Five Smooth Stones: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary (My America)(Book One) Paperback – May 1, 2002

nice mystery

Great book!

Bought this book for my 12 year old daughter. She found it fascinating and really enjoyed the read - thanks to all those who previously recommended this book and gave me confidence to purchase it. Will now be looking at some of the other books in this series. Pity you cannot buy these books in England. Had to find a friend in the USA to have the book sent to as no postal service to the UK.

It's the winter of 1776 in Philadelphia, and as the Revolutionary War begins, it threatens to tear nine-year-old Hope Potter's family apart. It's been just Hope, her mother, and her thirteen-year-old brother Ethan ever since Christmas Day, when Hope's father was forced to leave home under circumstances the family still doesn't understand. But in spite of her worry for her father's safety and her increasingly fragmented family life, complicated by arguments between her mother and brother over which side in the war is the right one, Hope is forced to continue with her daily routine of school and chores, with only the comfort of her best friend and her mother to ease the pain the war is causing. But in addition to the sadness, there is also excitement and joy, with the celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of Hope's baby sister Faith. This book (like the other My America books) is told through Hope's journal entries, which use old-fashioned language and an innocent, childlike view of the world to sound as if they were truly written by a young colonial girl. I highly reccomend this book to young girls who enjoy historical stories.

Nine-year-old Hope Penny Potter is finding the Revolutionary War tearing apart her family. Since Christmas her father has been gone for purposes still unknown to her family and now her brother Ethan is accusing her father of being a Tory and abandoning the family. Hope finds little comfort but she does have her best friend Polly who she confides in about her family problems. There is also hope in the family of better times for Hope's mother is expecting a new baby. However their happiness is shattered when one day Ethan runs away from home, most likely looking for his father. As the British press closer and closer the Philadelphia Hope finds that she might have to leave her beloved home too. Will Hope's family ever be reunited again? Or will the Revolutionary War keep her apart.

"Five Smooth Stones: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary" is a decent book for younger readers learning about the lifestyle led by colonists during The Revolutionary War. For historical points, this book is lacking, until the Historical Note at the end of the story. Read "The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777," also by Gregory, with or instead of this book, to get a bigger and better picture of The Revolutionary War. A good book for younger readers interested in history, but might be boring for older more knowledgeable history buffs. I "kind of" recommend.

I loved Hope's diary, and I think you will too. Of the four now published My America's, Five Smooth Stones was by far the best. If you have read Winter of Red Snow which takes place in Valley Forge, PA. not too far from Philadelpha, it will be neat for you to read about a girls journey in Philadelphia this time, instead of Abigail in Valley Forge. Some parts of it are sad, but a lot of history is, and a happy part marked by great joy when a birth occurs in such an uncertain time. To anyone out there who needs to read a book for school, or just cooped up on a snow day, read it right away.

Five Smooth Stones was a great book. I really liked how they wrote it like a diary. I liked the part of the book when Hope's brother Ethan made a small wooden box to put her quill pen in so the cat wouldn't get it. I also liked it when Hope wanted to make her little sister middle name be strawberry. I really didn't like it when Hope's friend Polly spelled a word wrong and her teacher made her sit in the corner on a stool and wear a dunce hat. So all in all I rate this book 5 stars. You should read it !!!!!!!! - madison