Suggested Books

Boston Tea Party
by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Henry Cole

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons (July 1, 2001)
ISBN: 0399233571

The creators of Livingstone Mouse and Warthogs in the Kitchen travel back to 1773, when King George III's export tax on tea precipitated the Boston Tea Party. Ably targeting her audience, Edwards pares down the historical data. The narrative unspools in a singsong imitation of "The House That Jack Built," which plays up the irony of the king's tax on tea from India being sold to the colonies. The opening spread shows women in India picking tea leaves, followed soon after by a caricature of the king at teatime. Later, as outraged colonists read a notice of the new tax, the text incorporates the events thus far: "These are the colonists who cried, `No!' to the king on his English throne who declared, `Tax the tea!' that was made from the leaves that grew on a bush in a far-off land and became part of the Boston Tea Party." At the bottom of each spread, a bevy of chatty mice comment on the goings-on, offering supplementary information ("We're not going to take it! `No taxation without representation!' ") as well as light asides ("Make sure you don't dump any cheese by mistake!"). Rendered in acrylic paints and colored pencils, Cole's lifelike paintings effectively evoke the period setting on both sides of the Atlantic. This early history lesson goes down easily, and will likely lead readers to find out more about this pivotal event in the formation of America. Ages 4-8.

The Boston Tea Party
by Steven Kroll, Peter Fiore, Peter M. Fiore

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Holiday House; 1st ed edition (May 1, 1998)
ISBN: 0823413160

Grade 2-4-Through a brief text written in a matter-of-fact style, Kroll recounts the historical happenings leading up to the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773. Presented in the format of a long picture book and illustrated with full-page watercolor art, the story unfolds step by step from the end of the French and Indian War through the passage of the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Acts. The emphasis is on events rather than on the important players, so, while Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere are cited, the power of their individual personalities and actions is not fully conveyed. Teachers who want to flesh out their curriculums or families planning a visit to Boston will find this title useful.

The Boston Tea Party
by Benjamin Woods Labaree

Publisher: Northeastern University Press; Northeastern classics ed edition (June 1, 1979)
ISBN: 0930350057

This book has aged remarkably well. First published in 1964, it remains the best account of the Boston Tea Party in or out of print. In fact, it's something of a classic. It's easy to read, tells the story in all its complexity (which involves going beyond Boston to look at how opposition to the Tea Act played out in Charleston, Philadelphia, and New York), and places the "tea party" in the larger story of the American Revolution.