Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story - Hardcover

Grade 3-6 With Texas celebrating its 150th anniversary of independence from Mexico in 1986, this lavishly illustrated, succinct account of the fall of the Alamo and its rallying effect on subsequent action, is a timely one. Susanna Dickinson, who with her baby daughter survived her husband at the Alamo, was among the women and children released after the battle by Santa Anna. He gave her a letter to deliver to Sam Houston advising no further resistance. This, and her account of the slaughter (set down by others, as she could not read or write) helped fire Texan determination against the Mexican dictator that led to Texas' independence at the Battle of San Jacinto a month later. Simplified and romanticized with apt use of fictional and recorded dialogue to convey background and event for young readers, the style allows for ease of reading and dramatic effect. Rita Kerr's Girl of the Alamo (Eakin Pr, 1984), gives more details of her life and of the 13-day siege of the Alamo for about the same age level. But Jakes' accessible text, and the softly colored pictorial detail of the slightly oversized, oblong book with endpaper maps; portraits of principals like Bowie, Crockett and Travis; and the reproduction (albeit marred) of one of Travis' moving letters for aid make this an appealing, useful historic account for younger students. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Here is an account of the Alamo, focusing on Susanna, a young woman who witnessed it and lived to tell the tragic tale to Sam Houston. Houston uses Susanna's story to fuel his troops' anger before they go off to battle. The book claims that his response to Susanna's tale may have helped Texas win its freedom from Mexico, and that without her the Alamo might have been forgotten. Jakes and Bacon have brought an intriguing moment of history vividly to life, but making their heroine a passive one, in the shadow of historical giants, seems condescending. It's doubtful that the battle that felled Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie would have been forgotten without Susanna's report. And Houston and his men would have probably had enough steam of their own to win their battle for Texas. Still, Susanna's story is poignant, as a true account of a woman who witnessed and was a victim of a brutal war. The book's design and production are spectacular, and the panoramic art is evocative.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.