By Colorado Kids Advisory Board member Andrew Scott

Title: George Washington, Spymaster
Author: Thomas B. Allen
Illustrator: Cheryl Harness
Publisher: National Geographic
Number of Pages: 184

Ready for a nonfiction book with action, mystery, and puzzles to figure out? In the book, George Washington, Spymaster, you can have all of that. This fabulous book tells true facts about how the Americans spied on the British during the Revolutionary War. There were many facts in this book that I found very interesting and exciting. I never knew that George Washington had anything to do with spying, but then found out from this book that he was the head of a big spy ring. Washington had agents who worked for him. One agent was a woman named Anna Strong who hung clothes on her clothesline in code! For example, if there was a red coat at the end of her line, it meant that the enemy was hiding down by the beach. A black petticoat on the line was code for another spy who was a blacksmith. Another one of Washington's agents let the British soldiers meet in her house and then hid in a closet and listened in on their plans!

I also learned facts about historical events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston tea party. What makes this book different is that there are fun little spy puzzles and codes to solve along the way while you are reading. Some of them are pretty hard! All in all, this is an excellent nonfiction book and I would recommend it for ages ten and up. It's a great book if you are studying American history in school. (May, 2004)