Marching to the Civil War: Drummer Boy

Drummer Boy:
Marching to the Beat of the Civil War
Ann Turner
illustrated by Mark Hess

My Rating: 2 out of 5

Genre: Historical Fiction/Primary

Drummer Boy, is a story of a thirteen-year-old boy who is inspired, after the visit of President Abraham Lincoln to his town and listening to him speak, to join the military as a drummer boy. Even though he was two years too young, he was sent to training camp. Soon, he was alongside soldiers fighting in the Civil War and we follow him and his stories of battle.

Drummer Boy is, a picture book which introduces the Civil War to students. While students may enjoy the story the book tells, I think the concepts introduced are too complex for the intended audience, first and second grade students. The character development is jarring, the boy is excited and proud throughout the book, and suddenly on the last page he is a bitter Civil War Soldier. There is a mention of the boy's distaste for slavery, but it seems forced, and even the picture which accompanies the text is dark and muddled in contrast with the rest of the stories brightly detailed illustrations. Overall, the boy is very two-dimensional and is not developed very well.