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Searching... Salem Main Library | J 921 Franklin, Benjamin 2011 | Searching... Unknown |
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Searching... Newberg Public Library | 921 FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Benjamin Franklin devised armonicas and bifocals, helped bring us the Constitution and signed the Declarion of Independence, and even experiment with electricity and invented the Franklin stove. He amassed enough noteworthy acccomplishments to cover the entire alphabet from A to Z. This nontraditional tribute has information about a Founding Father who was as amusing as he was amazing.
Author Notes
Alan Schroeder is the author of acclaimed books such as Ragtime Tumpie, which was an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Booklist Children's Editors' Choice, and a Parents' Choice Award winner, and Minty, an ALA Notable Children's Book and a Time Magazine Best Children's Book of the Year. He lives in California.
John O'Brien is a cartoonist whose work appears in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. He is the creator of many children's picture books and the illustrator of many more, including Red, White, Blue, and Uncle Who? by Teresa Bateman. He lives in New Jersey.
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Facts about Franklin's life and inventions are presented in snippets arranged alphabetically. For example, the "B" page includes information about the man under "Boston," "Bifocals," and "Balloon," while "C" highlights "Constitution," "Contract," and "Chess." Franklin witnessed one of the first hot-air balloon launches, broke his printer's apprentice contract with his brother, and loved to play chess. The format does not result in a chronological time line, and previous knowledge of Franklin is assumed. No sources are listed. The book sports an attractive design, and the ink and condensed watercolor illustrations are full of life. These numerous, mostly small-scale ink drawings are color-filled with pointillistic details offering both charm and humor. Although similar in tone to Rosalyn Schanzer's How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning (HarperCollins, 2003), which is intended for a slightly younger audience and concentrates on the man's inventions, Schroeder's is a fun and informative supplemental resource to be used in conjunction with a straightforward account of Franklin's life.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Alphabetically arranged, but far more than just an alphabet book, this guide to the life of Ben Franklin covers his upbringing, his prominence in early America, his many inventions, and his beliefs and writings. Given the breadth of Franklin's accomplishments, it shouldn't be surprising that each letter gets more than one word: N stands for newspaper, the New-England Courant (one of Franklin's papers); navigation (tied to his love of ships); and nude ("To his regret, 'air baths' never caught on in colonial America"). O'Brien's ink and watercolor images contribute ample humor, and Schroeder creates a well-rounded, fascinating portrait of an iconic American. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This alphabetical compendium of revealing and entertaining highlights from the life of our most colorful founding father makes a welcome supplement to standard biographies of Benjamin Franklin. Each spread features a letter or two to initialize significant places (Boston), inventions (lightning rod), accomplishments (library), people (Madame Helvtius), characteristics (frugal), and more. Scores of such familiar details of Franklin's richly varied existence are dramatized in deftly ordered boxes, banners, and balloons arrayed over broader scenes. All are rendered in O'Brien's old-timey pen and ink and brightened with watercolor plus a sometimes fantastical humor that's appropriate to Franklin's own irrepressible spirit. The bits of narrative text are usefully straightforward (with one error: fortunately, Ben was never "electrocuted"); X passes with panache -- this xenophile was also an admirer of Xenophon. Aphorisms recognizable as Poor Richard's are sprinkled throughout (without citation, though these "clever sayings" are mentioned at the outset under "Almanac"). Sensibly, these bits of "wit and wisdom" are keyed to subject rather than alphabet ("T is for Treaty": "Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later"). Concluding, Poor Richard weighs in one last time: "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." Indeed; and here's a fine place for young history buffs to begin. joanna rudge long (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Two words in the subtitle totally encompass the approach of this highly creative alphabet biographywit and wisdom. Like his subject, Schroeder is inventive; he profiles a major historic figure with amusing alphabetic tidbits that capture the spirit and substance of the man. Who knew that Franklin liked to take daily nude "air baths" (N for Newspaper, Navigation and Nude)? Multiple citations, with definitions, for each letter are boxed and set against a scenic background. The forefront entry for R, for instance, stands for Revolutionary War and is followed by Reading, Resolution and Rod; the illustration that accompanies manages to incorporate all of those elements either literally or metaphorically and add a laugh, to boot. Indeed, the format would be bland without O'Brien's finely drawn lines that humorously detail the scenes. He comically tucks adages in small banners here and there, such as: "Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it" and "Either write something worth reading or do things worth writing." From A for Almanac to Q for Quaker to Z for Zeal and back to A for American, this robust representation IS witty and wise. Using the alphabet as a device for informing and amusing continues to be a favorite with authors and illustrators, and Schroeder and O'Brien have set a new standard. Outstanding.