The My Brother Sam is Dead Blog: resources

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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Best Resource for My Brother Sam is Dead

Recently I released my second e-book to help students, teachers and parents better understand the historical fiction novel- My Brother Sam is Dead.

The My Brother Sam is Dead Study Guide is available via Amazon.com's Kindle edition. It is more extensive (67 pages) than any other guide available and the information in it is based on 14 years of research. I grew up in Redding, Connecticut and was surrounded by all that Tim Meeker speaks of in this book. There was so much I could have explored, but I was only 12 years old and never made those connections. So what this examination of My Brother Sam is Dead really is, is an opportunity to prevent children of the current generation from missing out on all this great history. I put a lot of effort into this book for that very reason.

If you purchase or borrow this My Brother Sam is Dead Study Guide at Amazon.com you will find in it:

Chapter One:
About the Book My Brother Sam is Dead

My Brother Sam is Dead is told in the first person by 10 year old Tim Meeker of Redding Ridge. It recounts the hardships endured by Tim and his family during the early stages of the Revolutionary War.

When Tim's older brother Sam returns home from Yale College in New Haven to announce he’s joining the rebel forces, it greatly impacts the rest of his family who wish to remain neutral and/or avoid a rebellious war with England. Tim's family is Anglican and thus loyal to the Church of England; a split with England would greatly affect them...

Chapter Two:
Setting of the Book My Brother Sam is Dead

Redding, Connecticut is located in Southwest Connecticut. Its size is 31.5 square miles, about five miles from north to south, roughly seven miles from east to west. It encompasses 4.9% of Fairfield County.

I also provide background information on Redding before and after the Revolutionary War.

Chapter Three:
Real Life vs. Events Fictionalized in My Brother Sam is Dead

The intent here is to point out real life vs. My Brother Sam is Dead events that relate to Redding, Connecticut. The quotes come directly from the novel; below the quotes are the historical facts these quotes are based on.

Chapter Four:
Places you can visit related to My Brother Sam is Dead

Redding Ridge:
This is where the Meeker's lived. Be sure to explore the Christ Church cemetery, you'll be amazed at how many characters from the book are buried here.

Across the street from the Church looking North are the fields Tim runs across when he attempts to steal back his Father's Brown Bess from Sam.

Chapter Five:
The Characters in the Novel My Brother Sam is Dead

Read all about the characters in the book and learn about the real life people the characters are based on.

Chapter Six:
Why has My Brother Sam is Dead been Challenged or Censored in the Past?

Learn why the novel earned a top 10 listing on the American Way's most challenged book list in 1996.

The 67 page My Brother Sam is Dead Study Guide is available via Amazon.com's Kindle edition.

Want More?

All I have is at my Dropbox Account...

My Dropbox account is a work in progress so you will always have my latest research and the most accurate information available. You will also have access to new maps and photos and resources.

What’s in the My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Folder?

Everything I have collected and written over that past 6 years and that's a whole lot. The idea behind this folder is to help parents and teachers better understand what topics the authors have woven into each chapter of the fictional history novel, My Brother Sam is Dead.

I have broken out this resource into three sections:

1). Guide to MBSD(2 e-books and 8 supporting documents),

2). Maps, Photos and Visuals and

3). Teaching Resources(includes lesson plans and online quizzes).

All my ebooks are included at this resource and much more. Photos and maps of everything that occurs in the novel and teaching tools are included as well.

This is everything you need and more to get your kids really excited about the novel and come away with a very good understanding of why the novel was written.

My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Access

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

New Resource: The American Revolution from McGraw-Hill Higher Education

This just came my way today and I'd highly suggest reading it and using it as a resource. Great information and well written.

Here are the topics you will find in the resource, I have placed a * next to topics that directly tie to My Brother Sam is Dead:

My Brother Sam is Dead Information

For everything I have on My Brother Sam is Dead, sign up for my Dropbox Account: My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbook Sign up.

This Dropbox includes all my materials and is updated often.

I used to sell CD's with this material but Dropbox is even better than a CD because I can add to the Dropbox account whenever I want and you can access the Dropbox account from anywhere.

