Scaffolding Understanding Along with the Arc by guest author Beth Anderson

Welcome back to author Beth Anderson! Today we celebrate her newest picture book, The Patriots and the Pox: George Washington's Battle to Save the Continental Army, illustrated by Ashley Yazdani, publishes with Calkins Creek, Sept. 29, 2026. 

Beth amazes me with all the neat facts she uncovers and packs it all into a captivating picture book biography.

Here's my (Tina Cho's) review of the book:

Anderson delivers another fascinating picture book biography about a lesser-known feat of George Washington—saving his troops from the deadly enemy of smallpox. So many decisions went through his mind as he contemplated inoculating his troops. Yazdani’s gorgeous illustrations uplift the text and show the urgency of Washington’s dilemma. Kids can contemplate and contrast inoculation back then and in today’s society. A good book about leadership, choosing bravery, and problem solving.   

Take it away, Beth...

Research for THE PATRIOTS AND THE POX involved many categories of information: Continental Army, George Washington, smallpox, battles, strategies, medicine, inoculation, camps, supplies, logistics, and more. And everything was interconnected. One of the challenges was how to sequence the important, complex concepts and context to keep the narrative flowing and pushing forward without diversions, confusion, repeated ideas, or too many words.

Here are a few of the issues I was dealing with:

·       Quarantine requires understanding contagion.

·       Smallpox as a weapon is tied to why the British weren’t as vulnerable to the disease as the patriots…

·       which is tied to contagion

·       and immunity.

·       The inoculation process requires understanding contagion, quarantine, and immunity.  

 I needed to weave these science concepts plus context about soldiers’ behavior, army camps, the times, and logistics into the plot so readers could understand the spread of disease and how it impacted troops. The entire arc of the story, the motivation, risk, and stakes, depended on understanding the medical terms. How could I deliver complex information efficiently and economically without losing the momentum, the emotional core of the story, and the reader?

 The juggling began…

While the ability to cut and paste on a computer is miraculous for anyone who grew up using a typewriter, I depend on the good ole “cut it up” strategy that allows me to experiment with reckless abandon for tough sections.

Along with the question that kept me focused [“Why does this matter to Washington and his goal to defeat smallpox?”], questions helped me determine the best sequence of concepts and information pieces. Chronology alone didn’t provide an easy path. Neither did logic. I had two background pieces not tied to chronology. Washington’s experience with smallpox was an easy reflection. But the reason the British weren’t as vulnerable as the colonists was complicated. How could I use these to help build the arc?

These questions helped me find the sequence for the science concepts.

·       What is essential for the reader to understand __x__?

·       What must come before __x__?

So…bring on the scissors! When I work on a challenging section, I cut it into paragraphs. And when I get down to the nitty gritty, I work with sentences. Here are a few examples working with the concepts and events I mentioned above.

The sequence you see is what I started with. The numbers on the right show their eventual sequence. Some pieces were cut. Some of the sentences within one piece here ended up in different spots. The toughest chunk to place [*] dogged me for a while as I tried to get it to the bare essentials so as not to bog down the action.

Here’s an example of taking it to the sentence level. I could move lines more freely. Some were cut, some moved, some changed. If you compare this sequence to the book, you’ll see there are many differences, not only in the sequence, but also wording. This was a revision in which I was setting up the beginning with advantages and disadvantages of each side. While I liked the back and forth it provided for comparison of the two sides, the transitions weren’t working.

There’s something special about being able to physically move pieces and experiment without a computer monitor. While it might be because I remember cutting up term papers in high school and it’s in my history as a writer, more likely it’s the kinesthetic aspect that works differently with my brain.

Eventually, finally, through many revisions, I found a sequence in which each concept supported the next, transitions flowed effectively, and the scaffolding that was created not only served the arc, but also allowed me to cut words.

So by all means…play with scissors…[but no running!].

Beth visiting the Pepperell, Massachusetts DAR chapter, holding Prudence Wright’s lantern. There’s George in the background wondering when she would get around to a story about him….finally, here it is—THE PATRTIOTS AND THE POX! 

Beth Anderson is the award-winning author of more than ten illustrated books, including HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT, THOMAS JEFFERSON’S BATTLE FOR SCIENCE, and LIZZIE DEMANDS A SEAT. A former educator, she strives for accidental learning in the midst of a great story and hopes to inspire kids to laugh, ponder, and question. Born and raised in Illinois, Beth now lives in Colorado. Visit https://bethandersonwriter.com

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