KID REPORT
March 31, 2004
Book Review: Thomas Jefferson
Kid Reporter Henry reviews a new book by Cheryl Harness
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Book: Thomas Jefferson,
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
Author: Cheryl Harness
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Kid Reporter Reviewer: Henry Rome
What's the basic storyline?
The basic storyline of this book focuses on the great American Thomas Jefferson. This book highlights his achievements while at the same time touches on his disappointments. This book covers the years from his birth to his death-and everything-relationships, successes, failures-in between.
Were the characters believable? What made them believable or unbelievable?
The main character in this book, Thomas Jefferson, was made believable in many ways in clever writing by Harness. She tells about the sad times Jefferson went through-deaths and sickness-his feelings about those events, and how he moved on. You could really feel the despair in Jefferson's heart as he did what he did best when he was sad: he worked.
 Cheryl Harness | |
If one was studying Thomas Jefferson or the American Revolution, this would be a great book to read. It touches on the important things Jefferson did, along with his ingenious ideas and his interesting thoughts. This book really makes you understand what kind of person he was. Also, highly detailed pictures help readers envision the times.
However, this book is not for little kids. Children in a 11+ age range would find this book suitable. This is not a picture book-it is a book with pictures that introduces many "grown-up" facts. The book also includes subtle messages that may be lost on younger readers. For example: The author could have said that Jefferson became John Adams's vice president, but instead she said "(Jefferson) found himself in a bouncing coach on the deep-rutted trail from Monticello to Philadelphia."
What was not-so-great about this book?
The parts that I found that were "not-so-great" came at times when the plot thickened and important details were shrouded by others. That made the storyline, at some points, difficult to follow.
How would you rate this book on a scale of 1-10?
I would give this book a nine because of its spectacular illustrations and how the story brings history alive to the reader.