This is a look at what is in it:

When you enter the My Brother Sam is Dead Folder you will see two of my e-books and a link to the resources folders.

When you enter the Guide to MBSD folder you have access to all my documentation which I left it in Word format so you can copy and paste it into your own lessons and presentations.

The Photos and Visuals folder has every photo I've taken and every photo I've used in my presentation over the years. I have them broken out by topic to make them easy to find.

The Teaching Resources area has a lot of great stuff. I have lesson plans I've created as well as lesson plans others have created. You will also find Maps, my collection of My Brother Sam is Dead Topics, Rev War Documents (primary source) and Suggestions for other books that use historical fiction.

I've priced it at $12.99, but you can find coupons that knock the price down to $8.99 at the My Brother Sam is Dead Facebook Account for the Novel.

I've put a lot of effort into this resource because this book is really amazing and I want kids and teachers to get more out of it than just the story. The story is very good but the topics they have woven into the story are what really makes this novel special.

The My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Account:
My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbook Sign up.

Teachers that wish to promote this resource and earn money doing so can email me at:
bcolley@colleyweb.com

Friday, April 26, 2013

My Brother Sam is Dead and the British Raid of Danbury

In Chapter 10 of My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim has many feelings about the War but he has yet to experience the war up close. That changes on Saturday morning April 26, 1777 while Tim is tending to the kitchen garden on the side of his house.

Tim narrating: "I began hearing from a long way away a heavy muttering noise. It sounded a bit like thunder, but not exactly. It made me uneasy. I jammed the spade in the ground and went out front of the tavern to have a look up and down the road. The sound seemed to be coming from the southwest over behind the church somewhere…And then I saw Ned, Samuel Smith's Negro, come running up the road. At the same moment Captain Betts, popped out of his house next door. Captain Betts was in the Rebel militia.

"What is it, Ned" he shouted.

"British Troops, Captain," Ned shouted. He ran on by.

"The noise grew louder. I watched, and all at once through the hedgerows I caught a glimpse of movement and things flashing. In a moment the vanguard appeared around the bend…On down the road toward me they came. It was a frightening thing to see. They just kept coming on and on as if nothing in the world could stop them."

With the war in his front yard, Tim experiences many realities in a short frame of time:

1. The British troops are numerous, organized, and impressive looking: "Oh, those troops were impressive looking with all those belts and buckles and powder horns and bayonets and so forth dangling about their red uniforms. How could people like Sam expect to beat them?"

2. There are split loyalties in his own neighborhood: "It gave me a funny feeling to realize that while Mr. Heron was giving the British officers rum and beef, Captain Betts and Mr. Rogers were sitting a hundred yards away trying out a way to kill them."

3. That he's a Tory. "Suddenly I realized that I was. Father's capture had done that."

4. War turns men into beasts. "At first when the troops had arrived, swaggering around so bold and gay, I had really admired them. But seeing them take Jerry Sanford off like that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach."

5. He doesn't want to be a Tory anymore. After watching the British kill Ned and the others in Captain Starr's house he realizes that neither side of the war is worthy of his support.

These events really happened...

April 26, 1777 British Raid on Danbury, Connecticut

British Raid of Danbury, 1777

The British Army's march through Redding Ridge is the only direct contact Redding residents had with British troops in the Revolution. It created much excitement and afforded the Collier's an opportunity to bring that excitement to life in my brother Sam is dead. Twenty-four vessels carrying around 1,550 regular British troops and some 300 Loyalist militiamen from "Browne's Provincial Corps", many of whom were originally from Connecticut, arrived on the shores of Compo Beach in Westport, Connecticut on April 25, 1777. Their mission: destroy the rebel military supply depot at Danbury, Connecticut.

Lord Howe, the commander of the British troops, stationed at New York City, had long meditated an attack on Connecticut and news of provisions being stored at Danbury provided the incentive he desired. Howe chose William Tryon, the deposed British governor of New York, as Commander and two military men: Brigadier General James Agnew, second in command and Brigadier General Sir William Erskine as third in command for the expedition.

