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Summary
Summary
In the early morning hours of July 11, 1804, two men stood facing each other on a New Jersey cliff side. One was the U.S. vice president, Aaron Burr, and the other was Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury. They were ready to fight to the death for honor.
These Founding Fathers, once friends and colleagues, had become the bitterest of enemies. After years of escalating tension, Burr had finally challenged Hamilton to a duel. In the end, only one man survived, but their infamous rivalry lives on.
Author Notes
Dennis Brindell Fradin is the author of Let It Begin Here! Lexington & Concord: First Battles of the American Revolution and The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence , which won numerous awards, including an ALA Notable, an ABC Choice Award, and an IRA Teacher's Choice Award. The New York Times Book Review called it "fascinating for young historians and just about anyone else." Dennis lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife, Judith.
Larry Day has illustrated several picture books, including Let It Begin Here! and Not Afraid of Dogs, an SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner, while working in the advertising industry. His illustrations have appeared in the Chicago Tribune Magazine and in several exhibits, including his own shows. Larry lives in Downer's Grove, Illinois, with his wife, Melanie, and their two sons.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Fradin's account of the Aaron Burr/Alexander Hamilton feud makes compelling, child-appropriate reading. The author vividly shows how some aspects of politics have not changed over the past 200 years, including negative campaigning and smear tactics. The account is short and fast moving with Fradin choosing key points in Hamilton's and Burr's lives that illustrate how they arrived at the duel. Describing events from their difficult childhoods, their service as aides to George Washington, their work as lawyers in New York and in positions in federal government, the author demonstrates that both men were to blame for the situation. His focus remains consistent in leading up to their final confrontation in 1804. Beginning with an arresting close-up perspective of Burr's dueling pistol on the front cover, the illustrations capture attention and convey details of the topic. The characters' expressive faces add emotion to the facts. Rendered in watercolor and gouache with pen-and-ink accents, the pictures are realistic, but not in a photographic sense. Incorporating primary sources in a dramatic style, Duel! presents a gripping view of men revered by history but not really known.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Primary, Intermediate) On the verso, Aaron Burr takes aim, raising his large pistol: "As the sun rises on a July morning in 1804, two men stand ten paces apart on a New Jersey cliffside." The gun hovers over the text on the facing page, challenging the reader to examine the narrative within. After this compelling introduction, Fradin flashes back to the early years of Burr and Alexander Hamilton, what they had in common (unfortunate childhoods, service in the Revolutionary War), and the beginnings of their animosity (starting when they served as aides-de-camp to George Washington, continuing through their careers as opposing lawyers, and escalating when Burr defeated Hamilton's father-in-law for a senate seat). When Burr runs for president and later for governor of New York, Hamilton denounces him; Burr challenges Hamilton to the infamous duel in which Hamilton loses his life and Burr his reputation. This introduction to the period concentrates on personalities rather than larger political questions, leaving more sophisticated inquiry for the recommended readings in the back matter. Day's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations beautifully pace the narrative, highlighting the hostility between the two by shifting perspectives throughout. A bibliography, further reading, and a brief sidebar about the demise of dueling are appended.From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had much in common, yet their feud led to a duel that left one dead and the other forever discredited. Both had difficult childhoods, both fought heroically in the American Revolution and both rose to high positions in the new government. Hamilton was a signer of the Constitution and secretary of the treasury under George Washington. Burr ran for president in 1800 and tied Jefferson but had to settle for the vice presidency after the House of Representatives chose Jefferson. Fradin paces his tale deliberately, alternating his accounts of his principles' parallel ascent to power. Young readers may have trouble following the intricacies of the history, but the drama of the duel, beautifully rendered in ink with watercolor and gouache and stretched out over several page turns, will catch their attention. Day's illustrations, reminiscent of Robert Andrew Parker's, perfectly capture the drama, and the spacious page design heightens the effect. A nice follow-up to the pair's collaboration, Let It Begin Here! (2005). (bibliography, map) (Informational picture book. 7-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Fights are always attention getters, so even children who don't know much about Aaron Burr (third vice president of the U.S.) and Alexander Hamilton (a signer of the Constitution) will be hooked by this dramatic picture-book account of their deadly quarrel. Not that Fradin makes the duel heroic in any way; in fact, he plainly states that both men were at fault. What the two had in common was a difficult childhood, and the book's opening pages, illustrated with stirring paintings, tell the stories of the boys, alone and desperate. Both men also took part in the American Revolution; battle scenes show each engaged in combat. When Fradin deals with the divisive politics, Day's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations ably show the body language as the enemies furiously confront one another, stalk off angrily, and fume alone until their secret fight becomes public. Then comes the duel itself. Tension builds for several pages before Hamilton is shot (he dies the next day), leaving Burr in disgrace. The words and art humanize the history for children, who will welcome the bibliography that can lead them to more facts.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2008 Booklist
