Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life [Hardcover]

Candace Fleming (Author)

Book Description

"What good shall I do today?"

How Ben Franklin answered that question -- through his work as a writer, printer, statesman, and inventor -- forever established him as one of America's greatest figures. On one day in 1729 he published the first edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette; on another day he changed the Declaration of Independence by adding the famous words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident"; and it was all in a day's work when he planted the first willow trees in America.

Modeled on his own Poor Richard's Almanack, this unique scrapbook captures Franklin's countless accomplishments. Biography and anecdote, cartoon and etching mesh to create a fascinating portrait of this most fascinating man. Anyone interested in the birth of American democracy...or curious about the rise of the U.S. postal system...or wondering how paper money came to be...or wanting to know how Ben Franklin was part of it all, is sure to pore over Ben Franklin's Almanac.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-In her introduction, Fleming says that she set out to write a straightforward biography of one of America's most forward-thinking and inventive statesmen but found the form to be too restrictive and not true to Franklin's wide-ranging interests and accomplishments. She has written instead a compendium of "-bits and pieces by subject" put into eight chapters with headings such as "Boyhood Memories" and "Tokens of a Well-Lived Life." In scrapbook style, the chapters are centered around excellent-quality visuals-portraits, etchings, cartoons, and sketches-linked together with engrossing text and numerous nuggets of Franklin's prose, which include his reminiscences and observations. The result is an authoritative work of depth, humor, and interest, presenting Franklin in all his complexity, ranging from the heroic to the vulgar, the saintly to the callous. Read cover to cover, the book gives a three-dimensional picture of a life, but it is equally good for dipping into and turning up the interesting anecdote or bit of wisdom, thus appealing to both serious readers and browsers. Beginning with a year-by-year chronology, the volume also includes lengthy bibliographies, a list of picture sources, Web sites, and a thorough index. Reminiscent of Franklin's own Poor Richard's Almanack, this book is a superlative example of the biographer's craft and a fitting tribute to the gentleman himself.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. There's no shortage of books on Franklin, but this biography, which springs from Fleming's lifelong fascination with the multitalented man, is unlike anything that has come before, and it bears no resemblance to Fleming's picture-book work. Designed more like a scrapbook than an almanac, it's a visually rich but densely packed amalgamation of anecdotal narrative, boxed insets, black-and-white reproductions of period documents and artwork, and material obtained from Franklin's personal papers--all organized into topical chapters on Franklin's family life, writings, scientific pursuits, and political involvement. The whole gives an excellent sense of the time in which Franklin lived, but the thematic organization here sacrifices continuity and leaves occasional gaps. The science section is perhaps the best as it falls neatly into invention-specific discussions. Lively anecdotes greatly expand the main text, and numerous quotes by and about Franklin give the man a truly human face, even as they raise questions that continue to puzzle historians. A fitting tribute to a "good gentleman" whose life was well and energetically lived. Web sites and further readings are appended. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689835493
• ISBN-13: 978-0689835490
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #936,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: BEN FRANKLIN'S ALMANAC, November 30, 2003

By 

Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (Hardcover)

"Ben's Rules for Being a Better Writer
"Everyone, Ben believed, had a need to communicate well. Over the years he developed and stuck to these writing rules.
"Good writing should be smooth, clear, and short, and the art of saying little in much must be avoided at all costs. In written discourse, every needless thing gives offense and must be eliminated...Had this always been done, many large and tiresome volumes would have shrunk into pamphlets, and many a pamphlet into a single period."

It seems like a stream of new Benjamin Franklin biographies make their appearance as steadily as the changing of the seasons. That perception has caused my building a healthy skepticism concerning the need for just one more. But Candace Fleming has taken Ben's writing rules to heart. Less is more in BEN FRANKLIN'S ALMANAC, Fleming's continually entertaining and enlightening collection of quotes, anecdotes, illustrations, American history, and other tasty tidbits (including the occasional fish story) that the author has harvested from original source materials.

Rather than assembling a typical chronological tome, Fleming has grouped this assortment of goodies into an eye-catching patchwork format that is clumped around eight themes: Boyhood Memories, The Family Album, The Writer's Journal, Tokens of a Well-Lived Life, The Scientist's Scrapbook, Revolutionary Memorabilia, Souvenirs from France, and Final Remembrances.

"All his life Ben tried to do what was right. His daily routine reminded him to put mankind's problems before his own.
"I rose at five each morning, and addressed Powerful Goodness [Ben's name for God] with the same question: What Good Shall I Do Today? I then studied and planned my day until eight, worked until twelve, dined and overlooked my account books until two, worked again until six when I had supper, music and conversation. At ten I examined my day. What Good Had I Done That Day?"

