Some tall tales are actually true. This is a grand one, told with rightful pride by a boy who was there in the city of Philadelphia in 1777 and was lucky enough to play a role in the American Revolution.

John Jacob Mickley, eleven years old, and his father were in the city when the Great Bell began ringing Brong! Brong! BRONG! from atop the State House to warn the citizens: "Redcoats! The Redcoats are coming!"

And come the British did — with their muskets and their cannons and their will to keep the colonies for their king. Looting they came and stealing any metal they could get their hands on to melt down for the making of more weapons. And the prize above all? The Great Bell itself — metal for many a cannon!

But the clever Pensylvanians (yes, the word was spelled like that then) had other plans for keeping the Bell safe from the British.

Megan McDonald has aptly caught John Jacob's excited retelling of the story, and Marsha Gray Carrington has relished every wild and wooly moment of it in her pictures — both funny and carefully researched.

"Blending bits of history and long-accepted lore into a snappy story, McDonald (Is This a House for a Hermit Crab?; the Judy Moody series) entertains readers with her imagining of the Liberty Bell's whereabouts during the American Revolution. Young John Jacob Mickley is ready to burst with excitement as he regales his younger siblings with a tale of the fateful trip he took to Philadelphia with their father. As Mickley pre and fils arrived in the city of brotherly love, warning came of the encroachment of British Redcoats led by General Howe. The rush was on to hide any sources of metal — including all the church bells in town and 'the Great Bell' atop the State House (later known as the Liberty Bell). The 11-year-old and his dad, along with their wagon and horses, were pressed into duty, surreptitiously spiriting away the 2,000-plus-pound bell to a hiding place in their hometown of Northampton. McDonald's vivacious text brims with details, while keeping a brisk pace. A historical note fills in additional elements. With a keen eye, Carrington (Jake Johnson: The Story of a Mule) captures the bucolic countryside as well as prim city townhouses of 18th-century Philadelphia in her acrylic paintings. Her energetic portraits of a fretful John Jacob and his father carting the cleverly (and colorfully) concealed bell let youngsters in on the secret while also keeping them on the edge of their seats. Ages 5-8." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Eleven-year-old John Jacob Mickley is in the city of Philadelphia in 1777, when the Great Bell rings out a warning from atop the State House that the Redcoats are coming. The British are eying the Great Bell as metal for a cannon, but John Jacob tells how the clever residents kept the bell safe. Full color.