When I Was Young is a trip back in time through one young boy's family tree. The journey begins when seven-year-old Josh asks his Grandma Jenny about life when she was young. Her story leads back to her grandparents' story, which leads back to their grandparents' story, and so on--all the way back to England in 1664! Historically accurate illustrations accompany a simple text that brings history to life.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 When Josh asks his grandmother, "What was it like when you were young ?" the woman describes her youth in the 1950s, then relates how she asked her own grandfather about his childhood. The family stories reach back to the 1600s and provide glimpses into the lives of several seven-year-old children through the generations. By keeping the reminiscences sharply focused, Dunbar is able to show changes without presenting an overwhelming amount of information. In 1899, as a child Grandpa Ben helped his father care for carriage horses and saw a car for the first time. In the 1840s, Emily used candles for light and watched tall-masted ships dock in the harbor. A wooden doll, pictured prominently on the cover and included in every illustration, is an effective unifying element. The last story, from 1697, mentions that the oldest featured ancestor, Grandmother Betty, made the doll, and her grandson painted the face. Cheerful watercolors with lighthearted details add warmth and humor to the text. A concluding portrait gallery shows all of the narrators and when they lived. A final section provides a few more descriptive tidbits about each period. A great book to start a conversation about any family's history. Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
This history tracks a boy's family generation by generation, so that his ancestors are not part of an expanding family tree, but a straight line back through time. Every turn of the page takes readers back, to the childhood of a grandparent, then the childhood of her grandparent, and so on, until 300 years have elapsed. Remphry's friendly full-color illustrations convey as much as the text, capturing the sock hops of the 1950s, a grandfather's surprise at seeing his first car, and a great-great-grandmother's dependence on candlelight to see. The adult speaker appears on one page, and then is seen as a child on the next, conjuring a stepping-stone structure. Computerized family trees and elaborate geneologies can't compete with this simple, accessible means for conveying to readers a sense of history as lived by their own relatives. Dunbar makes the past more personal, and children will be inspired to create similar histories of their own. (Picture book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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