Mississippi author and former homeschooling mom, Tricia Raymond, hopes her newly released book, America’s Story: A Pictorial History of the Pledge of Allegiance will be both educational and inspirational to its readers.

“America’s Story: A Pictorial History of the Pledge of Allegiance is the first book to chronicle the history of the Pledge of Allegiance through original documents and historical photographs,” states Raymond. “I had no idea that such an important part of American history has been hidden for so long on library shelves. I hope my readers are as excited to discover new aspects of our nation’s heritage as I was while writing the book.”

A book was not what Raymond had in mind 13 years ago while developing history lessons for her children. “Our family had just completed the Little House on the Prairie book series and I decided to teach about westward expansion using Laura Ingalls Wilder’s life as a springboard. My original idea was to find out how many stars were on the American flag when Laura was a child at school reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.”

While researching the answer, Raymond came across a short paragraph telling the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. “The history of the Pledge, when pared down to its bare essentials, can be told in a footnote,” explains Raymond. “But, for me, the words nearly jumped off the page because it revealed the Pledge was originally published in The Youth’s Companion, a magazine popular when Laura Wilder was a school child. As a matter of fact, The Youth’s Companion was so much a favorite of Laura’s, she wrote about it in her book, The Long Winter, which we had just finished reading a week earlier.”

Uncovering that piece of information sparked Raymond’s curiosity, but the road from a grade school history lesson to a completed book was far from easy – or quick.

“The day I brought my youngest home from the hospital was the day I realized my history lesson could easily become a book,” states Raymond. But raising a family and helping her husband start a business took priority. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. Although she worked every chance she had, the progress was painfully slow.

“The continual reappearance of Michael Newdow’s attempts to delete “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance motivated me to continue,” she said. “I knew I had information that most Americans knew nothing of – despite the fact that we know the Pledge of Allegiance like we know our own names.”

Michael Newdow, an acclaimed atheist, has challenged the constitutionality of the Pledge’s reference to God. His law suit reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that Newdow did not have standing as a parent to bring the suit. The end result is that the Pledge of Allegiance remains intact.

“The vast majority of Americans want ‘under God’ to remain in the Pledge of Allegiance,” states Raymond, “and once they learn why it is in there, they will be even more adamant about keeping the Pledge untouched.”

Raymond will be in Quitman at the Great Southern National Bank, 105 S. Archusa Ave., to sign copies of her book, on Tuesday, June 10 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Raymond will also be at the East Mississippi Regional Library, 116 Water St., on June 10 at 10 a.m. for a children’s program.