Reviews and Info
ISBN: 9780966711455
Publisher: Warbranch Press, Inc.
Year: 2005 (currently in its 2nd printing)
Pages: 60
Author: Kate Salley Palmer
Illustrator: James Palmer, Jr.
Grade level: 3-8
Retail price: $13.95
Reviews:
“Proves that truth is (at least) as exciting as fiction…Palmer keeps the biography in fast-forward by choosing deftly the historical high points and fascinating facts that keep children reading. The illustrations by her son, James H. Palmer, Jr., surround the text on every page. Forts and forests, raids and rivers, maps and portraits of the Patriots bring the tale vividly to life…..In addition to being a great story, the book is an excellent research tool…..This book works for any age.”
Post and Courier, Charleston (SC) 2006
“Kate Palmer’s articulate and informative text is effectively combined with James Palmer’s superbly executed illustrations to provide young readers with an engaging biography of one of the American Revolution’s more colorful characters and successful military leaders whose exploits in South Carolina against the British became an inspiration to George Washington’s often beleaguered American forces elsewhere in the war. Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox is as educational as it is entertaining and an enthusiastically recommended addition to family, school, and community library American History reference collections in general, and American Revolutionary History supplemental lists in particular.”
Midwest Book Review, Children’s Bookwatch vol. 17, no. 9, 2007
"Being the grandfather of eight, ranging in age from 18 months to 13 years, I'm always on the lookout for something good to add to the childrens wing of my home library for those sleepovers. I stumbled across this gem by accident and am so glad I did.
It's difficult to find books with historical content that will hold the interest of children, but this book fits that bill nicely. The captivating artwork is coupled with historical text that is spot on accurate. At only 60 pages, this makes for perfect bedtime reading; long enough to teach something valuable about an underrated figure in American history, yet short enough that it will hold their interest to the end."
Monty Rainey, 2006, Customer review from Amazon.com
FRANCIS MARION AND THE LEGEND OF THE SWAMP FOX
Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox explores the life of Francis Marion and the tremendous impact he had on the course of the Revolutionary War. His successful campaign of ambushes, hit-and-run attacks and supply line disruptions made life difficult for British and Tory forces in South Carolina and helped prevent them from making a “clean sweep” through the southern colonies as they had planned. This allowed George Washington to assemble a stronger Continental Army to fight the British when they did move north into Virginia later in the war.
Francis Marion and his brigade firing down into Fort Watson from the "Maham Tower", which later resulted in the surrender of the British in the fort.
Even to this day Marion remains an elusive and mysterious figure. Well-respected among his neighbors in St. John’s Parrish (in present-day Berkeley County), he was known for both his distinguished military record and his reluctance to brag about it. When there were no major wars being fought, Marion was more than happy to exchange his musket for a plowshare. He and his brothers grew rice and indigo on their plantations near St. Stephen.
Marion and some of his brigade in the swamps of the South Carolina low country.
In putting together the book,
Kate (who did the writing) and son, James (who did the beautiful illustrations on his computer) had to tease what information they could find out of various sources (listed in the bibliography of the book). In 2004-2005 James wrote and illustrated a documentary for SC ETV, Chasing the Swamp Fox, and in doing so accumulated a lot of information from interviews with various historians, as well as other timely information. While filming the documentary he visited a number of sites where the Swamp Fox camped or fought throughout the South Carolina lowcountry. Meanwhile, Kate read a number of books and condensed her findings into a well-written story of the Swamp Fox.
Student art/display re: The Swamp Fox at Angel Oak Elementary School, Johns Island, SC (2006)
Since the book came out in 2005 it has been adopted by many school districts across the state as a teacher resource for instructing students about South Carolina Revolutionary War history. The book is into its 2nd printing, which means that almost 10,000 copies have been sold - mostly in the state.