Benjamin Franklin

Rookie Biography

by Wil Mara

A short biography of one of our founding fathers.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, History, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Wil Mara has worked as an author for over 34 years and currently has more than 325 books in print. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His books have won multiple awards, reached bestseller lists, earned excellent reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. 2005’s Wave won the New Jersey Notable Book Award, and 2012’s The Gemini Virus remained on Amazon’s list of ‘Ten Bestseller Medical Thrillers’ for 14 consecutive weeks. The most recent novel in his disaster series, Fallout, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Novel of the Year. And his children’s nonfiction publications have won countless awards and terrific reviews in all the leading trade journals, including Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and others.

Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.

Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.

Reviews

[Angieleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great way to teach children about historical figures!

Each book in the Rookie Biography series is short, usually less than 35 pages, and contains just enough information that is concise and will engage children of all ages.

I love reading these to my nephew!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography for early readers. Features the basic, well known facts about Franklin. Probably best for 1-3rd graders.

[Erin R · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short picture book biography that gives young children highlights about the life and accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin. It is written for beginning readers and would probably be most appropriate for 1st-2nd graders. While it is written in a very simple format, the book does provide an accurate portrayal of the aspects of Franklin’s life that it does include. This book could be incorporated into either social studies or science, as Franklin made many contributions to our nation as well as to scientific thought.

[babyhippoface · Rating 2 out of 5]

American patriot Ben Franklin is introduced in this title from Scholastic’s Rookie Biography series. Few of his many inventions are named as most space is given to his role in American independence. While not as strong as Rosalyn Schanzer’s How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning, the numerous illustrations and straightforward, simple sentences provide very young readers with an accessible introduction to biographies and Franklin’s life.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography was short and well written. The facts provided were interesting and relevant to Benjamin Franklin’s life. The biography from when he was born to his death. The colorful illustration and pictures help tell the facts. Scattered throughout the book were facts that the author had pulled out to highlight. There is a glossary, index, timeline, and where to find more
information in the back of the book.

Recommended age 7-9
Reading Level 2nd-4th grade

[Randy O · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVE these books. They're short, well-written for young kids, and full of unfamiliar details about very familiar people in history. (I think there are about 20 or so in the series.) They can be a little hard to find, but they're perfect if your kid likes to learn about why things are the way they are.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benjamin Franklin was kind of a pompous jerk in some ways. I wouldn't want to hang out with him.

[Jackie316 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short & sweet. Excellent summary of Benjamin Franklin's life.

[Leslie Ramirez]

There are so many biography books on Benjamin Franklin but this one by Wil Mara is interesting and short. There are many facts but are all straight to the point. The pictures are simple and yet have so much detail that go with the words. It provides information on his early life and some of his most successful inventions. It also explains his role in the Revolutionary war and his impact on America.

The size of the book is small and inside the book it is one page words the other a picture. The words are large which makes it easier to read. A good thing about this book is that there are not many words on each page so children that are beginning to read don't get overwhelm with the book.