Long May She Wave: The True Story of Caroline Pickersgill and Her Star-Spangled Creation

by Kristen Fulton, Holly Berry (Illustrator)

Overview

Discover the story of the girl who sewed the American flag that inspired the lyrics of the National Anthem in this beautifully illustrated celebration of our country’s iconic symbol for freedom.

Caroline Pickersgill came from a family of the best flag makers in Baltimore. She and her family proudly stitched the grand flag that gallantly whipped in the wind over Fort McHenry.

But when the British attacked Baltimore on September 12, 1814, would those broad stripes and bright stars still wave strong? Would America still be free and remain the home of the brave?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481460965
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	05/02/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	420,118
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nonfiction picture book author Kristen Fulton calls central Florida home. But, she spends the majority of the year traveling across America. She visits every museum and history center that she can find along her journey. Wafting through dusty artifacts, Kristen is always on the lookout for her next story. Want to learn more about Kristen or when she will be in your area for author events? Visit KristenFulton.com.

Holly Berry is a block printmaker and acclaimed illustrator of a number of picture books, including Colorful Dreamer, How Mama Brought the Spring (Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book), The Impudent Rooster (Society of Illustrators Silver Medal), and Market Day (Golden Kite Award). She received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Holly and her husband Chris are the parents of two grown daughters and live on a small blueberry farm with their cats in Waldoboro, Maine. Learn more about Holly on her website, HollyBerryDesign.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2017
Debut author Fulton delves into the life of a young seamstress who helped create the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key’s “Defense of Fort M’Henry,” which became the national anthem. In 1812, when America went to war with the British, Caroline Pickersgill and a houseful of women began sewing a banner large enough for the British to see “from miles away.” A red, white, and blue motif flows through Berry’s (A Passion for Elephants) collaged block print artwork, creating bold, if somewhat static, scenes. Fulton incorporates passages from “The Star-Spangled Banner” throughout, albeit in a somewhat forced manner (“Each explosion gave enough light for Caroline to see, through the night, that the flag was still there”). An author’s note adds welcome context. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Kendra Marcus, Bookstop Literary. Illustrator’s agency: Studio Goodwin Sturges. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A strong look at women who up took up needle and thread to inspire a town, a man, and ultimately a nation.

Booklist

A strong look at women who up took up needle and thread to inspire a town, a man, and ultimately a nation.

Booklist

04/01/2017
Gr 1–5—Hailing from a long line of flag makers, 13-year-old Caroline Pickersgill was up to the challenge when the commander of Fort McHenry in Baltimore came to her mother's business and ordered the biggest flag he could get (42 feet by 30 feet). Over the next six weeks, Caroline and her mother, grandmother, and two cousins, along with 13-year-old Grace Wisher, an African American indentured servant to Caroline's mother, spent numerous hours cutting and stitching the flag together. When the fort was later attacked by the British during the War of 1812, it was this magnificent flag that would inspire Francis Scott Key to write what would become "The Star-Spangled Banner." Fulton describes the British attack with fervor, integrating lyrics to the anthem into the narrative ("Each explosion gave enough light for Caroline to see, through the night, that the flag was still there."), while Berry's collaged block prints with colored pencil are full of energy, action, and red, white, and blue. VERDICT A brief but stirring account of a moment in early U.S. history. For medium to large collections.—Heidi Grange, Summit Elementary School, Smithfield, UT

School Library Journal

2017-03-06
A teenage girl spangles the U.S. flag with stars—and spawns our national anthem.It's 1813; America has been fighting the British for a year. Thirteen-year-old Caroline Pickersgill is from an illustrious, white, flag-making family in Baltimore. When the U.S. Army commissions them to fashion a flag to fly over nearby Fort McHenry, Caroline and other skilled seamstresses—including Grace Wisher, a young African-American indentured servant—toil for weeks. The gigantic banner proudly waves for a year until the enemy sails toward the fort. The ensuing battle tests the flag's, its creators', and, of course, the new nation's mettle. As history tells, America emerged victorious, and the flag survived, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write an awestruck poem, the first stanza of which became our national anthem (and all of which is reproduced in the backmatter). The simple, straightforward narrative incorporates snippets of the song in the book's second half, but the stirring words fare better as lyrics than in story form. The informative author's note is actually more inspiring than the text. Most illustrations evoke more excitement: bold reds and blues are eye-popping, and battle scenes are rousing and dramatic. However, the flat, caricatured portraits of human figures, rendered with light-tan skin tones save for Grace's brown skin, feel at odds with the historical context. Interesting and well meaning—but doesn't make it to the top of the flagpole. (sources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews