School Library Journal (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 3-4 During the battle of Gettysburg, Billy hears a knock at the door in the middle of the night and finds an unexpected guest. "Cousin" has escaped from the Confederate Army, hungry, tired, and frightened. Seeing that this Rebel soldier is only a boy, Billy's mother takes him in and hides him. This easy-to-read story shows how bravery comes in many shapes. Based on the real William Bayly and his mother, Harriet Hamilton Bayly, it is written as fiction but allows beginning readers and researchers some insight into life during the Civil War. Full-page, full-spread, and spot art, executed mainly in shades of yellow and tan, add detail and expression to this story of courage and an unlikely friendship. Bethany L. W. Hankinson, Miller Elementary School, Newark, OH

Kirkus Reviews

In this upper-level Easy Reader, a young Confederate deserter repays with a courageous act the Gettysburg family that shelters him. As the great battle rages nearby, Billy and his mother huddle anxiously in their farmhouse—joined in the night by a trembling young soldier who begs asylum. Dressed in new clothes and warned not to speak lest his accent give him away, the fugitive silently helps when marauding soldiers demand food, then as the defeated southern army retreats, rescues Billy, who recklessly antagonizes a passing horseman. Floca depicts the young folk and the farm, but not the battle itself, in sketchy watercolors; Hopkinson follows up with a note explaining that the episode is based on a true story. The theme of friendship across lines of antagonism will kindle deep responses in more than just students of the Civil War. (map) (Easy reader. 7-9)

Horn Book (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

During the Battle of Gettysburg, a family takes in a young deserter from the Confederate army. The dialogue is stiff, and Floca's watercolors do little to enliven things, but the basic story is compelling (and based on real events of 1863). A map opens the book; an excellent historical note closes it.

ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Based on a true Civil War story, this compelling Ready-to-Read title is written from the viewpoint of a boy on a farm near Gettysburg. As the battle comes closer, Papa is hiding in town, and Mama and Billy shelter a young, scared rebel deserter. They call him Cousin. When Mama is away helping the wounded Union soldiers, Cousin saves Billy from an angry, desperate rebel soldier. The spare, simple words tell the home-front story without a big battlefield panorama--just the distant sound of deadly cannon and the fear and anger. Floca's line-and-watercolor illustrations show exhausted soldiers in dirty uniforms and the long lines of defeated men. A final note fills in the history behind this well-told tale of friends and enemies.