Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad
Written and Illustrated by Nathan Hale
This graphic novel tells the true story of the Battle of the Hampton Roads. It was the most important naval battle of the American Civil war, between the Confederates (the rebels) and the Union (the north). This story for third graders was the first meeting of the ironclad warship, the Virginia (built from part of the famous Merrimack) and the Monitor (built by the Union and designed by John Ericsson).
Third grade students will enjoy reading this book. This book will be specially appealing to boys, who love an exciting, but true story. They will learn about the events leading up to the final showdown of the two ships and the other ships involved. It is an exciting way to learn about this event in American history.
This graphic novel also includes some very funny characters besides the people who were in involved in the preparation of the ships and crew for the battle. The illustrations add a lot of information and are fun to read. Third grade students will enjoy reading this book more than once because of the details included in the both the illustrations and the text. A fun book for all ages, this could also be used as a center for students who are reading for comprehension. The teacher could ask for facts to be written from each chapter.
In the back pages there are facts about each person involved in the battle. There is a time line and a bibliography.
For more information on author, Nathan Hale, go to his website: www.spacestationnathan.com. [learn_more caption=”Bibliographic Information”]
Title: Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad- Author and Illustrator: Nathan Hale
- Publisher: Amululet Books, 2012
- Reviewer: Susan Couture
- Hardcover: 118 pages
- ISBN: 978-1-4197-0395-9
- Genre: Graphic Novel, History
- Lexile: 280GN