Not that he was perfect, or anything. As Ben noted, "With regards to places for things, papers, etc., I am a dismal failure." And as Fleming reveals, while his genius included his being credited for so many important inventions including bifocals, he nonetheless lacked the vision to see that women should be accorded the same opportunities and rights as men:

"When his young friend Polly Stevenson talked of devoting herself to studying philosophy, Ben was appalled. 'Knowledge may be useful,' he warned her, 'but there is nothing of equal dignity and importance than being a good daughter, a good wife, a good mother.' Ben wondered why women needed the 'full Pandora's box of knowledge' opened to them. Instead, he argued, women should be taught useful and functional skills--reading, writing, and accounting. This, he claimed, 'stood them in good stead to be active, helpful partners in their husband's business.' "

And, speaking of errors, "Ben once invited a group of friends to an 'electrical picnic.' He planned to kill a turkey by 'electrical shock,' then roast it with 'electrical fire.' Unfortunately, he became so engrossed in conversation he forgot to pay close attention to what he was doing. He touched two wires together and zap! Ben received the shock instead of the turkey. His body vibrated from head to toe, and smoke curled from one buckled shoe. Luckily, he escaped with just a few bruises and a sore chest."

Through the accumulated pieces of her collection, the author succinctly covers the well-trod life-of-Franklin: Ben's printing career, centered on his 26 years as writer and publisher of the annual Poor Richard's Almanack (the second-most read book in the Colonies), would by itself have insured Franklin's immortality. Then that aspect of his life was topped by the jaw-dropping string of inventions coupled with his instigation of public libraries, street lamps, quality postal service, and volunteer fire departments, which made him even more famous. And then, his involvement--the old guy with the fire in his belly--in producing the Declaration of Independence, followed by his pivotal role in the winning of the Revolution by persuading France to enter the fray when Washington's troops were on the verge of defeat, elevated Franklin to American sainthood. If that wasn't enough, he returned to America and (at 81 years old) helped formulate the Constitution.

But he STILL wasn't done!

"Saint" Ben had at one time been a slave owner. But while in England in the years preceding the Revolution, Franklin "found himself trying to defend America against charges of hypocrisy." He had freed his slaves, observed "firsthand 'the natural capacities of the black race,' " and then, after ratification of the Constitution, he petitioned Congress on the subject of slavery:

"Noting Congress had been created to 'promulgate the welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to the People of the United States,' he argued that this should be done 'without distinction of color,' since all people are created by the 'same Almighty Being, alike the objects of his care and equally designed for the enjoyment of happiness.' To tolerate less, Franklin argued, 'was to contradict the meaning of the Revolution.' "

If only Ben could have hung around for another decade in order to persuade the new nation of this argument, we might have had him to thank for the success of one more of his great ideas.

But thanks to the fine work of Candace Fleming, we at least have a thoroughly satisfying "true account of the good gentleman's life," as well as one more important piece of ammunition in my argument that a real love and understanding of American history will much more readily come from trade books of this caliber than from standardized textbooks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lively coverage for kids with good reading skills, December 14, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (Hardcover)

This account of Franklin's life holds a little over a hundred pages, and has good large print and fine pictures to offset the many words from Franklin's own almanac which offers a scrapbook of his accomplishments. Modeled on his Poor Richard's Almanack but revised for younger audiences, this blends biography and observation with cartoons, etchings, and other illustrations to create a lively coverage for kids with good reading skills.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can pick it up and dip into the pages at random., July 1, 2004

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A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life (Hardcover)

It isn't often that we are lucky enough to learn about a man who had the curiosity of a child and the mind of a genius, who loved learning and was able to find humor in all types of situations. Benjamin Franklin was such a man.

Candace Fleming allows us to explore Franklin's extraordinary life in a new way. She has chosen to present Franklin's life in the form of a scrapbook or almanac, rather than a traditional biography. Franklin in fact gained a good portion of his original popularity by publishing an almanac himself titled POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC. It is perhaps only fitting that his life be presented in the form of an almanac as well.

It is quite astonishing to discover within the pages of this remarkable book how much Franklin accomplished in his lifetime. In addition to his electrical experiments involving kites, Franklin organized the first real postal system in the thirteen colonies, printed the first paper money, and saw years before anyone else that the American Revolution was going to happen. He also recognized that slavery would be an issue that would not go away; he knew that one day it would be a problem for the people of the United States.

One of the wonderful things about this book is that you can pick it up and dip into the pages at random --- and once you pick it up, you cannot put it down. Resembling an almanac or scrapbook with an old-fashioned looking script, pictures, photographs, copies of letters and other documents, BEN FRANKLIN'S ALMANAC is a refreshing new look at the life of one of America's greatest men. We are able to marvel and sometimes smile at the things Benjamin Franklin did and said. Surely, such a lover of books would be proud of this gem.

--- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber