The Founding Fathers!: Those Horse Ridin', Book-Readin', Gun-Totin' Gentlemen Who Started America

Gr 2–5—Winter, best known for You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! (Random, 2009), joins news magazine illustrator Blitt in a quick-facts collective biography of 14 American Founding Fathers. Each spread features a full-page watercolor caricature of each man's most famous attribute, with visual and amusingly anachronistic puns (John Jay, "the peacemaker," flashes a 1960s peace sign). The facing page includes a summarizing paragraph, quotations, and a list of facts and statistics (main residence, land owned, "stance on France," and more), supplemented by small cartoons. No women or minorities are featured, but Winter is upfront about his scope: "a bunch of guys…[who wrote] the original rule book for how the game called 'America' would be played." The occasional oddball value ("Zebras Owned: 0") inspires detailed attention to otherwise repetitive lists, while the breezy tone ("Jefferson may've been one smart green bean, but that old Hamilton was pretty smart too") may win some readers' affection, though others may wonder if Winter is trying too hard. Concluding statistical notes and an explanation of important concepts enrich the expository "preamble" from the book's opening pages. This title has a strong balance of serious information and humor. It acknowledges disagreements among prominent figures ("Arguing is what Americans have always done best") and ambiguities in their views (several spoke out against slavery while owning slaves themselves), and it provides detailed but audience-appropriate explanations of how statistics were calculated. A useful reference for American history fact-finding assignments or general history interest.—Jill Ratzan, I.L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