Who Was Betsy Ross? by James Buckley Jr.

Who Was Betsy Ross? Reviews

• 
  Shiloah

  Could have been better. Not as much about Betsy and it was very distantly voiced. For instance, when one of her husband’s dies—who cares? America won the war! Really? I guarantee that no human would feel that way. How do we teach our children? Through personal stories. This was impersonal. Additionally, this was more about Washington and the war than about Betsy.
• 
  Laurie B

  This entry into the popular, and generally engaging, "Who Was/Who Is" series was just ok. It was much more about the Revolutionary War than it was about Betsy Ross herself. It felt like there were more details about her husbands than her. And it was repetitive. The whole book read like a loop of "Betsy made flags, curtains, and furniture," [insert historical sidebar], "Betsy sewed curtains, upholstered furniture, and flags," [insert historical sidebar], "Betsy made blankets, curtains, and of course flags." I did learn a couple things about her, but this is by far my least favorite book in this series so far.
• 
  S’s Reading World

  Very good resource for facts on Betsy Ross but I liked how it also included historical facts about America during her lifetime which was an exciting era. Written too easily understand for ages 8-12
• 
  Tina

  Betsy Ross was a fine seamstress who lived during a remarkable time in our history. I have no problem crediting her with creating our flag.
• 
  Bookbag_Betty

  
  

  
  
  -Bold Stripes - Bright Stars - Brave Hearts
  
  -Stars & Stripes Forever
  
  -Freedom, Liberty And Justice For All
  
  "I Am Not Certain If I Can; At Least I'll Gladly Try."
  
  "Your Country's Flag Behold!"
  
  When we honor our flag we honor what we stand for as a Nation -- freedom, equality, justice, and hope.
  
  We take the star from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty.
  
  Whether the flag hangs from an angled or horizontal staff, be sure the union or canton (the rectangle with the stars) is at the peak.
  
  When displayed over a street, the flag should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street, or to the east in a north and south street.
  
  The American flag should be at the center and the highest point when displayed with a group of state flags.
  
  

  
  

  
  
  Who Was Betsy Ross?
  A Quaker Girl
  Time To Go To Work
  War
  A New Flag
  A Hometown Invaded
  Victory...And A New Life
  The Claypooles Move Ahead
  Busy To The End
  A Legend Is Born
  
  The Society Of Friends // William Penn // Christ Church //
  Early Colonial Flags // Painting Of A Legend ( inaccurate) // Old Mill Prison // Free Quaker Meeting House // Yellow Fever //
  
  Betsy was buried on Arch Street in the garden of the house she was ran as an upholstery shop. The flag of the United States flies twenty four hours a day over her grave.
  
  TRAVELED TO // Pennsylvania
  MET ALONG THE WAY // Betsy Griscom Ross "The Little Rebel", John Ross, George Washington, Robert Morris, Colonel George Ross, Joseph Ashburn, John Claypoole, William Canby
• 
  Brandalyn

  I listened to this book on audio with my 10 year old girl and 8 year old boy. Here is their review.
  
  "The narrator was enjoyable to listen to. Her voice was calm."
  
  "I give this book a 4.5 stars out of 5 because there was so much dying. If there wasn't all the dying then I would give it 5 stars."
  
  "Betsy Ross had a very hard life and she seemed to overcome it very easily. I don't know how I would do all that - everything she did . During that time it would be so hard to go through Yellow Fever and the deaths. It seemed like she was really gifted. It is amazing that she created the American Flag."
  
  "I give it a 5 out of 5 stars. She is so brave and tough to go through all the hard things she went through. My favorite thing I learned about her was that she left school at 12 years old and became a seamstress. If I were allowed to leave school at 12 years old I definitely would."
  
  Things they both remember learning from this book:
  - She was from a Quaker Family.
  - Betsy Ross left school at 12 years old and became a seamstress.
  - She had 3 husbands that died.
  - She died at 84 years old.
  - Some of her children died.
  - She had 5 girls.
  - One of her nieces danced with George Washington.
  - People say she was the first lady to make the flag but this book said there wasn't enough evidence to prove this.
  - Yellow fever was a harsh thing.
  - She was a good woman and beloved.
  - The first flag had 13 stars in a circle and 13 red and white stripes.
• 
  Natalie

  Not my favorite in the series, but I don't think that was through any fault of the author's. It seemed like there just wasn't a ton of information about Betsy so most of the book was filler on the events around her time. I mean, biographies aren't told in a vacuum, obviously you have to talk about current events of the time. In this case it was just a little too much. It detracted from the Betsy's story.
  
  Again, it just seemed like there aren't enough primary sources to really build her story and the author did the best he could.
  
