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Ben Franklin's Almanac : Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life
Overview
Introduce middle grade readers to Founding Father Benjamin Franklin with this accessible and engaging exploration of his accomplishments and philosophy--interspersed with illustrations and quotes from his contemporaries--from award-winning author Candace Fleming. "What good shall I do today?" How Ben Franklin answered that question--through his work as a writer, printer, statesman, and inventor--forever established him as one of America's greatest figures. On one day in 1729, he published the first edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette; on another, he changed the Declaration of Independence by adding the famous words "We hold these truths to be self-evident"; and it was all in a day's work when he planted the first willow trees in America. Modeled on his own Poor Richard's Almanack, this unique scrapbook captures Franklin's countless accomplishments. Biography, anecdote, cartoon, and etching mesh to create a fascinating portrait of this most fascinating man. Anyone interested in the birth of American democracy, curious about the rise of the US postal system, wondering how paper money came to be, or wanting to know how Ben Franklin was part of it all, is sure to love Ben Franklin's Almanac.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780689835490
- ISBN-10: 0689835493
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Publish Date: September 2003
- Dimensions: 12.28 x 8.04 x 0.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.68 pounds
- Page Count: 120
- Reading Level: Ages 10-14
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An inventive biography of Ben
Just as adults are digging into Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Benjamin Franklin, older children and young adults have a wonderful treat waiting: Candace Fleming's entertaining, imaginative Benjamin Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life.
I'm a biography buff, and this is one of the best biographies for young people I've seen in a long time. Everyone knows Franklin was a fascinating figure, but there's plenty of new material in this intriguing volume. It's organized as a scrapbook of fascinating details, one that adults will also enjoy perusing, and modeled after Franklin's own Poor Richard's Almanack.
Fleming spent three years researching original sources for her book, intending to write a traditional, chronological biography of her hero. However, she explains, as she learned more her feelings changed: "Innovative, vulgar, sometimes heroic, sometimes flawed, the incredibly complex Ben Franklin I discovered beguiled me, and I was no longer satisfied to tell his story in the ordinary way."
And so, Fleming turned what could have been a rather ordinary book into a delightful Franklin feast. With his grand accomplishments so well known, she decided to focus on smaller events—"scraps from some lesser-known events, as well as funny stories, hand-drawn sketches, cartoons of the day, and snippets of gossip." She also includes "souvenirs from Ben's travels, keepsakes from his childhood, bits of his family life, and pieces of his private thoughts."
Not that Fleming ignores the big picture. She begins with a year-by-year chronology of Franklin's life and has organized all of the book's tidbits well, placing them in thematic chapters such as "Boyhood Memories" and "The Scientist's Scrapbook." What's more, each and every page contains plenty of photographs, illustrations and small sidebars that add to the book's liveliness.
Anything but a run-of the mill recounting of well-known facts, Ben Franklin's Almanac is a book that will introduce young readers to the true delights of history and biography, to all of the amazing details, anecdotes and records that historians cherish. If only young people had more biographies like this!
Alice Cary is a contributing editor at Biography magazine.
An inventive biography of Ben
Just as adults are digging into Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Benjamin Franklin, older children and young adults have a wonderful treat waiting: Candace Fleming's entertaining, imaginative Benjamin Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life.
I'm a biography buff, and this is one of the best biographies for young people I've seen in a long time. Everyone knows Franklin was a fascinating figure, but there's plenty of new material in this intriguing volume. It's organized as a scrapbook of fascinating details, one that adults will also enjoy perusing, and modeled after Franklin's own Poor Richard's Almanack.
Fleming spent three years researching original sources for her book, intending to write a traditional, chronological biography of her hero. However, she explains, as she learned more her feelings changed: "Innovative, vulgar, sometimes heroic, sometimes flawed, the incredibly complex Ben Franklin I discovered beguiled me, and I was no longer satisfied to tell his story in the ordinary way."
And so, Fleming turned what could have been a rather ordinary book into a delightful Franklin feast. With his grand accomplishments so well known, she decided to focus on smaller events—"scraps from some lesser-known events, as well as funny stories, hand-drawn sketches, cartoons of the day, and snippets of gossip." She also includes "souvenirs from Ben's travels, keepsakes from his childhood, bits of his family life, and pieces of his private thoughts."
Not that Fleming ignores the big picture. She begins with a year-by-year chronology of Franklin's life and has organized all of the book's tidbits well, placing them in thematic chapters such as "Boyhood Memories" and "The Scientist's Scrapbook." What's more, each and every page contains plenty of photographs, illustrations and small sidebars that add to the book's liveliness.
Anything but a run-of the mill recounting of well-known facts, Ben Franklin's Almanac is a book that will introduce young readers to the true delights of history and biography, to all of the amazing details, anecdotes and records that historians cherish. If only young people had more biographies like this!
Alice Cary is a contributing editor at Biography magazine.