Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Describing the lives of America's two most famous presidents, Adler launches his new picture-book biography series. Emphasizing achievements rather than anecdotes and legends, the books present information on each man from boyhood until death. While the author does include details that make the narratives more specific or realistic, he avoids fictionalizing. The Wallners' attractive line-and-watercolor illustrations evoke the past with the narrative quality of American naive painting and a certain gentle charm all their own. Handsomely designed, the books will meet the needs of primary-grade teachers perennially seeking materials for Presidents' Day. Apart from introducing Washington and Lincoln, these profiles form a pleasant introduction to U.S. history for young children. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The prolific Adler ( Cam Jansen ) and the Wallners have collaborated on two highly accessible and involving picture-book biographies. Each book begins with the childhood of the leader and firmly places its subject within the continuum of American history. The texts are brief yet succinctly include the major contributions of each man within the constraints of the picture-book format. A single page outline of ``Important Dates'' closes each book. The Wallners' colorful illustrations are sometimes a bit cartoony for the no-nonsense text, but many readers may find these perfect introductions to the lives of two important presidents. Ages 5-9. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-- These books are a step easier than Adler's ``First Biographies'' (Holiday). Facts and personality are expertly mixed in the small blocks of text; Adler does a good job of covering character traits, family members, and large events without overburdening readers with too many facts. Calm, uncluttered color paintings add visual interest, extend the text (sometimes rather far: readers will have to find out elsewhere why the Boston Tea Party was ``attended'' by native Americans), and ennoble their presidential subjects--Lincoln, with an extra homely face and dark clothing, always stands out in a group, and Washington is last seen on a tall horse, atop a bluff, waving to a passing eagle. Some simplification is inevitable--Lincoln's election is the only mentioned cause of the Civil War and there's not a black face to be seen in . . . Washington, for instance--but by and large, these are inviting gateways, both to the array of longer books on these two presidents, such as Kathie Billingslea Smith's (both Messner, 1987), and to U.S. history in general. --John Peters, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An experienced children's author teams with a pair of widely published illustrators in a new series on famous Americans. These first entries contain basic facts, presented in a straightforward, flat style, matched by illustrations that lie on the pages like posed tableaux. Only the most familiar information is included, with little attempt to put it in perspective. The Gettysburg Address, for example, is mentioned with no allusion to the fact that it was given after a pivotal battle. While the picture-book format is attractive and the books do help fill the void in biographies for young readers, these are little more than skeletons limned in a series of declarative sentences, providing instruction but not inspiration. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
