Drummer Boy: Marching to the Civil War

Author Ann Turner and illustrator Mark Hess team up to tell the story of a drummer boy who joins the Union army in the U.S. Civil War. It is a wonderful book that does not talk down to children. The protagonist is an unnamed thirteen year old rural farm boy. His brother, Jed, has already gone ahead to him into battle, and the boy yearns to join. He makes his decision after seeing President Abraham Lincoln at a train station. The boy feels the sad president was looking right at him, needing him to serve his country. The boy's family seems rather indifferent to the slavery issue, feeling it is none of their business, but the boy does sympathize for the slaves. He writes a goodbye note, and leaves home. He enlists, lying and claiming to be fifteen years old, and is assigned to be a drummer boy. He becomes part of his company, and then goes into his first battle. The terror of the cannon noise and falling bodies around him freeze him in place. A soldier dies holding his hand. Soon, the boy is almost a veteran, the battles run together. The faces of his friends and acquaintances blur together as well, and he takes special care to remember each and every one, since they may not be there the next day. The final page gives adults and children alike something to ponder, in the voice of the battle hardened boy: "And when the war's over and I go home, I'll stop to talk to Mr. Lincoln and tell him how it's his fault, how his great, sad eyes made me go and see things no boy should ever see." "Drummer Boy" is a wonderful book for all ages. The text and pictures are just twenty eight pages long, with an interesting one page historical note, and Turner and Hess do not waste a word or image. Drummer boys were not just children who banged on the drums during battles, the drums were used to signal orders to the troops, making the children prime targets for the enemy. The book is large, and every illustration by Hess would look wonderful framed on a wall. His portrait of Lincoln, and two page painting of slave quarters, are breath taking. I went back through the book at its conclusion, just trying to take in the pictures on their own. Turner does not overdo the contemporary vernacular, you come to care for this boy as a real person. Her writing is not overwhelmed by the art, both complement each other excellently. "Drummer Boy" is appropriate for ages four through eight, according to the jacket notes. I think it is appropriate for any age above four, telling such a strong story in such little space. Truly a treasure.

I am a fifth grade teacher who bought this picture book to incorporate into my Civil War studies. It is my favorite picture book. It has such a tremendous impact on the reader with such an economy of words that it truly drives home the image we have been using all year of words in a story being like a glass of water and food coloring: each strong word is a drop of food coloring making the liquid darker. Each weak, unnecessary word is water, making the liquid lighter. We want our stories to be bright red (or yellow, or blue, or green). This book is the closest thing to pure, undiluted red as any we've come across. The students are astonished by the power and strength of feeling that just a few words can convey. They are equally mesmerized by the incredible imagery of the illustrations. In just 28 pages, the boy in the story changes from a fresh-faced innocent of 13 to a world-weary adult in a matter of months. The language in the book makes it a perfect compliment to a study of metaphors and similes. He describes his attraction to Mr. Lincoln as "sometimes you take to a person, the way a horse snuffs up the smell of someone." And goes on to describe him as looking "so kind and sad, towering up into the sky like a black tree."Like many other books with war as the theme, Drummer Boy personalizes death due to combat. However, unlike most other books, it does so in a mere 40 words that leave the most powerfully gripping image I have yet to read in a children's book. Instead of describing death and destruction in gory detail, the passage concentrates on describing the dying soldier's hand clasped in the protagonist's until he dies. Not once was blood, bullets, or wounds mentioned..."One near me cried for his mother. I held his hand until he died, and I always feel his fingers on mine, how hot and dry they were, how they grabbed mine and crushed them until his eyes stopped seeing."This is a book that seems to speak directly to the children's souls. It seems to touch something in them, for when the story is over there is an almost reverent silence in the room and you can almost feel them coming back from the farthest regions of their imaginations...changed by the sights and sounds of war.

I love to teach history and this book is a winner. I am always amazed how children focus on the glory of war, not the reality. This book gently brings home the reality. In the illustrations the child, drummer boy ages before the eyes of the reader. As a Civil War survivor he says what many other veterans of more recent wars have shared with me of their experiences.

A 13 year old boy runs away to join the Army for the North in the Civil War. He becomes a drummer boy and must beat the rhythums to wake up the soldiers, keep them motivated and informed during battle, and to cover up the sounds of men dying. A poignant look at America's bloodiest battle. Interesting historical note by the author at the end of the book. Excellent color illustrations and recommended for students from the 1st grade through the 5th grade, as well as their teachers.

My son and I just purchased this wonderful book and he has insisted we read it over and over. The story begins simply and sweetly and draws you into it like no other. The moral lessons it raises were very useful to me as a parent fielding some tough questions about America, war, slavery and honor. I hardily recommend this book to any parent and am going to purchase a copy for my son's school. This book lets a child relate in a very special way to a trying period in American history. The pictures are rich and compelling and are very accurate to the time (I'm a Civil War buff). Every child whether interested specificly in the Civil War or not should experience and have this book.