Our Flag Was Still There: The True Story of Mary Pickersgill and the Star-Spangled Banner

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year So much to like about this, including the folk art-style artwork with childlike appeal, the emphasis on the women who constructed the flag, and the important ways a symbol can influence a country for generations. –Booklist (starred review)

From beloved author-illustrator Jessie Hartland comes a whimsical nonfiction picture book that tells the story of the American flag that inspired the poem and our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

If you go to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, you can see a massive American flag: thirty feet tall and forty-two feet long. That’s huge! But how did it get there? And where did it come from? Well…

The story of this giant flag begins in 1812 and stars a major on the eve of battle, a seamstress and her mighty helpers, and a poet named Francis Scott Key. This isn’t just the story of one flag. It’s the story of The Star Spangled-Banner, a poem that became our national anthem, too.

Dynamically told and stunningly illustrated, Jessie Hartland brings this fascinating and true story to life.