Betsy Ross

Children's Literature

Betsy Ross, born Elizabeth Griscom, is generally credited with sewing the first flag of the United States in 1776. The eighth of seventeen children in a Philadelphia Quaker family, Betsy was a talented seamstress who was trained in the trade of upholstery. Widowed shortly after her marriage to John Ross, she continued to run their upholstery shop after his death. Because she was known to George Washington at the time, was proven to have made other flags, and because of the story (often repeated by Betsy to her descendents) of making the flag, she is believed to have sewn the first flag of the newly formed country. There remains no absolute proof that she did so, however. This brief biography chronicles Betsy's life and includes informative sidebars about Flag Day, the Betsy Ross house, and rules for flying the flag appropriately. Photographs and period illustrations appear on every page. The book also includes a timeline, a glossary, an index, a short list of references, and places to visit. The only Web site mentioned is the publisher's Web page which then links to three Betsy Ross sites. The publisher promises to keep the links list up to date. If so, this would be an improvement over links included in the text of a book, which have the potential to quickly become outdated. This interesting book, one of the series "Our People," is a welcome addition to the rather limited field of lower reading level biographies. 2003, Child's World,
— Leslie Rounds

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Both Ross and Madison give basic information about their subjects, describing them as strong, brave, and good at their jobs-seamstress and hostess, respectively. As serviceable biographies, the titles have sufficient information for reports, and are lively enough for recreational reading. The illustrations are mainly colorful reproductions of artworks. These books give a good picture of the personal lives of these women-their hardships and frustrations, and how they faced serious problems, most of which were created by the tumultuous times in which they lived. Similar in scope and reading level, but a little more detailed, is Susan Martins Miller's Betsy Ross: American Patriot (Chelsea, 2000). The same is true of Patricia Ryon Quiri's Dolley Madison (Watts, 1993; o.p.), although it has the wrong date for one of the photos.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.