Adventures of Rush Revere (Review)

My teen history lover was excited to see  Adventures of Rush Revere #1 New York Times Bestselling Book Series by Rush and Kathryn Adams Limbaugh show up on our review list.   We received all five books in the Rush Revere book series.  Titles included in this series area as follows.

Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
Rush Revere and the First Patriots
Rush Revere and the American Revolution
Rush Revere and the Star Spangled Banner
Rush Revere and the Presidency

The books themselves are hardback, and the pages have an "aged" look.   There are colorful graphics and artwork strewn throughout the book, as well as actual photos of historic locations.   You'll also find images of "Rush Revere" throughout...it's basically the authors actual photo placed on a graphic. It reminds both Olivia and I of the little bobble heads from back in the day.  (No disrespect meant towards the author at all.)

Since we like to study history chronologically, Olivia, age 14, started off  reading the Brave Pilgrims.  She really enjoyed the writing style and the quirkiness of the book and said that it was entertaining. I on the other hand found the quirkiness to be a bit too silly.   The basic premise of the books is that American history teacher, Rush Revere and his talking horse Liberty (yes, talking horse) and a couple of students manage to travel back in time to historical events.    Cell phones still work in the 1600's and taking selfies during the signing of the Mayflower Compact were a must.

Moving onto the 2nd book in the series, Rush Revere and the Brave Patriots, the whimsy of the cuteness wore off for Olivia.  While she still found the book entertaining, she felt like it made actual history look a bit...fictitious.  She said she felt like younger readers, would be confused at to what parts of the story were actual history and what parts were just creative writing.

Since Olivia's opinion varied from book 1 to book 2, I opted to read the next book in the series, Rush Revere and the American Revolution.   From an educational standpoint, there were a few things I really loved.  First off, dates and places are mentioned, and reviewed often.  Even a student who isn't big into memorizing history facts will pick up on those without the tediousness of having to memorize.  Lesser known heroes are brought to light as well.   I also like that the teacher, Rush Revere, reviews a great deal with his time traveling students, again, helping students to pick up and retain facts that are brought out in the story.   I also like that the author works themes from history into the modern lives of students.

The final two books in the series, Rush Revere and the Star Spangled Banner and Rush Revere and the Presidency follow the same pattern with traveling in time to the events, followed by discussion and application of what was learned during the time traveling trips.

Truthfully, I didn't think I'd like these books at first.  However, I really enjoy the author's writing style, and his descriptions of places, battle scenes and events really are engaging.    I especially think boys would like the battle scenes, as it describes the sights, sounds and smells of battle without painting vividly gruesome pictures for young readers.

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