Calvert the Raven in The Battle of Baltimore

By Jonathon Scott Fuqua

You think history is boring?

Baltimore kid Daniel does—until a chance encounter with a magical talking raven named Calvert sends him flying back to 1814, where he finds his home city under siege by a British army on the verge of defeating the United States of America in the War of 1812.

The beautifully illustrated pages of Calvert the Raven in the Battle of Baltimore, the first book of the Flying Through History series, are as close as you can get to the Battle of Baltimore without going back in time yourself. Author and illustrator J. Scott Fuqua takes you on a harrowing journey through a history of near misses, narrow escapes, and brave soldiers with no idea what tomorrow would bring.

When you're flying through history, history is never boring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bancroft Press
• Release date: Mar 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781610880800

Jonathon Scott Fuqua

Jonathon Scott Fuqua is the award winning author of three much lauded, award-winning young adult novels, The Reappearance of Sam Webber (ALA Alex Award, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Booklist Editor's Choice, and more) and DARBY (Oppenhiem Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Book Sense Top 5, Mark Twain Award finalist, and more), and The Willoughby Spit Wonder (“It is the kind of novel, by turns comical, haunting, and thrilling, that comes only once in a blue moon” The Boston Globe). For teenagers and adults, he has written a "groundbreaking" graphic novel, In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe, which was nominated by YALSA as a Popular Paperback for Young Adults (2005). And for young children he has penned Catie & Josephine (a Washington Post Book of the Week) an innovative graphic/chapter book that might be the first of its kind. In the Wake of the Boatman, his latest novel, came out in December 2008. All of his published books are available nationally and internationally.

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Brought to you by Historyworks, Inc., Baltimore, MD

www.historyworks-inc.com

Additional materials, for students and teachers alike, available at www.bancroftpress.com.

Copyright 2012 by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by electronic means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote passages in a review.

All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover Design by Susan Mangan

Book Design by Susan Mangan

Author Photo by Calla Fuqua

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012944778

ISBN 978-1-61088-077-0 (cloth)

         ISBN 978-1-61088-078-7 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-61088-079-4 (mobi)

ISBN 978-1-61088-080-0 (epub)

First Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Bancroft Press (Books that enlighten)

P.O. Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209

410-358-0658 (phone)

410-764-1967 (fax)

www.bancroftpress.com

Daniel searched up

Reviews for Calvert the Raven in The Battle of Baltimore

[nlinco1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book starts out by featuring a boys so called "history paper" but it is actually just a short excuse as to why he did not write an actual paper about the War of 1812. From there a magical, talking Raven scoops up the boy onto his back and takes him on an adventure through past so the boy can see the war for himself. This is an interesting book, it is not the typical informational book. It is very informal which can capture the attention of the reader. For example, the Raven refers to the young boy several times as, "dude". I would have given this book five stars if it had a little more depth in the information. The book did mention Francis Scott Key, the composer of the Star Spangled Banner. There was also details about Fort McHenry but I didn't think there was enough detail about the events overall. One thing that I did really like was the descriptive language. The author did an excellent job of making the reader feel in the moment that the book was written about.. The overall message of this book is actually not to just inform the reader about the Battle of Baltimore, but to actually motivate children to think twice before they decide to not do there best. The author tries to inspire the reader to imagine the moment as if they were actually there. The last thing the raven said to the boy was, "I just want you to think before ya decide not to care about things." He also teaches a lesson of respect. He told the boy, in a humorous way, to rewrite his paper..."It is an insult to the people of Baltimore." The illustrations of this book are beautifully done. The water color and sharp edged graphics are captivating and the pictures accurately depict the setting at the time. The author even includes trash on the street, city bus stop signs and a glimpse of the city buildings from a far where the boy lives.

[alarso2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a mediocre read, but it was fantastic in the sense of exposing children to history. As a native of Baltimore, it has a special place in my heart. Calvert the Raven in The Battle of Baltimore is about a boy named Daniel who meets a magical talking Raven named Calvert. Calvert takes him back through time and together they relive the Battle of Baltimore, learning about it as they go. This book is told through the eyes of a child (and narrated by a magical Raven).