A humble shoemaker hears the bells ringing at Lexington and responds to a call to battle. An aide to George Washington recounts his feelings as he crosses the Delaware. A young surgeon describes in his diary the horror of an army camp, where the spread of smallpox, frostbite, and starvation are deadlier than any sword. These are the voices of the American Revolutionaries.

Most of us know about the American Revolution only from secondhand accounts of the fighting or from documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. But listen closely and you can hear the...

How did compliant colonials with strong ties to Europe get the notion to become an independent nation? Perhaps the seeds of liberty were planted in the 1735 historic courtroom battle for the freedom of the press. Or maybe the French and Indian War did it, when colonists were called "Americans" for the first time by the English, and the great English army proved itself not so formidable after all. But for sure when King George III started levying some...

Beginning with George Washington's inauguration and continuing into the nineteenth century, The New Nation tells the story of the remarkable challenges that the freshly formed United States faced. Thomas Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territories (bought from France at a mere four cents an acre ), Lewis and Clark's daring expedition through this wilderness, the War of 1812 a.k.a. "Revolutionary War, Part II," Tecumseh's effort to form an Indian...

From battling toothaches while fighting the British, to having rotten teeth removed by his dentists, the Father of His Country suffered all his life with tooth problems. Yet, contrary to popular belief, he never had a set of wooden teeth. Starting at the age of twenty-four, George Washington lost on average a tooth a year, and by the time he was elected president, he had only two left In this reverentially funny tale written in verse and based on Washington's letters, diaries, and other historical records, readers will find out what really happened as they follow the trail of lost teeth...

Track the facts with Jack and Annie

When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #22: Revolutionary War on Wednesday, they had lots of questions. What was it like to live in colonial times? Why did the stamp Act make the colonists so angry? Who were the Minutemen? What happened at the Boston Tea Party? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and...

When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House #27: Thanksgiving on Thursday, they had lots of questions. What was it like to sail on the Mayflower? Why did the Pilgrims choose Plymouth? How did they survive in their new home? What did they really eat at the first Thanksgiving? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack...

Who better to collect and share the clues than Jean Fritz and Hudson Talbott?

The creators of Leonardo's Horse, an American Library Association Notable Book, again combine their masterful talents to illuminate a tragic piece of history that still fascinates Americans today.