Tryon had been Governor of New York up until the Revolution and was said to have been consumed with "an inveterate hatred and thirst for revenge" on the rebel Yankees. He had a special grudge against Connecticut, the sturdy little colony that had thwarted him in a variety of ways: "Her horseman had scattered organs of revolutionary propaganda through the streets of New York; her "Sons of Liberty" had plotted against him even in his own city; treated with contempt his proclamations, using them as specimens of the governor's pleasant humor."

Tryon had the further merit of being intimately acquainted with the towns and landscape of Connecticut. He had been as far inland as Litchfield, had probably visited Danbury, and had been dined and feted at Norwalk, Fairfield, and New Haven. He seems to have acted as a *guide to the expedition while giving **Agnew and Erskine the responsibility of tactical operations.

Via 40 or 50 flatboats the troops disembarked at Compo between five and six in the afternoon, and that same evening marched to Fairfield, about seven miles distant, where they encamped for the night.

News that the British had landed at Compo, encamped at Fairfield, and would march through Redding the next day, was conveyed to the residents at an early hour, and occasioned the greatest consternation and excitement. Money and valuables were hastily secreted in wells and other places of concealment; horses and cattle were driven into the forests, and the inhabitants along the enemy's probable route held themselves in readiness for instant flight.

On receiving intelligence of the landing at Compo, Captain Zalmon Read mustered his company of militia, and forthwith marched to intercept the invaders. At a place called Couch's Rock, in Weston, Connecticut, they came suddenly upon a British flanking company and were taken as prisoners. Town selectman, James Rogers, Timothy Parsons, Russell Bartlett and 13 year old, Jacob Patchen were among the prisoners. In Charles Burr Todd's History of Redding, Todd relates that:

"Timothy Parsons, had a fine musket which he particularly valued; this a British soldier took, and dashed to pieces on the stones, saying it should waste no more rebel bullets."

Meanwhile, Colonel Joseph Platt Cooke, commander of the 16th militia regiment in Danbury, had followed General Gold S. Silliman's instructions and sent all available men from Danbury to Fairfield. Silliman mistakenly assumed that the British intended to attack Fairfield. Other troops were sent toward the Hudson River, in response to a number of ships the British had strategically positioned there to confuse the American generals. This left the Military Depot at Danbury in a vulnerable state.

On the morning of the 26th, at a very seasonable hour (11am-12 noon), the British troops arrived and halted at Redding Ridge. During the halt the main body of the troops remained under arms on the green in front of the Anglican Church. Tryon, Agnew, and Erskine were invited into Esquire William Heron's home (the first house south of the Christ Church Episcopal, no longer in existence). Here they were reported to have been "hospitably entertained with cake, wine, and it is presumed, many hopeful prognostications of the speedy collapse of the rebellion."

Shortly after their meeting, a file of soldiers entered the house of Lieutenant Stephen Betts, a prominent patriot who lived across the street from the church and seized him. Daniel Sanford, his son, Jeremiah Sanford (19 years old), and 16 year old, Benjamin Lines, met a like fate. Three of Redding's loyalists joined British Troops on this day: Samuel Hawley, James Gray, and Joseph Lyon. Lyon had been in hiding for 33 days.

As the army prepared to resume its march north, a horseman was observed spurring rapidly down Couch Hill Road (present day- Sunset Hill Road) toward them. He was within musket shot before discovering their presence and though he turned to fly when he saw their red coats, he was shot, and severely wounded in the attempt. He proved to be a messenger from Colonel Cooke in Danbury, bearing dispatches to General Silliman. His name was Lambert Lockwood. Tryon had formerly known him in Norwalk, where Lockwood had rendered him a service, and Tryon seems to have acted on this occasion with some kindness, as he released him on parole, and allowed him to be taken into a house so his wounds could be dressed.

All in all, the British troops spent one to two hours on Redding Ridge before resuming their march to Danbury with the ***Redding militiamen captured in Weston, Patriots Stephen Betts, Daniel Sanford, Jeremiah Sanford and a non-combatant (B. Lines) captured in Redding. One British soldier, Bernard Keeler, deserted at Redding Ridge and lived in town until his death in 1827.

