This Time, Tempe Wick?

This Time, Tempe Wick? by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes, is a heroic story of a young girl. Tempe lives in New Jersey in the 1700's during the Revolutionary War. Her and her family feed and help George Washington's soldiers, but there is not enough food and clothing for all of them in that town and the soldiers react with a mutiny. With her father dead, and mother ill, Tempe has to be brave and protect their little home and all they have. She even hides her horse in her bedroom so that the soldiers that want to take it to ride to Pennsylvania won't be able to find it. In the end, Tempe's courage and wit save her home, her mother, and their horse Bon.

This book is a great addition to a fourth grade social studies unit on the colonists battle for freedom in America from the English. The story of Tempe helps readers understand what life was like for young people in those hard times. Better yet, the author's note at the end explains that the story is based on a real event and a real girl. Her house still stands near Morristown, New Jersey, complete with hoof prints on the bedroom floor. That would be a great field trip!