They Were Strong and Good (Library Binding)

~ Robert Lawson (Author, Illustrator) "MY MOTHER'S FATHER was a Scotch sea captain..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Library Binding: 72 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; Later Printing edition (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670699497
• ISBN-13: 978-0670699490
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #453,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's Here It for Honoring Some Forefathers!, September 28, 2000

By	April Boneski (Washougal, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We all have special people in our pasts, and it's delightful to see Robert Lawson share about his. Lawson's family is depicted with clever prose and his beautiful black-and-white illustrations. His reminiscence made me eager to look into my family tree for my own version of "Strong and Good."

In an age of p.c. history, it's refreshing to listen to Lawson share HIS story, whether we are pleased with all the characterizations, or not. Whitewashing history to pacify is not history, it's a tragic rinsing of what the world was like in the past. When I saw the review of this book claiming it was a racist stomach-churner, I decided to read it myself. Don't let someone else censor your child's understanding of history. (By the way, some of my ancestors were loggers and circuit-riding preachers. Lawson desribes them as a noisy bunch of obnoxious fellows. Am I offended? Not really.) Let's celebrate our histories, whatever they may be.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Children's" book through my tears., December 22, 2001

By	Gregory S. Wood (Bessemer, AL USA) - See all my reviews

I was born in '44 and my mother read this book to me time and again while showing me the drawings. I later endeavoured to read it myself. The book is not racist! It is an accurate depiction of the way things were and it tells, and tells well. the stories of the lives of the people in the book. It tells of the warmth of the love they had for each other, but without saying so. It tells of the fineness of character and the nobility of honor that they possessed, but, again, without saying so. It is a book that at age fifty seven I cannot read without weeping nor without feeling intense pride and admiration for all those in the stories. The stories awakened in me a curiosity and reverence for the stories of the lives of my own ancestors.....and I hope it does the same for each of you. What they went through! What suffering and privation! And how well they lived their lives. It is a book to give each of us pause to think and consider and reflect on the entire business of living our lives and on what standards of life and morals and principles we should chose to live by. But, simply put, it is a book of stories about ancestors and stories of what they did and stories of how they lived their lives and who they knew and how those they knew lived too. And from those simple stories may be learned the most important lessons in life. Thank you and I hope you come to love They Were Strong and Good as I do. It may be sold as a "children's" book but it should be in the library, and in the heart, of every adult.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A piece of Americana, May 29, 2001

By A Customer

People have to remember the book was published in 1940. The language and ideas are typical of that era. To say it is racist, or to say that it shouldn't be republished is to deny the nations history. I feel the book is a powerful teaching tool for young people to illustrate how America has changed and how far we have come. People who do not appreciate the book have their eyes shut to history.