As the British marched toward Danbury, the remaining patriots of Redding anxiously awaited the approach of the Patriot troops in pursuit. At length they came in view, marching wearily, in sodden, disordered ranks, a small army of five hundred men and boys, led by Brigadier General Silliman. They were comprised of soldiers from the companies of Colonel Lamb's battalion of artillery, with three rusty cannon, a field-piece, part of the artillery company of Fairfield, and sixty Continentals; the rest were an untrained assemblage, chiefly old men and boys.

It was eight o'clock in the evening when the New Haven troops arrived at Redding Ridge-an evening as disagreeable as a northeast rainstorm with its attendant darkness could make it. Here the troops halted an hour for rest and refreshment. At the expiration of that time a bugle was heard from far down the turnpike; then the tramp of horsemen was heard and presently Major General Wooster and Brigadier General Arnold, dashed into the village of Redding Ridge.

On hearing that the British were so far ahead, it is said that Arnold became so enraged that he could scarcely keep his seat, and his terrible oaths fell on his auditor's ears like thunder claps. Wooster at once assumed command, and the column moved forward through the muddy and heavily rutted roadway as far as Bethel, where it halted for the night.

At Danbury, but three miles distant, Tryon's force was at rest, and might have been annihilated by a determined effort, but the Continental command was hampered by the weather conditions, heavily rutted roadways and fatigue.

Benedict Arnold to McDougall, West Redding, April 27th, 1777, 10am:

"Last night at half past eleven, General Wooster, General Silliman and myself with six hundred militia arrived at Bethel, ****eight miles from Danbury. The excessive heavy rains rendered their arms useless, and many of the troops were much fatigued having marched thirty miles in the course of the day without refreshment."

The British had reached Danbury at approximately 5:00 pm and driven off the Patriots who had been attempting to remove supplies. Later that evening, seven patriot defenders who had stayed behind opened fire on British troops from a house in town owned by Major Daniel Starr, among the patriots was "Ned", a slave of Redding's Samuel Smith. *****Two companies of British regulars charged and put the dwelling to the torch killing all the men inside.

Before their departure early the next morning, the British had destroyed much of the Rebel's depot: barrels of pork and beef, barrels of flour, bushels of grain, hogsheads of rum and wine, thousands of shoes, stockings and tents among other supplies. Provisions the Continental troops would long for come the winter of 1778-79.

Notes:

*Tryon was aided by local Tories who had fled from the area and joined the British army. The locals intimate knowledge of the roadways and landscape in and around Southwestern Connecticut was a vital asset to the British troops.

**Agnew was injured at some point during the weekend and Erskine took over as second in command.; He was very capable in that role. Earlier that winter, Erskine had led a foraging expedition to New Jersey in which "he routed the rebels with great slaughter; he took no prisoners."

***Betts, Bartlett, Lines, Patchen, and most of the Redding militiamen would all eventually return to Redding. Daniel Sanford, Jeremiah Sanford, Daniel Chapman, and David Fairchild died in captivity while being held in the "sugar houses" of New York, where sanitation was deplorable and disease was rampant.

****distances from Danbury vary from 2.5 miles to 8 miles, depending on who is reporting back to their superiors. In this case Arnold incorrectly states they were 8 miles from Danbury; They were within 3 miles of Danbury, at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Blackman Avenue.

*****This was the story behind the beheading of Ned in My Brother Sam is Dead.

I will continue to provide free content here and at my History of Redding website, but for those who wish to have access to all I know, I have created a Dropbox account that has everything I've found and created. All can be downloaded from the Dropbox. Access is $12.99 and that is unlimited access. Friend the My Brother Sam is Dead Facebook page and receive a $4 discount.

My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox information. This resource includes all my e-books, photos, maps, primary source materials, lesson plans and online self-grading quizzes. Plus much more.

