"Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero," by Marissa Moss, Illustrated by John Hendrix

Image Courtesy of: http://www.abramsbooks.com/uploadedImages/Books/9780810997356.jpg

Bibliographic Citation

Title: Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero

Author: Marissa Moss

Illustrator: John Hendrix

Year of Publication: 2011

Publisher City: New York

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 9780810997356

Author Website: http://www.marissamoss.com/

Illustrator Website: http://johnhendrix.com/portfolio/

Media Used for Artwork: Pen, Ink, Acrylic Wash

Copyright 2010/2011

Awards

·         Junior Library Guild Selection, 2010

·         Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Annotation

During the Civil War, Sarah Edmonds dressed as a man and went by the name Frank Thompson.  She became a hero by fighting in many famous battles, nursing many wounded soldiers, and becoming a spy for the North.

Personal Reaction

                It is always interesting to find stories about lesser known historic figures, especially when they have amazing tales.  Sarah Edmonds is one of these figures.  Though she may not be found in a textbook through this picture book by Moss, older readers are able to learn about her heroic acts during the Civil War.  Moss did a great job of providing an overview of her life in the army.  It was nice to see at the end the resources used by the author and illustrator to write the book.  This list of resources can be used by readers who wish to conduct more research about Edmonds.

                The caricature illustrations give the story a graphic novel feeling.   It both provides realism to the characters.  For example, seeing Edmonds freckles made her stand out from the rest.  The illustrations also provided many details on the battlefield scenes.  They show the violence of the different battlefields by showing flames, explosions, and even the injuries of the soldiers.  There are moments were the text becomes part of the illustrations, putting emphasis on the words, which lends itself to the graphic novel style. 

Curriculum: Grade 8- History: This book can be used to teach students about the role of women during the Civil War.  The extent that Edmonds went to fight for the North should be admired.  After reading this book, as a project students can do further research of Edmonds, beginning with the books listed at the end of the book.  Or this book can be used as inspiration for students to find information on other historic figures that aren’t found in textbooks.