ILLUMINATING 1778, THE WINTER OF TROOPS' DISCONTENT.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski

Staff Writer

"What if...?" What if every young student's history teacher started a subject that way?

That's the core of the "Blast to the Past" book series, aimed at 7- to 10-year-olds, from authors Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon.

The main characters, third-graders Abigail, Zack, Jacob and Bo, thrive in Mr. Caruthers' history class and after-school club, learning about famous figures and then time-traveling to enjoy personal encounters with them.

Theirs is more than a one-of-a-kind lesson. They have a mission: To meet up with that important individual and make sure he or she completes an important mark on history, while their nemesis and fellow time-traveler, Babs McGee, is trying to change the course of events and grab the glory for this invention or that discovery or achievement.

Inserting children into the historic setting is a literary device that works well here, just as it has made "The Magic Treehouse" series very popular.

The seventh and newest "Blast to the Past" title, "Washington's War," dispatches the students to Valley Forge, Penn., in the harsh winter of 1778, when the lack of food and supplies had demoralized many colonial troops.

The kids first meet some deserters slipping out of the camp, despairing that the revolutionaries will lose and their struggle will have been for nothing. Then they find Gen. George Washington preparing to give up his command and head home to Mount Vernon with Martha.

"I suddenly knew why we had come back to 1778," says Abigail, the narrator of this story. "It was our job to keep history on track and that meant George Washington could not quit and leave Valley Forge. All of American history would change if he left."

The children, led by the particularly well-read Bo, must encourage Gen. Washington to tough it out and fulfill his role in the nation's birth.

With their time travel device (which resembles a handheld video game), they bring the general to their 21st century world to show him all that came from his role as first commander of the Continental Army. As they show him an Army base, a Navy submarine, Marines taking target practice and an Air Force troop transport, he is reminded of his role in establishing three branches of service.

Although the book talks about the difficult conditions Washington's troops faced -- blistered feet, starvation, exposure, illness -- it does not address the current military's battle experiences. According to "Washington's War," soldiers, seamen, airmen and Marines only march and train.

One interesting touch: The book concludes with a recipe for firecake, the flour-and-

water pancake that gives a reader a taste of what Washington's soldiers lived on.

Previous figures in the "Blast to the Past" series include Abraham Lincoln, Walt Disney, Alexander Graham Bell, Martin Luther King Jr., Sacagawea and Ben Franklin. Next up is Betsy Ross.

For more information, see www.blasttothepastbooks.com.

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

[e-mail]

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no caption (book: "Blast to the Past Washington's War")