Monday, April 1, 2013

New My Brother Sam is Dead Help Resources

I loved reading the novel My Brother Sam is Dead when I was a kid, it was exciting; it was sad; it had soldiers; it had mystery, but I never really understood it as the authors wished to me to. But after reading it again several years ago(as an adult), I got it. I understood why it was written and I saw all the topics that the authors had woven into each chapter.

At the time I re-read the novel I was in the process of recording the history of Redding in digital format. I was and I still am gathering information about Redding, Connecticut and posting it online so everyone else can enjoy it too. (My website is: HistoryofRedding.com)

What I realized was that a lot of what happened in the book really happened and a lot of the characters were real. So what I started doing was looking at the novel as less of a story and more as a lesson in what happened in Redding at the start of the American Revolution.

That's when the connection between the real and the fictionalized became clearer and the topics the authors had woven into each chapter started to flow out. It was at this point I began creating my resources to help parents, teachers and students understand the novel better.

From the website, there grew an entire sub-site dedicated to My Brother Sam is Dead and then came online self-grading quizzes, and then an e-book and another and another. And that was great for a while, but then as more people read my e-books they expressed a need for more information and information they could use (as needed) to take this novel to new levels in their classrooms and homes.

Enter Dropbox.

Until Dropbox I could not get people the files and information they needed without a lot of work. I burned thousands of CD's and it was a lot of work. A lot of work and there were shipping issues and it just wasn't working. But Dropbox fixed all of that. With Dropbox I am able to give people access to all my files and they have access to my files from any computer they are on, it's awesome.

My Dropbox account is a work in progress so you will always have my latest research and the most accurate information available. You will also have access to new maps and photos and resources.

What’s in the My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Folder?

Everything I have collected and written over that past 6 years and that's a whole lot. The idea behind this folder is to help parents and teachers better understand what topics the authors have woven into each chapter of the fictional history novel, My Brother Sam is Dead.

I have broken out this resource into three sections:

1). Guide to MBSD(2 e-books and 8 supporting documents),

2). Maps, Photos and Visuals and

3). Teaching Resources(includes lesson plans and online quizzes).

All my ebooks are included at this resource and much more. Photos and maps of everything that occurs in the novel and teaching tools are included as well.

This is everything you need and more to get your kids really excited about the novel and come away with a very good understanding of why the novel was written.

My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Access

Monday, August 6, 2012

Summary & Analysis of My Brother Sam is Dead

Chapter by Chapter Summary & Analysis of the historical fiction novel: My Brother Sam is Dead-

Includes classroom discussion ideas and sample questions for each and every chapter of the novel.

Example text-

Classroom Discussion
What do we learn about in Chapter 13?

We learn that General Putnam is focused on ending the disorderly behavior undermining both the safety and reputation of his army. Despite the efforts of both Tim and Susannah, it is clear that Putnam intends to see that Sam’s sentence is carried into effect. We also learn what the encampment looks like via Tim’s meeting with General Putnam.
What’s Important?

The importance of this chapter is the recognition that in 1778-79 Putnam and his officers were dealing with:

· Desertions, which thinned their ranks.

· Spies, who provided important information to the British.

· Theft, which angered local farmers and residents.

Classroom Conversations:
There was disaffection and insubordination in the army within this time frame. Desertions were frequent, and spying by the Tories was almost openly practiced. To put a stop to these practices it was vitally necessary for General Putnam to see that these sentences were carried into effect.

Bonus Material-

Backgrounds on each of the families and individuals fictionalized by the authors in the novel. Tim Meeker, William Heron, John Read, Jerry Sanford, Tom Warrup, and many, many more.

This Chapter by Chapter Summary & Analysis of the historical fiction novel: My Brother Sam is Dead is the most complete summary & analysis of the novel that you will find anywhere.

Monday, July 30, 2012

My Brother Sam is Dead Facebook Page

My Brother Sam is Dead is now on Facebook. If you'd like to read daily posts on my research and ask me direct questions about the novel in a community format-

"Like" my My Brother Sam is Dead Facebook Page.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

My Brother Sam is Dead Summary

My Brother Sam is Dead Short Summary & Topics

My Brother Sam is Dead is told in the first person by Tim Meeker. When Tim's older brother Sam joins the rebel forces, it impacts the rest of his family who wish to remain neutral and/or avoid war with England. Tim's family is Anglican and thus loyal to the Church of England; as a split with England would greatly affect them.
Tim Meeker is a metaphoric symbol of one third of the American population during the war. He portrays the American that is uncertain which side is right and does not wish to choose a side until forced to, sometimes referred to as a "fence-sitter". Sam and Life are examples of the other two thirds: the Rebel/Patriot and the Tory/Loyalist.

