Monica Vachula – illustratör

This picture book celebrates one of the most important patriots in post-Revolutionary times -- Noah Webster.Most readers know Noah Webster for his dictionary masterpieces and his promotion of a living "American Language" that embraces words and idioms from all its immigrant peoples. But he was also the driving force behind universal education for all citizens, including slaves, females, and adult learners. Speaker of twenty languages, he developed the new country's curriculum, writing and publishing American literature, American history, and American geography. He published New York City's first daily newspaper. As editor, Webster conducted a study and linked disease with poor sanitation. He created the country's first insurance company, established America's first copyright law, and became America's first best-selling author.

The classic poem in a newly illustrated edition. Paul Revere and his famous ride were immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in a poem published in 1861, more than eighty years after the even. Longfellow wrote the poem at the time of the Civil War. He hoped that his story of an ordinary citizen who comes to the aid of his country would stir patriotic feelings and support for the Union. He was right. In face, if it hadn't been for Longfellow, Paul Revere may have remained a local legend. The poem fired the imaginations of Americans and a national hero was born. This illustrated edition of the classic poem features vivid oil paintings by Monica Vachula, whose research into period and place can be seen in the smallest detail. A concluding note by historian Jayne Triber, author of A True Republican: The Life of Paul Revere, explores the poem and Paul Revere's place in American history.