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Summary
Summary
Young readers of all ages will love this story about President Thomas Jefferson, who found his passion as soon as he learned to read: books, books, and more books!
Before, during, and after the American Revolution, Jefferson collected thousands of books on hundreds of subjects. In fact, his massive collection eventually helped rebuild the Library of Congress--now the largest library in the world.
Author Barb Rosenstock's rhythmic words and illustrator John O'Brien's whimsical illustrations capture Jefferson's zeal for the written word as well as little-known details about book collecting. An author's note, bibliography, and source notes for quotations are also included.
Author Notes
Barb Rosenstock is the author of several award-winning true stories for children: Fearless: The Story of Racing Legend Louise Smith ; The Littlest Mountain , a Sydney Taylor Honor Book; and The Camping Trip that Changed America , a Parents' Choice silver medal book and one of Booklist's Top 10 Books on the Environment for Youth. She lives outside Chicago with her husband and two sons. Visit her on the web at barbrosenstock.com.
John O'Brien has illustrated nearly 100 books for children, including Poof! and Look...Look Again! , which he also wrote. And for more than twenty years, he has contributed cartoons to The New Yorker . When he is not creating books or cartoons, he can be found playing the banjo or concertina or serving as senior lieutenant in the North Wildwood, New Jersey, Beach Patrol. He lives in Delran, New Jersey.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-It is no small feat to entertain children in a book about loving books (an increasingly crowded shelf), but this duo succeeds admirably through well-chosen facts, staggering statistics, an interactive text, and humor. Readers glimpse Jefferson's childhood, adolescence, fatherhood, and presidency through his obsession with reading. There is levity and energy in O'Brien's ink and watercolor scenes. Jefferson's horse has a book-shaped saddle; young Tom fiddles while reading the music from a book mounted to the bridle. There is also sadness, when Jefferson reads to his wife on her deathbed. The full-spread compositions are supplemented by insets shaped like open books that contain quotes by or about Jefferson and his times or interests. In one, a slave remembers that his master might have 20 books surrounding him on the floor. Another describes his revolving bookstand holding five volumes, so he "never needed to stop writing to read or stop reading to write." Rosenstock details the man's substantial and ongoing involvement in developing and contributing to the national library. The final scene shows Jefferson opening a large book portraying modern and Colonial visitors mingling at the Library of Congress; a minor disappointment is that O'Brien drew generic bookcases instead of the splendid reading room. An author's note adds more information, including context for the fact that the author of the Declaration of Independence owned about 600 enslaved individuals throughout his life. This is a unique portrayal of the life and passions of the third president.-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Thomas Jefferson "gobbled books the way a starving man eats." Rosenstock's (The Camping Trip That Changed America) apt metaphor sets the tone for this jaunty picture-book biography of the third U.S. president. Following Jefferson's birth in 1743 to his restocking of the Library of Congress in 1815, the playful narrative ("While at college, he read fifteen hours a day. Guess what he started collecting?!") complements even more playful illustrations. O'Brien's (Look... Look Again!) dynamic ink-and-watercolor illustrations show the redheaded leader in perpetual motion around books, exaggerating his hobby to humorous effect. Jefferson stacks tomes on his mantel in the shape of the word "books" or reads several books at once by swinging from a trapeze. Pointillist dots overlay the artwork, texturing O'Brien's pictures with a mottled look. Readers' eyes will dart among several scenes in each spread, the busy layout giving a sense of Jefferson's full education-driven life. Appearing on nearly every page are images of small, open books that provide further biographical facts and quotations. Author notes and a bibliography wrap up a lively peek at a literature-loving political giant. Ages 8-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Jefferson's lifelong love for reading and collecting books led to the foundation of the Library of Congress. This breezy picture book biography of the third president focuses on his bibliographic passions, with relevant life facts and quotes in text boxes atop humorous pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations. An author's note on Jefferson's legacies rounds out the informative book. Bib. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This unusual picture-book biography fosters a new understanding of Thomas Jefferson's life as viewed through his love of books and its impact on our burgeoning nation. The opening quote from Jefferson sets the tone: "I cannot live without books." The narrative replicates the rhythm of a conversation as it provides numerous examples of his love of books. Clever spreads combine expansive full-bleed images and individual, framed pen-and-inkand-watercolor illustrations, plus vignettes amplifying points made in the text. Throughout, fact boxes shaped like open books scattered across the pages supply additional details. A scholar from childhood, Jefferson devoured his father's library and then, at school, learned to read in several languages. He cultivated personal libraries covering many subjects while living at his parents' plantation and again at Monticello. Ultimately, this examination highlights Jefferson's role in ensuring that the Library of Congress held a viable collection: first as president, when he supported the Library of Congress, and later, when the collection was burned during the War of 1812, by offering his books to them. The piece closes on the fascinating note that the Library of Congress owns more than 155 million items and adds around 11,500 each day. An author's note provides further information, including a discussion of Jefferson as slaveholder. Sure to be enjoyed, this is an engaging study of one of our Founding Father's great legacies. (selected bibliography, source notes) (Picture book/biography. 6-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This attractive picture book uses Thomas Jefferson's love of reading and collecting books as a lens through which to view the story of his life. Even as a young child, Tom reads through his father's library, and as a young man, he collects his own. He marries, has children, and makes sure that they read, too. He uses what he has learned from books to write the Declaration of Independence, and other papers through his presidency and retirement to 1814, when a fire destroyed the Library of Congress. The story concludes with Jefferson selling his beloved books to form the basis of the new collection there. The writing, punctuated with questions, statements, and exclamations in red ink, sketches the biographical framework and fills it in with quotes and bits of history to create an unusual portrait of the man. O'Brien's ink drawings, enhanced by watercolor washes in subdued tones, have a quirky humor all their own. An informative author's note rounds out this appealing introduction to Jefferson.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