Through Tim Meeker we learn of the issues, the concerns and the conflicts of the rebellion on a personal level. Each chapter touches on a number of topics and issues that provide readers with a better understanding of the affects the American Revolution had on individuals, their families, their churches, their towns, their neighbors...in short, it allows readers to see the war from the position of those that lived through it. This is one of the greatest strengths of the novel; it quietly weaves all of the topics and issues of the early years of the American Revolution into a tragic story of a 10 year old boy’s role in a war he doesn't understand.

My Brother Sam is Dead begins in April 1775 and ends in February 1779...a very volatile period of the American Revolution as it was not clear which side would win the war. Many were either still confused about the issues or unwilling to solidify a position on the issues. As the story unfolds the consequences of the war prove devastating to the Meeker family as the rebelliousness of Tim’s brother, Sam, and the pacifist position taken by Tim’s father, Life, result in the ironic deaths of both, symbolizing the atrocities and unfairness of war.

The novel highlights many of the problems and events that impacted towns like Redding, CT. Several of these topics are:

* Trying to stay neutral while living in a town that everyone assumes is a loyalist settlement. Redding's Anglican Church leader and its members preferred not to rebel from England. This was well known across the State and resulted in Redding Ridge being labeled as an area heavily settled with loyalists/tories.

* Currency Issues-The Meeker's own a tavern/store, and keeping it running is hard work. Even prior to the Revolution, to make money, each year Tim's Father and brother Sam would travel to New York State to sell cattle they received from people who owed them money. During the war it becomes even more difficult as paper money and commissionary notes destroy local economies and businesses.

* Sacrifices- Since Sam has sided with the rebels and wasn't there, Tim's responsibilities have increased ten-fold. Jobs Tim and Sam used to share all now fall on Tim's shoulders. Father (Life) takes Tim on his yearly cattle run to New York. They have to travel without a Brown Bess (musket/gun used for protection), which Sam had recently stolen. Life is captured on their return trip, leaving Tim to take care of his mother and himself for the rest of the novel. Tim is forced to grow up over night seeing he is now the man of the house, with his father in prison and Sam fighting with the patriots.

* Committees of Safety- These committees were formed early in the war to disarm people who could potentially give aid to the British. Life is an Anglican and thus seen as a Loyalist/Tory, by the local Committee of Safety which comes to the Meeker Tavern to disarm him. When Life tells them his son has sided with the Patriots and taken his gun, they initially don't believe him and rough him up.

* Cowboys and Skinners- Life is captured on their way back to Redding on their cattle run by cowboys. Cowboys and skinners were groups of raiders who harassed and plundered the rural districts of the boundary between American and British forces in Westchester County, New York. Westchester County, was the so-called "Neutral Ground" seeing the British were in the Bronx and the Americans in Peekskill, New York.

* The British march though Redding and capture several Patriots there on their way to Danbury, CT to destroy the rebels/Patriot's provisions of war which were being stored there. The Patriot soldiers arrive in Redding in pursuit of the British and Sam is with them so he gets to see his mother and Tim again.

* Winter Encampments- General Israel Putnam's division of the Continental Army encamped at Redding in the winter of 1778-1779 and Sam Meeker is a soldier in one of Putnam’s camps. One evening, Sam slips away from camp and returns home to spend time with his family. While they discuss the war and related topics, Sam hears commotion outside…Patriot soldiers are attempting to steal their cattle! When Sam intervenes he is out numbered and beaten. Back at camp he is falsely accused of and court-martialed for deserting camp and stealing cattle. General Putnam having long dealt with ill-equipped troops, deserters and traitors, feels he needs to set an example in order to maintain discipline amongst his army. Sam, unfortunately, becomes one of the two examples that winter, and is executed.

