Tom Jefferson: Third President of the U.S.

by Helen Albee Monsell, Kenneth Wagner (Illustrator)

Thomas Jefferson’s legacy as founding father and author of the Declaration of Independence makes him an unforgettable all-star in American history. But what was he like as a child?

In this narrative biography, you’ll learn all about the childhood of Thomas Jefferson—from his birth on April 13, 1743, in Shadwell, Virginia (the third of ten children), to his study of languages from an early age, to his love of horseback riding and nature.

Find out what Jefferson did for fun—and how his childhood and education led him to write the Declaration of Independence and lead a new nation as the third president of the United States.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Juvenile, Childrens, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of life's pleasures is to wander into the section of the Friends of the Library of any public library. In some libraries the Friends section is well developed with hundreds of books jammed together on the shelves in a haphazard order and haphazard fashion. Mystery is mixed up with large print, romance novels are piled on top of science fiction. The science fiction section contains classics from decades ago right next to Harry Potter paperbacks.

I have always liked to think that the Friends section contains much loved books that people simply have to give up on due to lack of room. That was certainly the case for me when I downsized and gave away 15 large boxes of books, hefting them out of my car and into the Public Library to donate, and then sell onto others for $1 a book. As a result, I can never pass up the chance to purchase books from the Public Library, even though I often redonate them at the end.

Just the other day I spotted this book, with the scrawly awkward penmanship of Peter Nichols on a bookplate on the inside cover as well as a small sticker identifying the book as sold by a long defunct bookstore in the Massachusetts area. I bought it, and two others like it, because I liked to think that the heirs of Peter Nichols would like to know that his books ended up with someone who would read them, at least one last time.

My dollar was well spent, if only because I had the chance to read this slim volume full of homilies and directions for good behavior tucked within short chapters, each of which end with a summary about Tom Jefferson, and how his Presidency was informed by his early childhood. In essence, the book is a primer telling every young read that they too could be President if they learned to be friendly with everyone - both rich and poor, if they learned to think about the impact of their life on other's life and if they learned to think about how dream big dreams. Right now, when politicians are divided into camps with ideological walls that soar higher than the Berlin Wall, it is a pleasure to read indirectly about a time when American's thought that someday, if they worked hard enough, they could be President.

My volume of this book is entitled 1939, and Goodreads simply does not go back that far it seems as the closest publication date I could find is 1962. No matter. The joy of saving Peter Nichol's early text was well worth the $1.00 I spent. I'm looking forward to reading the additional orange colored volumes I purchased at the same time.

[Victoria Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genre of this book is a biography. A book that takes you through the life of Thomas Jefferson and his presidency. The illustrations are old school but help set the picture for the book and how they looked and dressed back in that time.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, though I made an observation: they never mentions slaves in this book. All that are mentioned are 'servants'. It was a good read, though.

[Belle Meade School]

973.46092

[Jennifer L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series of books as a child, but reading as an adult it really surprised me how history was glossed over.

[Beth Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

We aren't finished with this book yet--it's one of the chapter books I'm reading to Meade at night, but so far I'm pretty impressed with it. He asks me to read it to him, and it does a good job of making Jefferson seem like a child while incorporating the characteristics that we know he posessed as an adult. This is the first book of this series I've read, but I'll definitely look into the others if this is any indication. I'll rate it when we're finished.

[William Shep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, though not my favorite of the series, but, then again, Jefferson is hardly my favorite president. He did two great things, writing the Declaration of Independence and mading the Lousiana Purchase, but his slavish support of the French Revolution (in the face of gross excesses) and his disasterous economic confrontation with Great Britain, in his second term, sans any military capability to back it up, bring his world view and character into question.

[Amy Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 9 year old neice really enjoyed reading a copy of this owned by her great aunt. So I read it, and remembered parts from my childhood. The stars are influence by the context, but objectively, I think it is pretty good ...

[Fern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with my kids. We enjoyed it, although the sentence structure is a little dull as a read-aloud. The kids always wanted me to keep reading when it was time to stop for the day. The author did a nice job of making the story come alive.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot myself. I thought it was a great book to teach kids about Thomas Jefferson.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. When he was a little, he wanted to build his house on a mountain and everybody said he couldn't and then he did.

[Cherlynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an 'exciting' read for a 7 year old. However, it is an excellent 'teaching/learning' book.

[Marissa Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it. I learned so much about Tomas Jefferson by reading this. So if you love history or want to learn more about America's third president and the creator of the Constitution of Independence then you should defiantly read this book.

[Trey Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy early read on Jefferson, if a little too positive on a great, but very flawed man.