The Scarlet Stockings Spy

By: Trinka Hakes Noble Illustrated by: Robert Papp

The Scarlet Stocking Spy takes place in Philadelphia in 1777 admits a great battle between George Washington’s troops and the invading British Army. Maddy Rose a young girl famous for her Scarlet Stockings lived with her mother, a seamstress and leather worker, and brother solider in Washington’s Army.  Maddy Rose worked for a seamstress named Mistress Ross whose home was located in the Boston Harbor. Unknown to everyone else around Maddy’s Job and desire to wear bright red stockings, was an elaborate disguise of a plan thought up by her brother Jonathan and herself. Every day while passing the harbor Maddy would take notice of all the ships coming into the harbor noticing whether they were friendly vessels from the colonies, merchant vessels from the islands, or suspicious vessels way down by heaving fire arms the British were using against Washington’s army. Maddy’s innocent appearance to the town folk allowed her to secretly code this information about the ships to her brother Jonathan and the Washington Army. By the order and arrangement of her stockings and garments on her clothesline. Each gourmet and stocking as placed a certain way to designate what ships were present in the harbor that week. Maddy would wait for Jonathan every night to receive the signal until the battle began and Jonathan visits no longer happened. After several days of no visits from Jonathan , Maddy  saw a shadowy figure were her brother use to come. Despite her excitement she found that the figure was not her brother but his best friend, Seth, who had come to inform her of her brother’s death. Seth took Jonathan's place reading and developing the messages from Maddy to Washington and one night left Maddy with a gift from her brother. The gift turned out to be Jonathan's blue army coat still stained with blood which she used her seamstress abilities to fashion an American flag from her brothers blue army coat, her scarlet stockings, and her white petticoats.  The story ends in the spring of 1778 where the British were run out of Philadelphia by Washington’s army leaving the community in celebration with flags flying. One of those flags had a star that was bigger than all of the other 13 with a small musket ball hold underneath it which was once the jacket of Maddy’s brother Jonathan. This story shows that even the smallest of citizens can plan large roles when the birth of a nation is at state.

Classroom Activity: This book is a great historical fiction picture book to read before introducing a social studies lesson. The teacher could read this book out loud - and then help facilitate discussion to social studies. This book address patriotism, spies, children involvement and the Revolutionary War.