The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill

The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill, Edward Stratemeyer
(1899; Lost Classics Book Company, 1998), pb., 316 pp.
Ages 7+

This is the sequel to The Minute Boys of Lexington and Concord following the same characters through the tense days following the battles of Lexington and Concord, trough the Battle of Bunker Hill to the end of the siege of Boston. This book is the same in feel and style as the previous volume. My boys (ages 11, 9, and 7) loved it. There is plenty of action and suspense, and courage, perseverance, nobility and other virtues are assumed and often explicitly commended.

Literary critics would slight this book and its predecessor. Parts of the story stretch credulity (Roger the main character seems to be very ‘lucky’), and similar things recur. However, it works well as a fun story which encourages character and also faithfully tells the history of the time. These do not rise to the level of Allen French or Douglas Bond, but they are good books.

This volume includes, like the previous one, a glossary to explain unusual words.

We have heard of a third volume and my boys are eager o find it, so we would commend this one to you.