  She was a pretty impressive person. She was a widow three times and had seven children. She also ran her own sewing shop. She worked until she 75 years old and died at age 84.
  
  There is no proof that she made the first flag, but her shop was supposedly known for making flags.
  
• 
  Rick Silva

  The Kiddo read this on his own last summer, and I read it recently before he passes it along.
  
  This was better than I expected it to be. I learned a lot about Betsy Ross' life beyond just the legend of her sewing the first US flag, and I also learned quite a bit about Revolutionary War era Philadelphia.
  
  The book put a good emphasis on Betsy Ross as an independent business owner and entrepreneur, and it did not shy away from the tragic elements in her life.
  
  The actual story of the flag is treated carefully, with the book acknowledging the lack of historical documentation behind the story, but it manages to still make the case for Betsy Ross as an important figure in this chapter of American history.
• 
  David

  Betsy Ross is famously known for sewing the first American flag; but did she really? According to author James Buckley Jr in his book Who Was Betsy Ross? writes about her childhood as the eighth of seventeen children in the years leading up to the American Revolution. She became a seamstress and wanted to do whatever she could to help in the fight for independence. She began by making tents and repairing uniforms when war started and also filled cartridges for the soldiers. Whether or not she actually sewed the first flag is up for debate. But she was a fierce patriot who at a minimum would have had influence over the style and design of the new flag.This was a quick and informative read about one of our best known women patriots.
• 
  AMY

  105 pages. This is one biography that really surprised me! I learned so much about this famous American woman. She was quite an amazing person and was very active in the American Revolution. I think kids will love this. I especially liked the additional information such as who founded each of the 13 colonies, Society of Friends, taxation without representation, colonial government, colonial flags, George Washington, maps and other great illustrations. Highly recommended for grade 5.
• 
  Heather Graham

  I had to read this book to my granddaughter for her school assignment and was pleased that it was actually written very well. It kept both of us interested from beginning to end. Periodically throughout the book it would discuss in detail things that Betsy and others were experiencing at that time in her life, for example, the yellow fever epidemic. Books like this make history interesting and allows the young reader to more readily empathize.
• 
  Yz

  I read this to the boys for read aloud and it was really fun to read to them and also to learn new information at the same time. Can you see us all snuggled under blankets and way to many stuffed animals, with 2 little boys 6 and 9 sitting squished up against me on a little twin bed as I read a page and then JT reads a line or two and then I read a page. Forgot to mark this book down earlier that I read it.
• 
  Tom Romig

  I read this to my grandson Adam at National Airport while we were waiting to greet my brother-in-law Bob. Quite an engaging account of a woman whose long life was filled with personal and historical drama. The book makes clear that she very likely didn't sew the first flag (or ever live in Philadelphia's Betsy Ross House), but her other experiences certainly make her life worth knowing about.
• 
  Nozima bekdjanova

  I liked this book it's about a girl AKA Betsy Ross that made the American flag it was fun to read I learned some new stuff I read this in 5 grade and I read it 2 more times in my school classes it was fun to learn about who made the America flag and wh the colors are red white and blue its cool and I loved it to recommend it.
• 
  Shari (Shira)

  These “Who Was” Books are so Good!
  
  I learned so much about BR in this book. I wonder why the name Ross stuck with her, even though she was married to two other men after John Ross died.
• 
  Cathy | A Case Full of Books

  A great book for young kids to learn about Betsy Ross and the early years of the United States of America. My 5 year old was surprisingly interested in it all. She asked lots of questions and learned a lot of information.
• 
  Dan

  Betsy Ross is credited as being the first person to sew the first American flag. There is really no historical proof that she was the first but the legend continues. Be that as may she was a very busy flag maker throughout her life. She also outlived three husbands.
• 
  Nicole Sampson

  This one wasn't as interesting as some of the others in the series, but maybe there was less information about her. I liked reading about one of the women who helped shape our country, and I liked that it was written simply.
• 
  Alex

  I actually listened to this one months ago, but forgot to add it on here!
  
  I love this series, and I always learn something new when I read them. This one didn’t have a lot of information on Betsy herself, but it was still really interesting.
• 
  Kara LaVictoire

  This Who Was? book was not as engaging as others I have read. It spent a lot of time talking about the Revolutionary War, rather than Betsy Ross. And it was repetitive. It kept repeating she sewed this and that for the war. It was still good, but not one of my faves.
• 
  RougeMyst

  I enjoyed reading about Betsy Ross, the woman who stitched the first American flag.
• 
  MissyLynne

  Easy read. Nice bit of local history.
• 
  heather patackas

  Very good book talks about how the American flag was made and how the original one looks diffren t from the one today👍