Longfellow, H. W. (2003). Paul Revere’s ride: the landlord’s tale. HarperCollins: New York City, NY.
Genre: This is a single illustrated poem written as a picture book.
Age Level: 3rd grade-6th grade
The picture book Paul Revere’s Ride: The Landlord’s Tale is a single illustrated poem that is illustrated by Charles Santore. The poem was originally written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1860. Charles Santore was appointed the daunting task of illustrating this narrative poem and putting it into a picture book format. The poem tells the tale of Paul Revere and his famous ride to alert three towns of Massachusetts that the British were coming. I chose this book because I love history, especially American history, so I was naturally drawn to this book. This book would be an excellent addition to any classroom library, especially a fifth grade classroom, in which the American Revolution is taught in depth. The poem is narrative because the poem tells of an event in chronological order, not just a single moment or thought.
The poem is a famous poem by Longfellow that I remember reading in high school while studying American poets. The poem is quite lengthy and some stanzas are broken down into separate events. This would make the poem less intimidating for young students who are being introduced to poetry. It also gives the opportunity for teachers and students to break the poem down, to really understand what is happening. Longfellow uses sight imagery in the poem, which I believe makes the poem more intimate and slows the poem down to allow the reader to really see what is going on. This effect contrasts to the hurried action of Paul Revere riding from town to town. One example of this imagery occurs when Revere reaches Lexington: “ He saw the gilded weathercock/ Swim in the moonlight as he passed,/ And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,/ Gaze at him with a spectral glare,/As if they already stood aghast/ At the bloody work they would look upon.” I really enjoyed this imagery because it helps to really imagine what the poem is saying. The poem also uses rhyme to allow a beat to the poem. The rhyme is not regular and does not follow a certain pattern. The stanzas of the poem also do not have the same number of lines.
Charles Santore is the illustrator of the book and creates a double spread illustration to illustrate each event of the poem. The illustrations use color to create shadows to reflect the night setting of the poem and the imagery that the poem creates. The pictures help to enhance the poem and are an asset to the poem for young readers who are first experiencing poems of this length.
This poem allows for so many lessons to be implemented in the classroom. The poem is about Paul Revere’s ride, but Longfellow has left out certain facts to enhance his tale. Students could research these facts to contrast to Longfellow’s poem. A map lesson could even be conducted to track the ride that Revere conducted. Of course, discussion of the poem also needs to occur. Here are some BIG questions that teachers can ask their students about the poem:
Why would Longfellow leave out certain facts about Paul Revere’s ride, and add false information? What parts of the poem do you think are exaggerated? How does the imagery of the poem add to its dramatic effect?
Here are some more ideas for using Paul Revere’s Ride: The Landlord’s Tale in the classroom:
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