(Alphabet biography. 6-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Arranged alphabetically, this entertaining miscellany of information about Benjamin Franklin is studded with quotes and aphorisms from the man himself. Shining light on different facets of Franklin's personality, personal history, and public service, a typical page includes a variety of topics. The double-page spread for A discusses the place of the almanac (and Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack) in colonial America; introduces his mother, Abiah; comments on his apprenticeship in his brother's printing shop; and explains the glass armonica, a musical instrument he invented. The pages that follow explore Franklin's connections to other alphabetically linked ideas, such as store, sally, slavery, and swim or xenophon and xenophile. O'Brien's ink-and-wash artwork fills the pages with attractive, amusing, and often fanciful images of Franklin and his world. Presenting a great deal of information in a format appealing to young children, this handsome book offers an enjoyable introduction to Franklin as an amazingly versatile, accomplished, and original man.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Napoli brings a new real-life character, Jean Baptiste, the son of Sacagawea, into the popular tale of Lewis and Clark's transcontinental journey. Sacagawea was pregnant when the expedition began, but this book picks up mid-journey, with Jean Baptiste snuggled and bound to his mother's back. "The Crossing" offers little background, save an author's note, but poetic text and lush artwork tell an evocative story for children familiar with the history. LIPMAN PIKE America's First Home Run King. By Richard Michelson. Illustrated by Zachary Pullen. 32 pp. Sleeping Bear. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10) Michelson offers a short biography of Lip Pike, credited with being the first paid professional as well as the first Jewish ball player (a combination that did not always please fans). Pullen's painted portraits beautifully capture character and emotion in this homage to "the Iron Batter" and baseball's earliest days. BEN FRANKLIN His Wit and Wisdom From A-Z. By Alan Schroeder. Illustrated by John O'Brien. 32 pp. Holiday House. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10) How best to convey to children the mind-blowing multitude of Ben Franklin's interests? A kind of alphabetical almanac, of course! Schroeder sprinkles a great sampling of Franklin quotations throughout, and O'Brien, whose work will be familiar to New Yorker cartoon fans, creates busy, vibrant and captivating spreads that children will love poring over. WE ARE AMERICA A Tribute From the Heart. By Walter Dean Myers. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. 40 pp. Collins/HarperCollins. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 7 to 12) This heart-on-its-sleeve collaboration between writer father and illustrator son mixes stirring verse with expressive panoramas that mix thematic events across time: African slaves, Chinese railroad laborers and Detroit factory workers in one tableau. Best for children with a firm grasp of history, "We Are America" offers an inclusive, unblinkered variation of patriotism. MR. SAM How Sam Walton Built Wal-Mart and Became America's Richest Man. By Karen Blumenthal. Illustrated. 186 pp. Viking. $17.99. (Middle grade/young adult; ages 10 and up) A reporter who covered Wal-Mart for The Wall Street Journal for five years has done the improbable: she has created a superb business book for children. "Mr. Sam" turns the subject of the local big-box eyesore into a snappy, accessible and winning story about American business and retail culture. Smart, funny, full of good stories and telling detail, this is a well-researched account of the man behind the largest - and perhaps most controversial - store in the country. AMERICAPEDIA Taking the Dumb Out of Freedom. By Jodi Lynn Anderson, Daniel Ehrenhaft and Andisheh Nouraee. Illustrated. 240 pp. Walker. Cloth, $24.99. Paper, $16.99. (Young adult; ages 12 and up) This graphics-rich collaboration by three Gen X writers is like Jon Stewart's "America" for the Y.A. set. But unlike Stewart's readers - at least theoretically - the intended audience for "Americapedia" still needs to learn the basics of the American Revolution ("America Unfriends Great Britain"). So while the book holds no shortage of attitude and satire, it also imparts an impressive array of historical substance and even a degree of earnestness and patriotism, complete with an appendix on civic action for teenagers. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.