Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography - Hardcover

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

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.