Famous Figures of the American Revolution: Movable Paper Figures to Cut, Color, and Assemble is a book of Revolution-era figures drawn on cardstock. The American patriots that are included are Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, Daniel Boone, George Washington, John Adams, Molly Pitcher, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, and a soldier of the Continental Army. Each figure contains a short biography. There is also a companion reading list containing read-alouds and independent readers. For this review, the Punch and Fastener Pack was included, so I had all that I needed. If you don't have a small hole punch and fasteners, you will need to purchase those.

First the parent or the child will need to cut out the figures. The perforated pages make it easy to tear the page out of the book. The figures come in color and black and white, so the children can color the figures. Then the children punch holes at the appropriate places and place brads to attach arms to bodies so that the figures can move. The figures are designed for students ages 6 to 12.

The figures stand about 12" tall. Their arms and legs move at the knees and at the elbows. If you have an artistic child, she will enjoy coloring in the black-and-white figure. If you have a methodical child, simply putting together the colored figure would be sufficient. We used these figures as demonstrations during our read-alouds about the American Revolution. During free playtime at our house, my daughters enjoyed creating dialogue between the characters. Some families have assembled the figures and then attached them to their time lines. There is nothing specifically "homeschool" about this product, but it does liven up history!

The instructions were simple enough for my 9-year-old to grab the book and run away with it. It is that kind of book, the kind that children run to get to and want to start right away. The figures are beautiful. We have an artist in the house, and she was pleased with the artwork. My only challenge with the Famous Figures was trying to get the pieces cut out fast enough for my 7-year-old to put together. As a mom I enjoyed having movable figures to have the children observe and play with during history reading time.

Ms. Diez-Luckie's moveable figures are beautiful. They will liven up any history lesson. She has more historical figures in production.

Product review by Maggi Beardsley, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2011