ALA Booklist (Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

Noble, whose ancestor fought in the Revolutionary War, brings that time closer in a picture book for older readers that personalizes the period. The year is 1777, and young Maddy Rose's brother Jonathan has gone to fight with Washington. Maddy Rose is also doing her part for the revolution. She has worked out a simple, clever system to inform Jonathan about ships docked in the harbor: her petticoats and stockings have particular meanings as they hang on the line. Maddy Rose's spy mission is more exciting than dangerous--until Jonathan fails to appear. The many full-page color pictures have the look of well-posed photographs, and the events seem staged to fit the patriotic purpose of the story rather than flowing the way a real remembrance might. For instance, after her brother's death, Maddy Rose cuts up her scarlet stockings for a flag, even though it's unlikely she can spare them--especially as she must continue to use them for spying. Still, this patriotic story with pretty artwork may have wide appeal.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

This ode to diversity consists of simple observations about families, be they human, animal, or extraterrestrial. As in Parr's other books, the banality of his sentences is often subverted by the jokes imbedded in his flat, black-outlined, brightly colored illustrations: "Some families adopt children" introduces an image of three ducks out walking, one with a smiling penguin on its back.

School Library Journal (Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2005)

Gr 3-5 Noble's story, well told in simple descriptive language, shows both the prevalent mood of anxiety in Philadelphia in 1777, as the American colonists awaited the British attack, and the realistic side of war, the pathos of young lives lost, and the stubborn persistence and faith that helped the colonists win. Maddy Rose, the plucky young daughter of a widow whose earnings come from spinning flax, spends her days sewing seams in the linens her mother supplies to a local upholstery shop. At night, using her own hand-knit scarlet stockings and white petticoats, the girl leaves weekly signals on a clothesline, pointing out the location of suspicious ships in the harbor for her beloved brother, serving in General Washington's army. Several nights after she spies a British man-of-war, another boy comes in Jonathan's place, bearing her brother's blue coat in a bundle. After the British defeat, Maddy hangs an American flag made from that coat and her scarlet stockings and white petticoats on the clothesline. Papp is a master of portraiture. His soft, realistic, full- and double-page oils are finely detailed and appear to have been painted from live models. The action, facial expressions, and scenic detail keep many illustrations from appearing staged and static. Children with little knowledge of this period in American history will gain some background from Noble's story. Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH