The Printer's Apprentice [Paperback]

Stephen Krensky (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

In 1734 New York, watching the trial of printer Peter Zenger, who has been charged with printing scandalous opinions about the governor, his ten-year-old apprentice, Gus Croft, wonders about the freedom of the press. Reprint. K. H. SLJ.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-The time is 1735, and the place is New York City. Ten-year-old Gus Croft, an apprentice to printer William Bradford, must face major truths about the relationship between the press and the colonial government. John Peter Zenger, who in his earlier years apprenticed under Bradford, is arrested for printing criticisms that offend the governor, and Gus, an intelligent lad, dismisses his personal loyalty to Master Bradford and begins to understand and question the circumstances of Zenger's arrest. Though young and inexperienced, the boy embarks on a journey to Philadelphia to deliver a message to Andrew Hamilton, the lawyer who eventually defends Zenger. Krensky presents an authentic flavor of the historical period without cluttering the easy-to-read text with too much detail. In an afterword, he clearly distinguishes fact from fiction, but, by weaving the fictional character of Gus into the lives of real historical figures, the author relates a story that might otherwise be lost to young readers. A mild flaw in the book is the black-and-white drawings that are too comical for the subject matter. A good introduction to the principles of the First Amendment.
Pat Scales, Greenville Middle School, SC
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440412803
• ISBN-13: 978-0440412809
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Printer's Apprentice, November 7, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Printer's Apprentice (Paperback)

I read a marvelous book titled The Printer's Apprentice,written by Stephen Krensky.This story takes place in 1734 in New York.The four main characters are Gus Croft,William Bradstar,Peter Zenger,and the governer of New York.Gus is a young bright child who is an apprentice of William and writes for the Gazzete.William owns the Gazette and teaches Gus a whole lot about writting.Zenger is a bright young man who is the writer for the Neww York Weekly Journal.The governer fo New York is an old man that runs the city.The main problem is that the poor man Zenger is being put on trial because he wrote bad(but true)things about the governer.
In the begining,the governer of New York wanted the Gazette that William owned to be cancled unless better things were written.So William told Gus to go to visit his cousin in Philadelphia to do this.At the same time,Zenger is being placed on trial because he wrote bad but true things about the governer in the New York Weekly trial.It was a great timing because Gus finds this trial with Zenger when he's in Philladelphia.He watches the trial and hears the defendent of Zenger explaining what is libel and what is the truth to the judge and jurores.He tells that what Zenger wrote was true,but if it wasn't true he should be guilty.Eleven years later Zenger dies.
This book tells what happened durring the colonial days.Writers would write things about a person in a high oosision and the person doesn't like it.You may not know that people were put on trial because of this.The high leveled person would say that the writer was writing libel things about him.If the judge lets the writer have the freedom of speech then the writer is innocent and should not be guilty and sent to prison.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent look into colonial times, November 18, 2008

By 

Sunnyvale Reader (Sunnyvale, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Printer's Apprentice (Paperback)

I just finished reading this book with my 8 yr old and we both found it fascinating. Not only does it tell the tale of the beginning of freedom of the press in America, one of our constitutional rights, it gives a realistic look into the life of a boy in colonial times. However, it is neither preachy or teachy, and moves along at good pace to keep kids interested.