This biography on Benjamin Franklin was one that I really enjoyed reading. I enjoyed it's approach with the alphabet and how Alan Schroeder was able to develop important aspects of Ben Franklin's life with each letter of the alphabet for each page heading. Each letter on every page provides an important fact about his life that is proof for him being an important person to American History. Readers are able to learn that Ben Franklin wrote an published an almanac, he was a general in the army during the French and Indian War, he started the first subscription library in America, etc. I would recommend this book in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms because of the length and vocabulary choice of this book. A fun and beneficial activity that can stem from this book is to have students make an alphabet booklet that contains a fact for each letter of the alphabet. ( )

Each letter of the alphabet gives the reader an interesting fact, quote or illustration about Ben Franklin. He was a writer, an inventor, and the founding father of our country. This informational and engaging book is easy to read and understand for students. ( )

This nontraditional tribute to Benjamin Franklin all in almanac format is brimming with humorous cartoons, instructive adages, and a wealth of information about a Founding Father who was as amusing as he was amazing. Benjamin Franklin devised armonicas and bifocals, helped bring us the Constitution and signed the Declaration of Independence, and even experimented with electricity and invented the Franklin stove. He amassed enough noteworthy accomplishments to cover the entire alphabet from A to Z!

A brief summary:
This book goes through the entire alphabet, assigning each letter to an interesting fact about Ben Franklin. Each page is filled with facts, quotes, and illustrations that give the reader a glimpse into his life. The book begins with "A is for Almanac," and explains how Ben once wrote and published his own almanac, the ever popular Poor Richard's Almanac. The letter A also includes the words "apprentice" and "armónica," providing additional explanations as to how these words apply to Ben's life. Each subsequent page does just the same up until the end with "Z is for Zeal."

My personal reaction:
By organizing the information into an alphabetical format, the author creates a biography that is engaging and fun for the reader. The use of quotes gives a direct look into the life of Ben Franklin and the illustrations are creative, colorful, and even humorous!

A couple of uses:
- Have students choose an American inventor to research and share with the class. Read this book aloud to the class to serve as an opener to the class assignment.
- Have students create their own alphabet autobiographies and use this book as an example of how to complete the project.

Genre:
This book is an example of a biography as it provides information on the life of Ben Franklin. This information includes quotes and facts about Franklin that detail many aspects of his life, ranging from personal characteristics to his inventions. Furthermore, this book is a biography because it is written by Alan Schroder, someone other than Franklin himself.

Media:
watercolor and ink ( )

I liked this book because it had a lot of information on Benjamin Franklin. Some of the things in this book, I did not know he created or started. I think that this would be a great book to read in a classroom because it has so much information that needs to be known about Ben Franklin. ( )