Review by New York Times Review
Young George Washington, long a bête noire of fibbing schoolchildren with his "cannot tell a lie" pieties, is humanized in this comic account of his early years. The opening spread shows George grabbing his powdered wig as he awakens on his seventh birthday, inadequately feted by his family. At one point a peevish George mutters to his half brother Augustine, "Someday, I'll be the boss of you." Purists may resist Washington as a moody youngster, but McNamara (author of last year's charming "Three Little Pigs" knockoff, "The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot") knows how to win over 6-year-old fans. The only thing they'll resent is no longer getting his birthday off from school. LOOKING AT LINCOLN Written and illustrated by Maira Kalman. 32 pp. Nancy Paulsen Books. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9) Based on "In Love With A Lincoln," an online column Kalman ("Fireboat," "Next Stop Grand Central") wrote for The New York Times, this introduction to America's 16th president will inspire children to a similar state of reverence. Kalman's text is marvelously tuned to young readers. "One day he was kicked in the head by a mule," she writes. "Then he woke up and grew up and decided to be a lawyer. (He did like to argue.)" The accompanying paintings alternate between veneration (flags, uniforms, moving portraiture) and whimsy (Lincoln's favorite vanilla cake), enriching this utterly winning tribute. THE CAMPING TRIP THAT CHANGED AMERICA Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks. By Barb Rosenstock. Illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein. 32 pp. Dial. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 6 to 8) Once upon a time, a Republican president and a California tree-hugger were united in grand purpose. So goes the story of Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir's 1903 camping trip, told here with towering sequoias, pre-global-warming glaciers and snowstorm. Gerstein, who won a Caldecott for "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," knows how to bring a great man's feat to picture-book life, and here he captures the men's vision of natural conservation against the glorious backdrop of what would become part of Yosemite National Park. WORST OF FRIENDS Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud. By Suzanne Tripp Jurmain. Illustrated by Larry Day. 32 pp. Dutton. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 6 to 9) Presidential foibles and feuds are a reliable source of astonished delight for children otherwise taught to revere their founding fathers. Teddy Roosevelt said, for example, that President McKinley "had the backbone of a chocolate éclair." And frenemies Thomas Jefferson and John Adams - "as different as pickles and ice cream" (unless you're pregnant) - make an especially colorful pair. Jurmain and Day offer an early-elementary-school account of the Republican/Federalist divide and a story of friendship surmounting ideological differences. THOSE REBELS, JOHN & TOM By Barbara Kerley. Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. 48 pp. Scholastic. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 7 to 11) Two picture books this season about those amicable opposites, Jefferson and Adams? Could it be nostalgia for the days when political foes would still break bread? Here, for older readers but with a similar blend of caricature and portraiture, historical substance and comieal aside, is the story of how the two men "formed a surprising alliance, committed treason and helped launch a new nation." Fotheringham's cartoonish drawings hold a retro "Schoolhouse Rock" appeal in this rousing account of the friendship before the feud. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 15, 2012]
Review by Booklist Review
In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt read John Muir's book on the Sierra Nevada, which ended with a plea for government to save the vanishing forests. The president asked Muir to take him camping in the Yosemite wilderness, and two months later, Roosevelt followed his knowledgeable guide into the mountains, through the valley, and among the giant sequoia trees. Returning to Washington, the president pushed to pass the laws that created national parks and forests as well as wildlife sanctuaries. The very readable text focuses as much on the men's enjoyment of the outdoors as on the historical importance of their camping trip. Gerstein contributes a wonderfully varied yet coherent set of line-and-watercolor illustrations, including small portraits of the men, a memorable scene showing two figures dwarfed by giant sequoias, and a close-up of the men talking around their campfire. In an appended note, Rosenstock includes information left out of the story and mentions that some scenes were imagined. A short list of sources is included. This colorful picture book humanizes two significant individuals in American history.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-Theodore Roosevelt (Teedie) and John Muir (Johnnie) both held important positions-Roosevelt was the youngest President of the United States, and Muir was a world-famous naturalist. In 1903, Roosevelt read of Muir's Sierra Mountain adventures and heard his plea for the government to save the mountain forests. Muir's response resulted in a meeting between Teedie and Johnnie, an adventure of only four days that traversed the wonders of the Yosemite Valley and established an understanding and respect between the two. Based on an actual event in which Roosevelt "dropped politics" and persuaded a reluctant Muir to camp with him, the book presents a fictionalized account of the shared experiences of these two strong-willed personalities that resulted in the addition of 18 national monuments and double the number of national parks. Gerstein's richly colored paint and detailed pen drawings heighten readers' vision of an expanded horizon on the full spreads. Turn the book lengthwise to accommodate the sequoia giants' full height, and back again as tiny vignettes fill the night sky in tales above lingering campfire shadows. Impressions of the wilderness emphasize the grand impact of the event, detailed by an author's note (bibliography and references to the Yosemite Research Library, John Muir National Site, and University of the Pacific Library are included). In interpreting and recording both personal relationships and the historical impact of the meeting, this offering makes a little-known bit of history accessible for younger readers, and encourages further research.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX (c) Copyright 2012. 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 Horn Book Review
After swiftly introducing her two protagonists -- contrasting their origins and the different ways they expressed their love of the outdoors (Roosevelt hunted, fished, rode; Muir studied, sketched, wrote about plants) -- Rosenstock plunges into their one encounter. Having read Muir's book pleading for government help to save his beloved mountain forests, Roosevelt asked Muir to take him camping in the Yosemite wilderness. Arriving on May 15, 1903, "Teedie" soon extricated himself from an admiring crowd, "sent his men ahead to set up camp," and escaped on horseback to gape at giant sequoias, listen to "Johnnie's" stories, and camp out. The second night, it snowed; by the time the two reached Yosemite, Roosevelt had been persuaded to create "national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and national forests." They never met again, but "exchanged personal letters for the rest of their lives." As she explains in a note, Rosenstock has invented the dialogue here, but the ideas expressed are authentic; she lists several sources. Gerstein brings his usual verve to the expedition. Individual portraits show the aristocrat in a crowd of his own amusingly disgruntled children and the solitary, bearded naturalist in his beloved wilderness; companionable scenes portray the two together -- exultantly riding, chattering by a campfire, gazing in awe at nature's magnificence, or imagining the dire consequences of destroying it. "What if everyone owned the wilderness?" Thanks to these two visionaries, we do; thanks to Rosenstock and Gerstein, we have a fine example of an effective government responding to a vital need in a timely manner. List of sources. joanna rudge long From HORN BOOK, Copyright The Horn Book, used with permission.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
