Phoebe the Spy

By: Judith Berry Griffin

(Original title: Phoebe and the General)

Summary: The story, Phoebe the spy, is all about a 13 year old girl. Her name is Phoebe Fraunces. Her father, Samuel Fraunces, asks Phoebe to be a spy. Samuel had heard rumors that someone had a plot to kill General George Washington. All that Samuel knew was about the plot and that the killer's name began with the letter T. So, Phoebe travels to General's home. She posed as a maid. 2 very important people in the story, Pompey and the cook, greet Phoebe at the door. After about two months serving as a maid, Phoebe hears big news from her father while she is at the lake or ocean. She meets her father everyday at the market, to inform him of any weird behaviors at General George Washington's home. Her father told Phoebe that there were three or less days until this killer would attack General George Washington. When Phoebe returns to the house, she talks to Mr. Hickey, a supposed "friend" of the family when he brings in some peas. Those peas were sort of out of season. Then Hickey asks for George's dinner plate that is filled with peas. So, Phoebe gives him the plate, only so he could sprinkle something that looked like salt on them. Then Phoebe hears somebody call Mr. Hickey by the name Thomas. And that is when it all started to click to Phoebe. The name that began with T, the salt, which was actually was poison, it all came together! That's actually a true thing that happened in real life, too. George already had his plate with the peas, or so Phoebe thought. But, right when George was about to eat, Phoebe started to throw the peas containing poison out the window to the chickens. One after another, the chickens slowly slumped to the ground until they were dead. Then everybody believed her that there was poison on the peas. So, Phoebe had saved General Washington's life.

Illustration and Art: The art drawn from the Revolutionary War; it has historical accuracy and suspense and illustrated with finesse. The illustrations are done in pencil with hues of brown to show the color of their faces.

Evaluation by Genre: Historical Fiction, The novel draws readers into a period of history that is both exciting and intriguing, while presenting a solid introduction to this time period of 1776 and the Revolutionary War.

Major Conflict:  Appearances can be deceiving. Phoebe has to find out who will try to kill President Washington before it’s too late. Will she find to would be killer in time?

Motivational Activities: As you read the story you could make a prediction chart. The children will write down all the names and try to find out who will make an attempt on the Presidents life. Another activity is to have the children to write down vocabulary words and definitions example: scoundrel, patriots, cot, spire, plotting, and steward. You can teach them how to use on-line dictionaries. After they have finished reading they can write a letter to Phoebe thanking her for saving the presidents life. They could also write about all the characters in the book; look on the computer or go to the library to find out about the life of the main characters in the story.

Reader Response Questions: (1) who is Phoebe Fraunces? (2) Where did Phoebe live? (3) What mission did her father send her to do? (4) How old was Phoebe? (5) Who was her father? (6) What was the Queens tavern and who went there? (7) What did Phoebe do in the president’s house? (8) Who was Thomas Hickey? (9) Who was Pompey? (10) Who is Mr. Green? (11) Who was Mary? (12) In what year was the Revolutionary War? (13) What was in the peas? (14) Who was George Washington and why was he important? (15) Who was Samuel Fraunces and why was he worried?

About the Author: ​Judith Berry Griffin’s combined experience as an education administrator and leader, consultant, author, and lecturer led her to establish The Ophelia J. Berry Fund in 2003.  She is founding president of the Fund’s first program, Pathways to College, which is a national after-school initiative.  The program helps high-potential students of color develop the critical thinking skills and habits of mind that make achieving a college education an attainable goal, thereby encouraging school-wide improvement and reform.  Since its founding in 1992, the program has served more than 2,100 students. Many of its graduates go on to selective four-year colleges such as Brown University, Smith College, Stanford University, Hampshire College and the University of Chicago. Prior to her current role, Griffin served as national president of A Better Chance from 1983 to 2003. In addition, she served in the U.S. Department of Education. Griffin is the author of several books for children, the most recent of which, Phoebe and the General, was a nominee for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award. She is a recipient of The 2008 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education. Griffin earned BA and MA degrees from the University of Chicago, which in 2001 awarded her its Professional Achievement Citation. She holds an additional graduate degree from Columbia University.

Personal Comments: I really love history; I found this book in a thrift store on a dusty shelf. As I read the book which is for junior readers-grade 3; the book is based on true facts about Samuel Fraunces and his daughter Phoebe who in their own secret way wanted to save the president from possible death. I before reading this book never heard of Phoebe or her father. I will use this book in my classroom in the near future.

If you like this book you can also read: “Tolivers Secret” by: Ester Wood Brady; “A Lion to Guard Us By” by: Clyde Robert Bulla.

Historical Fiction: The characters are dynamic and dimensional as well as fanciful. They must be believable, flat, and static. The story must be set in the real world of the past, the real world of the present times. The events of the story must be plausible and logical in the real world of the present, the real world of the past (Literature of the Child, pg. 56)

Cited

Whitman Galda, Lee, Bernice E. Cullinan, and Lawrence R. Sipe. "Literature and the Child." , 7th Edition by Lee Galda, Bernice E. Cullinan, Lawrence R. Sipe (9780495602392). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, n.d. &, 1998. Print.

Griffin, Judith Berry., and Margot Tomes. Phoebe the Spy. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1977. Print.