughout the story - she is a teenager for most of the book, but she feels more like a 12-year-old in her speech and mannerisms. Also, this is more of a horse book than I was expecting and unfortunately, horses are not my thing. However, I bet that the horse element will really appeal to some middle-grade readers! I also really liked how Sybil and her sister helped their father run his spy ring. The coding was really interesting. It would be fun, while reading this story, to invent your own secret code and pass coded messages back and forth!
Overall, I think this would be a nice extra to add to your Revolutionary War studies, particularly if you have a child who loves horses!
Other Similar Books
Other suggestions on the subject of the American Revolution.
- Paul Revere's Ride (by: Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, American Revolution, Paul Revere, LE, MG)
- You Wouldn't Want to Be at the Boston Tea Party (by: Cook, Peter, American Revolution, Boston Tea Party, LE, MG)
- Independent Dames (by: Anderson, Laurie Halse, American Revolution, LE, MG)
- The Boston Tea Party (by: Freedman, Russell, American Revolution, Boston Tea Party, LE, MG)
- History Smashers: The American Revolution (by: Messner, Kate, American Revolution, MG, UMG)
- Sophia's War: A Tale of the Revolution (by: Avi, American Revolution, MG)
- Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, Patrick Henry, MG)
- Lafayette! (by: Hale, Nathan, American Revolution, MG, UMG)
- The Battle of Bunker Hill: An Interactive History Adventure (by: Burgan, Michael, American Revolution, MG)
- Black Heroes of the American Revolution (by: Davis, Burke, American Revolution, UMG, MG)
- What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, MG)
- Attack of the Turtle (by: Carlson, Drew, American Revolution, MG, UMG)
- And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, Paul Revere, MG)
- Ben and Me (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, MG)
- Answering the Cry for Freedom (by: Woelfle, Gretchen, American Revolution, MG, UMG)
- Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, John Hancock, MG)
- The Revolutionary War: An Interactive History Adventure (by: Raum, Elizabeth, American Revolution, MG)
- By the Light of Fireflies (by: Walsh, Jenni L., American Revolution, Sybil Ludington, Spies, MG)
- George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen from Both Sides (by: Schanzer, Rosalyn, American Revolution, King George III, George Washington, MG, UMG)
- Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, Sam Adams, MG)
- One Dead Spy (by: Hale, Nathan, American Revolution, Nathan Hale, MG, UMG)
- Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? (by: Fritz, Jean, American Revolution, King George III, MG)
- The Boston Massacre: An Interactive History Adventure (by: Raum, Elizabeth, American Revolution, MG)
- Toliver's Secret (by: Brady, Esther Wood, American Revolution, MG)
- Johnny Tremain (by: Forbes, Esther, American Revolution, UMG)
- Chains (by: Anderson, Laurie Halse, American Revolution, UMG)
- Guts & Glory: The American Revolution (by: Thompson, Ben, American Revolution, UMG)
- Forge (by: Anderson, Laurie Halse, American Revolution, UMG)
- Susanna's Midnight Ride (by: McNamee, Libby Carty, American Revolution, UMG, YA)
- King George III: America's Enemy (by: Brooks, Philip, American Revolution, King George III, YA, UMG)
- Someone Knows My Name (by: Hill, Lawrence, American Revolution, YA, A)
- Ashes (by: Anderson, Laurie Halse, American Revolution, UMG)
- My Brother Sam Is Dead (by: Collier, James Lincoln, Collier, Christopher, American Revolution, UMG, YA)
- King George: What Was His Problem? (by: Sheinkin, Steve, American Revolution, King George III, UMG, YA)
- Notorious Benedict Arnold (by: Sheinkin, Steve, American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, YA)
- Women Heroes of the American Revolution: 20 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Defiance, and Rescue (by: Casey, Susan, American Revolution, YA, A)
- 1776 (by: McCullough, David, American Revolution, YA, A)