The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin

I enjoyed gaining more knowledge about one of our founding fathers, however the book was a little dry. I did not know that Franklin was a musician as well as an inventor and political figure. He was truly an amazing person.

This book does a decent job of summarizing the life of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most important figures of early American history. It is full of pictures depicting important events in Franklin's life and describes facts I was previously unaware of, such as that he proposed the creation of the first hospitals and universities of Pennsylvania. The story of his estrangement from his eldest son William, a Royalist at odds with his father's pro-independence stance, adds an emotional element to the biography that earns the reader's sympathy. Neither too choppy nor too wordy, the book encapsulates the political and scientific achievements (and briefly the family life) of one of America's leading founding fathers with detail and vigor.

This book summarizes the major events of Ben Franklin's life and career. In a short space, it manages to describe the many facets of his career, many of his accomplishments, the turmoil in the colonies as the Revolution approached and even the turbulent relationship with his son. The watercolor illustrations are clearly geared to an older, more serious audience. There is a surprising amount of detail about the Revolution, which reveals an evolution in the colonies' frustrations until they decided to revolt. The fact that Franklin's son remained a loyalist also demonstrates this complexity. It does include enough detail from his early life so one can see the rags-to-riches story. What I found disappointing about this book is that it is show more utterly devoid of humor. Very funny episodes from the Autobiography are presented as dry facts. While readers will certainly come to understand many of Franklin's great accomplishments, I fear they will miss much of what made him human and accessible. This book does include a bibliography. It is geared towards grades 5 to 7. show less

This book was pretty boring. However, this book did offer a lot of new information about Ben Franklin that I never knew in the past. It also made a lot of connections for me. For example, I've learned about Ben Franklin creating electricity but I never knew that he was a representative for America. I also never realized that the Boston Tea Party happened during the time Franklin was alive, and I definitely didn't realize how badly the Boston Tea Party effected him. This fact blew my mind because I had never connected those dots, or had any teacher connect them for me.

James Cross Giblin, in The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin, tells a clear, succinct version of Ben's life story.It is a good introduction for the elementary-aged child. The illustrations, mostly paintings by Michael Dooling, are beautiful and full of interesting detail.There are some interesting additions to the text also (at the back): a list of important dates from Franklin's life; a page about his many inventions; a page of sayings from his almanack; a page of historic sites associated with him; a bibliography; and an index. One other addition was an artist's note, which was very interesting.Dooling talks about all of the research that he did in order to make the illustrations historically accurate, which lends credibility to the show more entire book. James Cross Giblin is also an award-winning author of many books, so that lends credibility to the book as well. I enjoyed it, and would use it in the elementary setting. show less

Giblin does another excellent job, telling Franklin's lifestory from boyhood to old age. Interesting tidbits; he was apprenticed to an older brother, James, in the prinitng business, but they became rivals. When Ben wanted to look for a job in another printing shop, James kept other printers from hiring him in Boston. So, Ben left town and took up residence in Philadelphia.

Ben helped his only son to secure the governorship of New Jersey, but when things got bad between Great Britian and the States and choices had to be made, they ended up on opposite sides and never did resolve their differences.

Ben spent many years in London as the representative of the States, but his wife, Deborah Read, would not board ships, and as a result they show more spent at least 15 years apart.

The book features a timeline, a list of Franklin's inventions, Sayings from the Poor Richard's Almanack, a list of historic sites associated with Ben, a bibliography, index, and author's notes.

Wonderful illustrations that pull the reader into the book. show less

A well written biography of Benjamin Franklin for children in grades 2nd - 8th. The biography touches on all aspects of Mr. Franklin's life from birth to death, printer to inventor, negotiator to patriot, and upholding the values of the United States of America despite the fallout with his only living son, William. A wonderful book for information as well as for research. I highly recommend this book.