* Hardships of War- Both Life and Sam Meeker die in the novel. Tim's Mother goes a little crazy due to the stress of losing her husband and son to a war she doesn't support. Tim survives the novel and lives to be very old. He had a wife, children, even grandchildren. But his mother never recovers from Life and Sam's deaths.

For more information, analysis and online quizzes:
The My Brother Sam is Dead Study Guide is available via Amazon.com's Kindle edition.

Or visit my website: http://mybrothersamisdead.historyofredding.com/

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Why is My Brother Sam is Dead Challenged?

My Brother Sam is Dead is usually challenged by individuals who have not personally read the novel. If they read it, they’d realize that the authors have woven important topics into each of the novels chapters and they’d embrace it as the magnificent teaching tool it truly is.

But that's not the answer you have visited this page for, is it? You want to know how and why the novel earned a top 10 listing on the American Way's most challenged book list in 1996.

The book is challenged because it:

A). Contains profanity: In reaction to being smack in the head by Tim Meeker as she tries to wrestle a letter away from him, Betsy Read shouts "You Little Bastard!"

B). Contains excessive violence: While observing the British army Tim Meeker experiences the horrific beheading of a slave.

C). Mentions alcohol consumption: The Meeker's own a Tavern.

D). Contains unpatriotic views of the American Revolution: The Meeker's are Anglican's.

In response to these challenges let me point out that:

A). The book contains profanity because the authors are trying to provide us with a realistic portrayal of life during the American Revolution. There were conflicting opinions and there were heated discussions, during which, people actually (gasp) swore at each other.

B). The violence Tim experiences is in response to the British troops being fired at. Four individuals take "pot-shots" at the British Troops as they march by. The British respond by rushing the house, subduing the individuals and locking them in the basement. In the process one resists and is decapitated. The British then set the house on fire. This scene is historically correct. It happened; it occurred in Danbury not Redding, but it did happen. The point the authors were making here is that War is Cruel and People Die. While I admit that the beheading is a bit excessive for a children's novel it is not worth censoring the entire novel over it.

C). Mentioning alcohol consumption is no reason to censor a novel as important as My Brother Sam is Dead. The Meeker's own and operate a Tavern. And alcohol consumption by all, young and old, within that time period, is also historically correct.

D). Contains unpatriotic views of the American Revolution. This one is my personal favorite. When Susannah Meeker states: "Bah, patriotism. Your patriotism has got my husband in prison and one of my children out there in the rain and muck shooting people and likely to be dead any minute, and my business is half ruined. Go sell your patriotism elsewhere, I've had enough of it." she has had it. It's a response anyone of us would have if we were placed in the same position.

Susannah Meeker has:

1. lost her husband to the war
2. she's working 24/7 and being paid in currency that is literally worthless unless the Patriot win the war
3. she is Anglican and doesn't want to be in this war to begin with
4. she fears for her eldest son's life and knows that her youngest son is being deprived of his childhood as he tries to help her keep their business afloat.

The topics covered in this book are important and well represented historically speaking. Christopher Collier was Connecticut's State Historian for a very long time; he knew the issues, the localities, the facts. James Lincoln Collier wrote children’s stories; he knew how to write in a way that captivated the attention of young people. Between the two of them they were very talented. What I love most about My Brother Sam is Dead is its realism. I was born and raised in Redding, Connecticut. I know its history well, and can tell you the Collier brothers wove an amazing tale here and it should be embraced not censored.

My Brother Sam is Dead is a winner of many literary awards. Among these are: The Newberry Honor Book, Notable Children’s, National Book Award Nominee, and Horn Book Fanfare. This book is often recommended as part of a Social Studies curriculum while studying the American Revolution.

Have a look at these Banned and Challenged Classics and you'll realize that the censors aren't always correct.

I suggest you read the book and use my online resources to better understand the topics woven into the novel.

For more notes and background information on the historical fiction novel- My Brother Sam is Dead, visit my online resources or purchase an e-book.

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