June 14th is Flag Day

June 14th is Flag Day!

You’re a Grand Old Flag
by George M. Cohan and illustrations by Warren Kimble

This is the song that was written by George M. Cohan with beautiful illustrations that show the symbols of the United States with the flag in every illustration. There are lighthouses, snowmen, and even scarecrows wearing the flag proudly. At the end of the book, there is a little bit about the writer of the song, the flag itself (first established on June 14, 1777), and the sheet music and words to the song.




















The Life and Times of Betsy Ross
by Susan Sales Harkins and William H. Harkins

Many people know the legend of Betsy Ross, where she was asked by George Washington to sew a flag that would represent America free from England. This biography is about the life of the woman who is said to have sewn the first flag of America, and how the events in her life led up to that moment. The book is also full of facts about the events leading up to the revolution and the revolution itself. One of the chapters also discusses why we think Betsy Ross is the first person to have sewn the flag. Her grandson, William J. Canby, told the story he had heard from his grandmother about sewing the flag. He tried to prove the story, but he could find no written proof. George Preble included Canby’s story in his A History of the Flag, and that is how we all know the story of Betsy Ross. Unfortunately, there is still no written proof that George Washington asked her to sew the flag, or that Betsy Ross was really the first person to sew the new American flag.
















The Flag We Love
by Pan Muňoz Ryan and illustrated by Ralph Masiello

This book has a rhyming dedication to the flag of the United States, and at the bottom of the rhyme on each page is a little bit of information about the rhyme on the page. For example, the “Pledge of Allegiance” was written by Francis Bellamy and first placed in a children’s magazine in 1892, and Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after observing the flag still waving after the bombing of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. There are also many other interesting facts about the flag throughout the book, and the illustrations show these facts and the parts of the poem in beautiful detail.

















Star and Stripes: The Story of the American Flag
by Sarah L. Thomson and illustrated by Bob Dacey and Debra Bandelin

This nonfiction book discusses the flag of the United States and where it can be found (such as on the moon, in parades, and at schools), why the flag was created, and how the flag came to look the way that it looks today. It was in 1818 that Congress decided on the thirteen white and red stripes, but they also decided that there would be a star for every state, but it was not until almost a hundred years later that it was decided that those stars would be in rows, as it is today. Today we see the flag in many different places, and even at times of sadness, like war, people fly the flag. At the end of the book, there is a little section about Betsy Ross.