Customer Reviews

The Great Little Madison (Unforgetable Americans)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yes, this is officially a "kids' book" (Ages 9 -14, I believe). However, I, an adult, read it and found it educating and very interesting. I got this book during a visit to James Madison's estate Montpelier. I thought I'd read it first, before getting into the more massive (and more intellectual) biography by Dr. Ketcham. If you're new to James Madison, I'd recommend doing that.

In any case, Jean Fritz' book is an excellent choice for adults as well as children.

Jean Fritz has written a great book for both kids and adults, full of interesting facts about the man, his life, his wives (Dolly was his second), and his remarkable presidency. Throughout the book, the reader gets a real sense for how James Madison thought and felt about political issues, and how he overcame the challenges of being small in stature and small of voice to be one of our great presidents. Definitely worth a read to better understand this great man who lived in extraordinary times.

This has become our favorite read-aloud no pictures story with my toddler. She gets the benefit of hearing spoken language about a subject she likes, and I get to learn something new every time we read it.

I would reccomend this book for older primary, even lower-level High School students. The story is enlightening, and inspiring for all Americans, young and old.

James Madison was a small and quiet man. Nonetheless, he was very intelligent. In The Great Little Madison, Jean Fritz doesn't open up that intelligence enough. This book is very trivial. I grabbed this book hoping to get more insight and detail of the history of this era, and the role Madison played in shaping it. Instead, you get a lot of where he lived, what he liked to do for fun, and who he married.

The book details Madison's childhood on his father's plantation in Orange County, Virginia. As a boy he had the natural sense that he would follow his father's footsteps. The author writes, "James understood that this house and the 5000 acres that went with it would one day belong to him." The author does a good job of giving you this sense of feeling.

When it comes to the laying of the foundation of American Government, two important figures really stand out: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Jefferson believed in giving individuals more complete freedom. He also supported the idea of weaker national government and stronger local government. James Madison was opposite of Thomas Jefferson. Though he believed in individual freedom, he recognized the need to sacrifice some of that freedom to a governing body to maintain order in society. He further believed that government should be stronger at the national level than at the local level, in order to keep a country bound together.

The book focuses on the detail of Madison's youth and education process. It speaks of his travel to Princeton, New Jersey and his college experience there. It's an exciting time for him and for the country. This was just before the writing of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. There was national rebellion against Great Britain. Due to heavy taxation, one of the more famous rebellions that Madison was excited by was the dumping of tea in Boston Harbor. Naturally, the idea of rebellion excites a young adult as he is trying to establish himself as his own person. Fritz does a good job painting the picture how this excitement shaped Madison's views and ideas.

The book seems to give a very watered-down record of important events of Madison's career: his involvement in the Revolutionary War, attendance and signing of the National Constitution, and the victory of the Revolutionary War. Fritz shares a lot of little facts I did not know before, nor are many of them of much value. If I were to calculate the ratio of trivial facts to actual history in this book, it would probably be something like 85 to 15. This is a little disappointing as I care more about history than information about a man's wives, houses, and personal items. Overall, this book is an easy read. It's literary level seems suitable for middle school and high school students.

This is a biography of Madison's life with emphasis on the Constitutional Convention and his time as President of the U.S. It was informative and interesting reading

A "children's book"? Really? This book is to read only if you need something to write a book report about!

Granted, this book is written to give an account of the times and tribulations of James Madison, but let's be serious--For a 10 year old? It is wordy and redundant for even this 40+ year old mother. I read 2 chapters aloud to my son and found myself having to stop mid-paragraph to figure out what I was saying more times than not.

Review and categorize this book for what it is -- a historical biography. And in the words of my son, "I'm trying to read it, but I can't get hooked."

My item arrived earlier than expected and in perfect condition. Would use this seller again.

This is not a good choice if you want to study James Madison.

This book is a children's book. The reading level is very low and the style is childish. Points are repeated over and over with far too many extra words (example sentence: "As time went on, so did the war." - from page 24). Ms. Fritz spends an inordinate amount of time writing about rather inconsequential things, like the style of clothing that Dolly Madison wore, and Madison's size and voice.

The work is not scholarly at all. She gives very incomplete and misleading information, for example regarding the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. There are no footnotes and few original sources and quotes. I also noticed that she made demeaning comments about the Quaker religion and the modern Republican Party. While Madison and Jefferson are portrayed as God-like, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Patrick Henry, and John Jay are portrayed as traitors. I have no problem with a point of view in a book, but the way she inserts these comments gives children a prejudice before they have studied or thought much.

There is, in general, very little substance to the book. She does not discuss any important theme, meaning, or mission to Madison's life, and does not even touch on his significance in our own. Of Madison one observer said "Never have I seen so much mind in so little matter." Of this book I would say that I have never seen so little mind in so much matter!

That would be "duel" between Hamilton and Burr, Publius, not "dual".