This would be a good story for a child who is bothered by a bully. Tolivers Secret is written by Esther Wood Brady and published by Knopf. I liked the thing that happened at the end, too, when Ellen stood up to Dicey. It is a good illustration of what can be done when a person forces herself to do something difficult. Toliver’s Secret is a great story of a girl’s courage when something hard needed to be done. Could she muster the courage to do what had to be done? And when she did try, and one thing after another went wrong, was there any way the message would be delivered in time?

How could the message get through? Ellen was too afraid to deliver the message. One day, Grandfather hurt his ankle and could not deliver a message that General Washington vitally needed to receive. Ellen was afraid of Dicey and ended up going to a different pump for the water the family needed. One of Ellen’s daily chores was to get water from the pump, but the big, tough bully of a girl Dicey made life miserable for her. Her brother was off fighting somewhere-and Ellen and her mother and grandfather had to live among the redcoats. They had to move there with him after her father was killed in a battle with the redcoats. We finally got to it!Įllen Toliver and her mother were living with Grandfather in New York City. We’ve been working our way through the books we have access to, which are set during the Revolution, for several months now, and my older children have been asking when we’ll read this one. Synopsis: Grandfather is injured and can’t deliver a vital message Ellen is too afraid to do it-how will the message get through to General Washington?Ī book that we have always enjoyed reading when we learn about the American Revolution is Toliver’s Secret.

Major Themes: New York City, Spying, Family Read-Alouds, Historical Fiction, American Revolution

Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady