From School Library Journal
Gr 5-7-Creating interest in lives that seem impossibly different from those of 21st-century young people (Adams traveled to Russia at the age of 14 as private secretary and interpreter for the U.S. diplomatic envoy) is a primary value of this series. The fictional elements come through correspondence between a president and a young person-in this book a Southern planter's son. It stretches credulity, however, to imagine that the beleaguered Adams would carry on such a relationship with a young citizen-much less share some of his personal and political concerns. Further, the complexity of historical situations discussed in the letters is not really best served by this format. There are also "to learn more" Web-site suggestions throughout the story. The book concludes with extensive historical notes and a time line. One must ask if such a "spoonful of sugar" approach to learning history doesn't reinforce the notion that it is medicine to be swallowed, rather than palatable on its own.
Nancy Collins-Warner, Neill Public Library, Pullman, WA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 4-6. As in other entries in the Dear Mr. President series, this title features a fictional exchange of letters between a U.S. president and a young person, in this case between William Pratt, a young Georgia boy, and John Quincy Adams. Exchanged over several years, the letters discuss the country's events and refer often to the treatment of Native Americans. William Pratt's sensibility and writing style are often too contemporary. But John Quincy Adams' fictional epistles capture something of the former president's spirit--his intelligence, sense of justice, lack of political guile and effectiveness, and eccentricity (his skinny-dipping in the Potomac is frequently mentioned). Students are often reminded of a comprehensive Web site, offered by the publisher, that supplements the text. Reproductions of prints and period etchings illustrate, and biographical information about Adams concludes. Despite the implausibility of the correspondence, this offers an effective way for young people to learn about history.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
