Strong women—Caroline’s relatives and an African American indentured servant— are central to this story of making the flag that flew over Fort McHenry. Provides historical context and weaves in lyrics from the “Star Spangled Banner.” Includes Author’s Note, Sources, Lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner

Picture-book biographer Kristen Fulton and woodblock printmaker Holly Berry join forces in this look at a young girl who helped to create one of the most historically significant flags in American history. The granddaughter of Rebecca Flower, who created George Washington's first flag, during the American Revolution; and the daughter of Mary Pickersgill, the widowed proprietress of one of Baltimore's best known flag-making businesses, Caroline Pickersgill was just thirteen when she helped to make the Star Spangled Banner Flag, which flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. It was this flag that led American lawyer and British captive Francis Scott Key to compose a poem entitled Defense of Fort M'Henry - a poem that would become the national anthem of the United States of America. The narrative here follows young Caroline as she helps to make the flag, and then watches it fly over Fort McHenry, during the British naval assault in September, 1814. The text incorporates phrases from the national anthem into its storytelling, while the full text of that poem/song is reproduced at the rear, in an afterword that gives more information about Caroline and her family...

I sought out Long May She Wave: The True Story of Caroline Pickersgill and Her Star-Spangled Creation after reading and enjoying Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany and A Royal Ride: Catherine the Great's Great Invention - two of Kristen Fulton's other picture-book biographies. Although the title is a bit of a stretch - the flag was more her mother's creation than Caroline's, although she helped to make it a reality - it nevertheless tells an engaging story of a young person who was involved in crafting something that became a treasured and deeply influential symbol for her country. I appreciated the use of bits of the anthem, in Fulton's text here, and I enjoyed the woodblock artwork from Berry. I was interested to learn, while reading the afterword, that one of the six women and girls who assisted Mary Pickersgill in the creation of the flag was a young African-American named Grace Wisher, who was an indentured servant. Apparently Pickersgill was well-known enough that Grace's mother, one Jenny Wisher, asked her to take her daughter on as an apprentice, and Mary Pickersgill agreed. Reading this, I became curious about Mary Pickersgill, and discovered during a cursory google search that she was deeply involved in humanitarian work in the Baltimore area, helping impoverished women and girls. Although I understand why Fulton chose to tell Caroline Pickersgill's story here, as it provides young readers with the perspective of a fellow child, I think her mother's story is far more interesting, and can't help but wish that it has been made into a picture-book instead.

Leaving that aside, this was still an engaging and informative book, one that highlights the creation of an important early version of our flag. I would recommend it to picture-book readers interested in the history of that flag, or in the story of how our national anthem came to be written. It could pair very nicely with Peter Spier's The Star-Spangled Banner, which provides the other side of this story. ( )