Crossposted on 43rd State Blues
An understanding of how our government was formed is essential to the civic education of every American child. But as teachers and parents, how do we engage kids’ interest in this important topic?
Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation presents the drama of the Constitutional Convention in the form of a school play performed by exuberant young actors dressed as the thirteen original colonies.
Colleagues have offered additional praise: the author has put together a story that embraces our multicultural population and demonstrates that our constitution is for "We the people!"
I really enjoy this picture book in which children dressed in chunky, state-shaped costumes act out a play called “Unite or Die.” They dramatize problems that sprang up after the American Revolution and their resolution at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Author Jacqueline Jules, a teacher and librarian, created the book from a skit she wrote for her students to perform on Constitution Day.
Bound only by the Articles of Confederation, the little states begin by bickering about issues such as currency, borders, and trade. At the Constitutional Convention, they hammer away until they have created an entirely new federal government.
The subject may seem challenging to present in a picture-book format, but Jules does a good job of presenting the essential ideas simply.
The abandonment of the Articles of Confederation in favor of a federal Constitution probably ranks among the more soporific U.S. history topics, particularly for grade school students. Jules gives it a surprisingly engaging twist in this picture-book treatment, which features a cast of schoolkids putting on a play in which the arguments for and against adopting a Constitution and the details of equitable representation and individual rights are hashed out in kid-friendly dialogue . . . . -- Bulletin of the Center For Children's Literature.
Jef Czekaj’s illustrations capture the excitement and the laughs, opening the book's appeal to some students beyond the primary-grade range. Amusing remarks as well as bits of information are relayed in speech balloons. On each double-page spread, a few sentences of text introduce the main ideas, as a narrator would.
The vividly colored spreads will hold the interest of even middle school students and would be useful to introduce how our form of government was created. Students will enjoy presenting this book as reader’s theater. -- School Library Journal
The book concludes with four pages of notes and a bibliography, an original presentation of a pivotal point in U.S. history.
Kirkus Reviews said it was "a lively way to kick off discussions of how the Constitution works and why it's still a living document."
Full of facts about our fledgling democracy, the call for a national government, and the Constitutional Convention, Unite or Die presents American history with personality and good humor. It is a perfect book to sit down with this July Fourth holiday -- with children -- and share exactly how the constitution was created.
Reader's Theater for Unite or Die
Unite or Die book trailer
Constitution Day Resources
In 1787 (Constitution song and poem)
Cover photo reprinted with permission of the publisher.