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There are few things more pleasing to a librarian - or to a parent - than spotting a kid giggling over a book. Imagine how satisfying it would be to see a kid laughing and engrossed in a nonfiction book about the Revolutionary War. No exaggeration: children have walked into walls while reading Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, a series of historical graphic novels.
Nathan Hale (1755-1776) was this country's first spy, traveling behind enemy lines to find information about British troop strength prior to the invasion of Manhattan. He was not a very good spy, and so One Dead Spy: The Life, Times, and Last Words of Nathan Hale, America’s Most Famous Spy begins as he is about to be hanged. Like Scheherazade, he manages to delay his appointment with the noose by telling the story of the war to his executioners, a goofy hangman and a supercilious British officer.
Nathan Hale (1976- ) is best known as the acclaimed illustrator of the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. Here he takes writing credit as well. His art is lively and meticulous, rigorously researched and clearly drawn. Sieges, daring raids, and night crossings may seem like perfect material for the graphic novel treatment, but Hale manages to make even panels describing troop movements exciting. One Dead Spy is the first book in the series, and Big Bad Ironclad!: A Civil War Steamship Showdown, chronicling history of the Monitor and Merrimac, is also available. Look for two new Hazardous Tales to be published this summer.
