Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography [Paperback]

James Cross Giblin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Now available in paperback for the first time, James Cross Giblin and Michael Dooling relate the story of our nation's third president and author of the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson was a soft-spoken man. But his contributions to American democracy live on as bold reminders of his formidable intellect and spirit. Son of a wealthy famer, young Thomas was a studious boy who shared his father's love of books. He was painfully shy about speaking up in school, especially when other children taunted him. By age 16, though, Thomas had entered college, and began law school two years later. He was a man of many talents. Besides practicing law, he played the violin and designed Monticello, the beautiful home where he lived with his wife and family.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-The author and illustrator team that produced George Washington (Scholastic, 1992) score again with this readable, beautifully illustrated title. Through abundant, well-placed text, Giblin builds on incidents from his subject's life to uncover the shy, quiet nature of the man who would become the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States. Dooling's oil paintings provide dazzling backgrounds. Each double-page spread is richly executed, making Jefferson, the boy and the man, come alive. Important dates in his life are appended as are quotes from his letters. There is a full description of Monticello, followed by a detailed index for both text and artwork. A high-quality biography.
Dot Minzer, North Barrington School, Barrington, IL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. In the same picture-book format as the author and illustrator's George Washington (1992), this volume presents the life of Thomas Jefferson. Giblin records the significant events in Jefferson's long and varied career with enough personal incidents and sidelights to give readers some sense of the man himself, as well as his place in history. Despite the limits of a 48-page picture book, Giblin portrays Jefferson as a complicated, many-sided man and is candid about such issues as his involvement with slavery. Dooling's dramatic oil paintings stretch across each double-page spread. In this series of impressionistic illustrations of people and places, Jefferson appears first as a three-year-old, gradually maturing in the pictures as the story progresses, a series of transitions Dooling manages with finesse. The book ends with a helpful chronology, a series of intriguing quotations from Jefferson's letters, and a section describing Jefferson's beloved home, Monticello. Historically accurate and visually handsome, this is the best Jefferson biography available for young students. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperback Nonfiction; Updated edition (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439810671
• ISBN-13: 978-0439810678
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > U. S. Presidents & First Ladies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for elementary school children, January 8, 2002

By 

The Chemist "The Chemist" (Southeastern PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography (Hardcover)

My second-grader decided to research Thomas Jefferson for a school report. I ordered this book and was quite pleased. It has lots of good information without being wordy. In the back of the book is a two-page spread of quotes from Jefferson, as well as a timeline of his life. The illustrations are beautiful! Highly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Dear Mr. Jefferson...., March 17, 2009

By 

Sophia Ray (Hancock, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography (Hardcover)

This a good book for intermediate children on up. The author knows how to write to inform without a lot of fluff. Thomas Jefferson was a very complicated man. He lost his wife after only 10 years of marriage, his grief over this lasted 6 months, and then into the political man that we all have learned and loved. Yet, his inner man struggled with equality of each person, especially with the black slaves that he owned. In many memoirs, he expresses this thought-provoking justice, yet he does not free those slaves. In examining Thomas Jefferson, it should allow us to examine ourselves, as the inner-person struggles on the deep pains of the heart.