When Peggy McAllister learns about the Rattletop Award for “excellence in eighth grade social studies,” she is determined to win it with a research paper on a Great American Hero. But when she chooses Molly Pitcher, the famous Revolutionary War heroine of the Battle of Monmouth, as her subject, she runs into difficulties. With the help of her Greatgramps, a retired private investigator, his lady friend Mrs. Spinner, a local historian and secret author of historical romance novels, and Ms. Guelphstein, a dedicated reference librarian, Peggy sorts through a maze of confusing and contradictory evidence to identify the “real” Molly Pitcher.
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By Linda Grant DePauw
Oct 15, 2009
" From Amazon.com: Kept My Nephew Engrossed and That's Really Saying Something, May 5, 2008" When Lonely eighth grader Peggy McAllister learns about a contest with prize money for first place, she enters. The contest is for Excellence in Eighth Grade Social Studies and Peggy decides to do a paper on an American Hero. And with the help of her ninety-year-old pal Greatgramps, who used to be a private investigator many years ago, she sets out to learn about and write about Revolutionary War hero Molly Pitcher And that is not an easy task. Was Molly even real or was she a combination of many women. Was she a legend that had grown over time. In the end that's what Peggy concludes, saying that Peggy was the embodiment of all of the women who had fought in the Revolutionary War. But what really makes this young adult novel stand out is the journey Peggy goes on as she learns how to write a research paper with the help of her intrepid crew, Greatgramps, historical romance writer... More > Mrs. Spinner and librarian Miss Guelphstein. Peggy's journey kept me interested, but what's more important, it kept my twelve-year-old nephew interested too and that's saying something, because he'd much rather be playing than reading. -Katie Osbourne< Less
