Dexter Doubleday is a typical middle school kid who lives with his parents and younger brother in the small Pacific Northwest town of Ridgefield, Washington.
Dexter plays on the basketball team. He enjoys kayaking, fishing, and hanging out with his best friend, Jack. He loves pizza and video games, does pretty well in math, and really likes learning about science.
But, he absolutely hates anything and everything to do with history. For one thing, he thinks something that happened in the past has absolutely nothing to do with his life right now. According to Dexter, history is just a bunch of boring old stuff, about boring old people, doing boring old things, during boring old times. Boring!
Until something amazing happens to Dexter Doubleday!
Dexter is suddenly swept up by a strong gust of wind that instantly pushes him backward in time all the way to the middle of the Civil War. One minute he's jumping down from the steps of the school bus and thinking about taking his dog Bailey for a walk to Abram's park; and, the next minute, he's riding a horse through a terrifying valley filled with the bodies of fallen soldiers, the putrid smell of gunfire, and venomous snakes!
Posing as a Union Soldier, Dexter comes to the aide of and befriends a wounded, young Confederate Infantryman. He nurses him back to health and the two unlikely friends set out on a journey together to find what each is looking for. All Dexter wants to do is find his home and rejoin his family. He's in the wrong time and the wrong place and doesn't want to stay!
His new friend Micah is looking for courage. He wants to rejoin the war effort to honor his family.
During their journey they run into a few distractions and obstacles. One of the biggest obstacles is their differing beliefs and opinions about the Civil War.
Through their shared experience, both boys learn a lot about the war and a little about themselves.
Dexter Doubleday's time travel adventure changes him. It even changes how he feels about history. He now understands the hardships and complexities of the Civil War and is really beginning to appreciate the importance of history.
What changed him? He has no idea. Or, does he?
Dexter Doubleday "Fight for Freedom" might best be described as a creative non-fiction. Although the characters and premise of time travel are fictional, the information about and historical references to the Civil War are factual-having been carefully researched using historical documents and the writings of recognized Civil War historians.
"Fight for Freedom" is Book One in the Dexter Doubleday series. The subject matter, writing style, lexile range, and vocabulary make Dexter Doubleday "Fight for Freedom" a perfect literary text choice for the middle-level reader (grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), for book study groups, for family reading, and for classroom application.
To increase learning opportunities, the following are included at the back of the book:
• Suggested Pre-reading Activities
• Civil War Era Photographs (Library of Congress)
• Vocabulary Words and Definitions (listed by chapter)
• Book Study Questions (listed by chapter)
