Here’s the latest book review about “Civil War Drummer Boy, John Lincoln Clem,” written by our almost 10 year old daughter! I’m so thankful that she has stuck through reading the books I’ve offered her! Initially, several of the books she’s been apprehensive about. However, after she has started to read them, she has really liked each one! This is another example of one of those books. She’s definitely not a history buff, but I’m happy for this fun and entertaining story that is good historical fiction and is based on a true story!
Book review
The book I read was Civil War Drummer Boy. I really liked this book because it showed how difficult war was. And it talked about how John Lincoln Clem was the youngest boy to ever fight in the war as a Southern Rebel. He participated at first as a drummer boy then as a real soldier.
John wanted to be in the army so badly, the next time the Rebel Troops came in he asked the general if he could join the army but because he was so young, they all laughed at him. Johnny (John) wanted to show the general that he could be in the army like all the other troops. Later that day he told his father what he said. His father said that Johnny would not be allowed to be in the army, anyway.
Johnny got mad at his father for saying this, so he snuck on a train when the troops were leaving. After they all got off the train, he met this guy named Harry. They became the best of friends. One day, when they were fighting, however, Harry fled from the battlefield and deserted. Johnny thought that Harry was a coward because everyone else kept on fighting.
One of my favorite chapters was when he got captured. His picture was in the newspaper and everyone knew him. The person who captured him said that if John died, his death would be on him. The person who captured John, who was a leader of the Union Army, then asked if there was anything he wanted. Johnny felt so thankful for being treated well! He then asked for a lot of food and water that was on a nearby orchard. He actually shared all the food with everyone else who was captured and he became famous with the people at the camp. Eventually, he also became famous with a lot of other people too!
I think you should read the book because it is funny in some parts, really amazing, and really cool all at the same time. If you read the book, I hope you enjoy it!
