Descriptions, Reviews, etc.
Description:
An introduction to the men who put aside their differences to create a new kind of nation.
Brief description:
Barry Blitt's illustrations have appeared on more than eighty New Yorker covers and have also graced the pages of The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. He is the illustrator of Once Upon a Time, the End (Asleep in 60 Seconds) by Geoffrey Koske and The Adventures of Mark Twain by Huckleberry Finn by Robert Burleigh, as well as other picture books. He lives in Roxbury, Connecticut.
Review Quotes: Fourteen of the men who somehow separated from one country and cobbled together a new one despite their differences are presented in a lively celebration of politics and personalities. Each gets a two-page spread with a full-page portrait (name, sobriquet and dates included) along with a casual, colloquially phrased summary biography and then lots of stats presented briefly and intriguingly: height, weight, political leaning, education, wealth, and religious belief, in addition to hobbies, nickname and position on the Boston Tea Party. This last, notes Winter in an excellent addendum/glossary, was by no means a political action supported by all the founders. Winter addresses the question of ownership of humans directly, noting what his subjects' expressed views were on slavery as well as which of these early Americans owned slaves. Winter's folksy narrative manages to give each of the founders both dignity and humanity. Blitt's signature style is perfectly suited to this droll enterprise. His Benjamin Franklin multitasks, his Patrick Henry emotes. The witty, energetic illustrations include clever references and a couple of sly anachronisms. Endpapers offer oval portraits of the entire lineup, with Washington, Franklin and Jefferson among the seven on the "Varsity" team, and Hancock, Marshall and Paine among the "Junior Varsity" faces. Author's notes and a resource list are included, but frustratingly, the book lacks pagination and indexing. Wonderful for future constitutional scholars and other curious young readers.--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW "November 15, 2014"
