We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

I think that this book handled a complex topic in a kid-friendly manner. I really liked how the children were able to dive deep into the preamble, and to explore what it means to them. Everything was explained in simple terms, and I thought that the whole message of patriotism was enduring.

I love that this book explains the Preamble to the Constitution in such a fun way. It is a great book to use to begin introducing the Constitution to students and has great illustrations to keep them interested. I also like that it is informational, but does not overwhelm.

"We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States" by David Catrow fills a niche in the elementary school classroom. Most reading materials about the Constitution are often considered by students to be too dry or complicated. Not this book. Catrow not only includes a handy Preamble dictionary at the beginning of the book (Preamble: The first part of something, an introduction; Promote the General Welfare: To help make life good for everybody. Having enough to eat, a place to live, being safe, and having friends and fun times are some of things that make our lives good), but also drew cartoons to illustrate each important point of the Preamble. Some may consider the pencil and watercolor illustrations a little too zany, show more but most children will probably appreciate Catrow's comical drawings of three kids and a dog acting out the "big words and big ideas" of the document. show less

Catrow begins with an easily-accessible glossary to the preamble words and meanings, and then each preamble clause is given its own page and illustration. The illustrations are densely colored and visually appealing; they have characterization and also extend and add to the plotline. Some of them add humor, as well, such as the family moving in the first clause and having their dog carry all of their belongings. Therefore, the narration truly comes from the illustrations, as opposed to the text. Children will delight in picking out details from the pictures and tying them into the text.

This explanation og the preamble of the U.S. Constitution is really well done, and though the illustrations are a bit abstract it does the job of turning the preamble into something that actually makes sense. I wouldn't recommend it for primary grades, because it's still high level even with the simplification, but it helps in the intermediate grades if a child has the patience for learning about the U.S. Constitution.

Although this book is very colorful and pleasing to the eyes of young students, it may not be understood as many of the words belong from a higher level of vocabulary.This includes words such as domestic tranquility, common defense and general warfare. The pictures and the number of words suggest that it is a book for younger age groups however the words do not go parallel with it.

This book teaches young children about the United States constitution through political cartoons and adding humor and it even has a glossary that children can refer back to when they are unfamiliar with a term.