And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? Book

I remember having to read And Then What Happened Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz when I was in elementary school. It was one of a number of books we had to read when we were learning about Revere and his contemporaries. While the book did teach me a great deal about the life of Revere I found it's saccharine cheerfulness to be unsettling especially at times when the book is covering the number of deaths in the revere family (especially those of Revere's young siblings, many of whom died as children or infants).

Now as an adult going back and rereading this book I found the disjoint between the serious subject matter and the almost comic book style of art unnerving. History books can be interesting to children without having them always completely upbeat. Paul Revere was an important historical figure but he is not a superhero!