Customer Reviews

Revolutionary John Adams

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

 

 

This biography closely follows David McCullough's book about John Adams. I bought it to prepare my grandchildren, ages 8 and 9, for a trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. Very readable and interesting.

This book will definitely have a place in my classroom. It is a wonderfully written biography on John Adams, written for the late elementary/ middle school grades. The covers his young life right through to his death and is very good at depicting his life. His work as a revolutionary receives thorough coverage in the book.

I checked out this book from our library and read it to my 6-year-old. We made it about 2/3 through and had to stop. It is full of good, accurate information, quotes from letters to and from John and Abigail, but the writing is very difficult to read aloud. Children's books are best written with simple, declarative sentences (Bill went to the store to buy bread) rather than indirect, compound sentences (Because his pantry was low on bread, Bill made a trip to the store). Children do not grasp the point of the sentence if the subject/verb is reversed. The writing style makes the book hard to read aloud to young children, and difficult for older children to read alone. One star off for writing.

Also, I understand that context is important when telling someone's story, but parts of this book have more to do with the Revolution than the life of John Adams. I would like to have seen more about the man named John Adams and less about what was going on in the world at the time. There were a few teasers about specific things that he did toward America's freedom--like defending the British soldiers from the Boston Massacre--but there was not very much detail about these monumentous events. One star off for content.

The information it contains is correct, it just seems lacking somehow.