PICTURE BOOK - Noah Webster's Fighting Words by Tracy Nelson Maurer

Illustrated by Mircea Casusanu

2017, Millbrook Press

HC $19.99

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:

My rating:  5

Endpapers: Solid orange - with a note from N. Webster

1^st line/s:  "Noah Webster was a proud American, even as a little boy. 'I began life ... full of confidence in my own opinions,' he once said."

My comments:  What an interesting "character" in American's history!  This book introduces facts that make Noah Webster really come to life...and Tracy Maurer has done it in a clever manner...by pretending Mr. Webster is editing her writing with comments that he would probably have made himself.  Excellent idea, and it made the book extra fun to read.  Although there's a lot to look at on each page, it's not overwhelming, and I, who usually love lots of bright colors, love the muted browns with lots of orange and the collaged look of each page. It all works together really nicely.

Goodreads:  Noah Webster - famous for writing the first dictionary of the English language as spoken in the United States - was known in his day for his bold ideas and strong opinions about, well, everything. Spelling. Politics. Laws. You name it, he had something to say about it. He even commented on his own opinions! With a red pencil in hand, Noah often marked up work that he had already published. So when Noah's ghost came across this new picture book biography, he couldn't help but make a few suggestions!

PICTURE BOOK - A Home for Mr. Emerson - Barbara Kerley

Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

2014 Scholastic Press

HC $18.99

48 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.08

My rating: 4

My comments:  I've always known of Ralph Waldo Emerson - I knew he was a philosophical writer linked to Thoreau and Concord, Massachusetts.  This picture book biography, like somany I've read in the last few years, illuminates the man as a person - husband, father, friend; then thinker and and writer.  The book is filled with his quotes   - they are actually much of the text - and best of all is a list of writing ideas after the excellent Author's Note at the back of the book entitled "Build a World of Your Own."  
     A few suggestions:
          List 5 things you love to do
          List 3 things you'd like to learn more about
          Think about your favorie room - what do you like about it?
          Write down 5 favorite spots in  your city

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

Goodreads:  From the award-winning creators of THOSE REBELS, JOHN & TOM, a joyful portrait of an American icon and an inspiring blueprint for how to live your life.

"All life is an experiment.
The more
experiments you make
the better."

          Before Ralph Waldo Emerson was a great writer, he was a city boy who longed for the broad, open fields and deep, still woods of the country, and then a young man who treasured books, ideas, and people. When he grew up and set out in the world, he wondered, could he build a life around these things he loved?
          This moving biography--presented with Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham's inimitable grace and style--illustrates the rewards of a life well-lived, one built around personal passions: creativity and community, nature and friendship.
          May it inspire you to experiment and build the life you dream of living.

Write On, Mercy! – Gretchen Woelfle

The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren

Illustrated by Alexandra Wallner

2012, Calkins Creek, Honesdale, PA

Rating:  5

For:  older kids, probably not preschool

40 pages

HC $16.95

Endpapers:  Orange

Title Page:  Mercy’s arm and hand, with quill and melting candle, writing on a stack of papers.

Setting:  Late 1700’s during the American Revolution, in Massachusetts

1^st line/lines:  “From her parlor window in West Barnstable,  young Mercy Otis could watch the tide flow in and out of the Great Marsh on Cape Cod Bay.”

OSS:  Tells the life of Mercy Otis Warren, a woman who told the story of the Revolution in over 1,000 pages that took thirty years.  She would have been a politician if she had lived in contemporary times!

This was an exceptionally fine story about a really interesting person – of the female persuasion – in our history.  The writing is beautiful and sophisticated, the story well-researched and finely told.  A keeper.  Perfect for my 4^th grade biography unit.

Includes Author’s Note, a painting of Mercy Otis Warren by John Singleton Copley (this REALLY makes her a real person for the kids), a 2-page timeline of her life and what was going on politically, an excellent bibliography, and a number of websites.  What a perfect model for a well researched book of history to share with kids! 

Bravo!

About the author:  Woelfe is a writer from LA who loves history, especially stories of little-known people in history.  She’s written Katie the Windmill Cat, All the World’s a Stage: A Novel in Five Acts, and Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer.

The illustrator, also a love of history, lives in Yucatan, Mexico.