Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | Q J 973.3092 FRA | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The stories behind the Constitution are as powerful as the nation it created.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
After the American Revolution, the thirteen united states were joined, barely, by an almost powerless government. The federal army was too weak to defend the nation; there was no national currency; and there was no authority to collect taxes for debts. Soon states' militias were needed to quiet rebellions. As Washington wrote, if a change wasn't made soon, the new nation "rais[ed] at the expense of so much blood and treasure, must fall."
Delegates from twelve of the thirteen states met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to create the United States Constitution. But it was no easy task- four months of bitter debate ensued, in which arguments became so heated that delegates nearly abandoned the convention many times.
Thirty-nine men ultimately signed this important, influential framework that saved our country and gave us our amazingly strong and balanced federal government. Dennis Brindell Fradin and Michael McCurdy combine their talents to bring all of the founders stories to light in this fascinating companion volume to their bestselling book The Signers.
Author Notes
Dennis Brindell Fradin is the author of Walker & Company's The Signers and has garnered many accolades for his children's books, including ALA Notables, a Booklist Editor's Choice, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. He lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his wife.
Michael McCurdy is the illustrator of Walker & Company's The Signers and the author/illustrator of Trapped by the Ice , CBC-NCSS Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. He has illustrated more than 150 books and has twice received the New York Times Best Illustrated Books award. Michael lives in western Massachusetts.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-9-This companion volume to Fradin's The Signers (Walker, 2002) turns from the Declaration of Independence to the U.S. Constitution, with short biographies of the 39 men who created and signed it in September 1787. The introduction describes how divided the new states were as they argued about the framework of a balanced and strong federal government. Subsequent chapters describe the role of each state, with information on each delegate. McCurdy's scratchboard illustrations, indeed, the entire layout and typefaces used, look colonial and are very fitting for the subject. Fradin's writing is clear and inviting, drawing readers in to the fascinating lives of the men who came together to draft the document. As thorough as Robert Ferris's Signers of the Constitution (Interpretive, 1986), and far more engaging, this title will be useful for history reports and should be a priority purchase for most libraries.-Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Fradin introduces the reader to each of the men who signed the U.S Constitution in thirty-nine brief biographical sketches. Important introductory material describes the drafting and accepting of the document. The competent writing style and organization make this a solid overview most useful for research. McCurdy's scratchboard illustrations are appropriately dignified. Bib. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The Constitution celebrated its 217th anniversary on June 21, 2005, and the 39 founders would be delighted that their document has not only endured but has been amended 27 times to make the United States even more democratic. In this handsome companion to The Signers (2002), and using a similar format, Fradin and McCurdy provide a history of each state, a biography of each signer and maps to place the states in their new context as a union. McCurdy's excellent black-and-white scratchboard illustrations are a perfect complement to the text. The introduction clearly summarizes the issues behind the Constitution: the battles between Federalists and Anti-Federalists; the clashes between large states and small; the controversy over slavery; and the call for a Bill of Rights. The afterword provides a sense of what the document has meant to the nation in the two centuries since the summer of 1788, when the new governmental framework was adopted. The bibliography will not lead young readers beyond the text, but this volume has much to offer all by itself. (Nonfiction. 10+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. Using the format of The Signers0 : The 56 Stories behind the Declaration of Independence 0 (2002), Fradin and McCurdy have produced another compelling collective biography. The makers of the U.S. Constitution are profiled in two or three pages each, in sections introduced by a brief note about their home states. McCurdy's black-and-white scratchboard illustrations are properly stately and engaging. Readers will find great nuggets of fact: two delegates, Rufus King and Gouverneur Morris, had wooden legs; several delegates later died in abject poverty; sometimes it isn't known when others were born or who their parents were. Not all of them married--Nicholas Gilman, the handsomest man in New Hampshire, did not--and those who did seemed to have a real preference for women named Elizabeth or Polly. Often, they finished college or took on adult roles by the time they were 16. What they all did, however, was craft an enduring document. The Constitution is included in its entirety. Indispensable for middle schools. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2005 Booklist
