Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
My Brother Sam Is Dead was named a Newbery Honor book and a National Book Award finalist. We can't say we're surprised.
Like many great books before it, My Brother Sam Is Dead is so good that people have decided to hate on it—for decades. Now you can feel like a rebel when you're reading about Tim and his fam.
You guessed it: the Colliers don't just share a last name. They're brothers, too.
My Brother Sam Is Dead puts the "historical" in "historical fiction." Even though Tim's story is largely fictional, tons of the characters in this book were real people. You can read more about all the historical facts in the authors' afterward called "How much of this book is true?"
Remember Sam's first captain? His name was Benedict Arnold, and he's a real guy with a really crazy story. We'll give you the short version: he goes from Patriot hero to total traitor. Yep, super crazy stuff.