Customer Reviews

Ink on His Fingers

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

 

 

I had trouble finding a book to use as a biography for our study of Gutenberg. I read a review of this book in a catalog and had to order it. Action, adventure, mystery are all interwoven with the biography of Gutenberg. My children begged me to read another chapter each night. You also get a feel for the time period. I am a fan of Louise Vernon and this book is among the best. We enjoyed it completely. Recommended

The known facts about Gutenberg need no dramatic license. The inventor of modern printing was a fascinating,wide-ranging genius in constant need of lawyers and lenders. His true story is one which deserves to be served without any fictional seasoning.

Unfortuately, Louise Vernon's INK ON HIS FINGERS mixes the author's imagination with history. One cannot tell which is which without prior knowledge of Gutenberg's story. Since no revealing insights or unique interpretations are provided by the author, the reader is left with a historical book in which historical fact is not clearly presented. A child reading it may well enjoy the entertainment of the narrative. However, the chance to gain information while being entertained is lost in the muddle.

Ink on His Fingers is just the kind of history book I like. It is fiction, but has real facts too. It also shows how much Johann Gutenberg worked for his press, was in debt, believed in his cause, and was faithful.
But it also leaves you hanging after Johann received more help and money from someone.

My 11 yo son rates this a 4 star book because it has action and is told from the perspective of Hans, a fictional apprentice of Gutenburg. Although we studied Gutenburg in a text, this book was much more descriptive of the characters and it helped him learn what it was like to be a kid in the renaissance time period. Now when he thinks of Gutenburg he realizes how important Gutenburg was to history by printing books the way he did. He was also impressed that this happened only 600 years ago.
(My 13 yo son was less impressed with the book and found it to be too easy and somewhat boring.)