Soon to be republished. Look for used copies!
Publishers Weekly (article):
While the Cartoon Chronicles series are works of fiction, Mack has a long history of creating well-researched albeit humorous nonfiction comics works. He and...Susan Champlin have taken great pains to research each book's historical settings and events in an effort to create accurate as well as lively accounts and adventures for their characters.
Junior Library Guild:
This illustrated account combines historical fact and fictional characters into an exciting and action-packed narrative. Following Penny and Nick, readers get an up-close view of the events that led to the Revolution, including Dr. Joseph Warren's speech at the Old South Meeting House and the Battle of Bunker Hill. The lively rapport between Penny and Nick helps keep the mood light and increases the characters' appeal. As Nick and Penny sneak and squabble through the streets of Boston, they also observe a lot of the tension between the British and the patriots. At first, Nick cares more about his own needs than about politics, but a run-in with a group of overbearing British soldiers sways him to the patriot side and unites him with Penny in her cause. Road to Revolution! is packed full of information about the American Revolution, includiing a prologue that sets the scene and an epilogue that explains, chapter by chapter, what is fact and what is fiction. The graphic-novel format will draw in reluctant readers, and the rapid pacing will keep their attention.
School Library Journal:
One of the book's strengths lies in the inclusion of a strong female character, and the story often comments on the limited roles available to women at the time.
Kirkus Reviews:
...the quickly paced plot in this opener for a projected Cartoon Chronicles of America, lightened by banter and occasional sight gags, will put visually oriented learners in the thick of the action.
Booklist:
As Nick assists Paul Revere with his crucial midnight ride and Penny engages in dangerous spy work, young readers will get a powerful sense of the high stakes of these pivotal events. Mack's art, clean and uncomplicated, renders period details and emotions quite evocatively and goes a long way to putting a human face on history.
100 Scope Notes:
By adding "fictional characters who get caught up with real-life people and events", cartoonist Stan Mack and writer/editor Susan Champlin skillfully inject life into the American Revolution .