A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson

Picture Book Biography

by David A. Adler, John Wallner (Illustrator), Alexandra Wallner (Illustrator)

A simple presentation of the third president's life from childhood.

Genres: Biography, History, Picture Books, American History, Nonfiction, Childrens, 2nd Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Emily Mote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
This book tells the life story and notable events of American historical figure, Thomas Jefferson. This story begins at Thomas Jefferson's childhood, and works its way throughout his entire life.

Evaluation:
I think this book is amazing because it present information about Thomas Jefferson in a way that young students can understand. The book listed facts about Thomas Jefferson I didn't know, and I think this is a fun element that keeps readers engaged. The illustrations are beautiful because they contain many details and colors.

Teaching Ideas:
This book would be a great tool for young students to use for research about Thomas Jefferson. This series makes similar books about many historical figures. I would love to obtain many books from this series and assign each of my students one of the historical figures to research and write a paper about. This book could be used by whichever student is assigned Thomas Jefferson. I will also have this book as a part of my classroom library.

[Emily Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson" is a great way to introduce young readers to the genre of Biographies/autobiographies. This book includes important facts and dates that occurred throughout Thomas Jefferson's life. Many details such as where and when he was born, who his parents were, his education, personal life, inventions, and his career are included in this book. The author, David A. Adler, also includes other important information in the book such as what the Revolutionary War was and why it began, the creation of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's presidency, John Adam's presidency, of course Thomas Jefferson's presidency, and the Louisiana Purchase. This biography on Thomas Jefferson would be a book for younger readers, or for the content area of social studies. This book is an easier read but provides readers with many important facts on Thomas Jefferson and what he accomplished.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in a four-room wooden house in Virginia. At that time Virginia was one of the thirteen American colonies that belonged to England. Thomas was the third of ten children. He was tall and had red hair and freckles.

The accompanying illustrations bring life to the text, and are more likely to generate questions than will the facts. A few of the pages are far too dense, and would only be meaningful under adult guidance. ("The Virginia House of Burgesses" ... does this really need to be in a book targeting kids?)

I'd probably use this with kids who are about 9 years old. They're likely to remember a little about the time period, and the fact that Jefferson was a President. This may also be their introduction to the reality of slave ownership.

[Michelle and Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson’s life is told through this beautifully illustrated picture book. The book begins with Thomas’ childhood and describes his family, home, and interest as a young boy. It continues through his school years, meeting his wife and starting a family of his own. The book describes his early career and then his presidency. It discusses his importance in the history of our county and how he tried to help his fellow Americans. This book is a wonderful read aloud for children in the early elementary grades. It has detailed illustrations and the text is not too difficult to comprehend. The book is a wonderful introduction to biographies as well as a perfect opportunity to discuss our country’s history. The author has written many similar books including A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln, and A Picture Book of George Washington.

[Maisie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a childhood favorite, and I enjoyed revisiting it. For the younger reader, it is perfect. The information given is easy to understand and the illustrations are fun and engaging. For me, I found the writing to be a bit to choppy, which made it harder for me to read as it disrupted the reading flow. However, I still love this book, and I think it’s a great option for kids who want to learn about our third president.

[Ashley Zink · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations seem geared toward younger children, but some of the terms used would be hard for many children to grasp without it being explained to them, such as "Continental Congress." 2nd-4th

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad biography of Jefferson for kids, but it does unfortunately downplay the fact that he was a slaver and by definition a rapist.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good overall biography for children, and, yes, slavery was mentioned.

[Jenica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annotation:
A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson is a short story of the life of Thomas Jefferson. It gives a broad overview, but also gives specific facts when necessary. The illustrations are cartoon versions and portray realistic pictures.

Response:
I gave this book three stars because it provides a decent amount of information about Jefferson in an easy to understand way. This book reminded me of my days working in the juvenile non-fiction section of the library. I often looked at books such as this while putting them back on the shelves. I always wondered how a book so short could provide a good amount of information. This book has shown me that this can be done.

Classroom Connection:
This book could be used in lower elementary grades to learn about the life of Thomas Jefferson. I could also have the students write a small biography of their own using the information found in this book. Another idea would be to have the students read a few different books about Thomas Jefferson and compare the details given. This would allow the students to read a wide variety of information and use their discernment to write their own paper or comparison.

Complexity:
The lexile number for this book is 700L and the Guided reading level is M. This means that the book is suited for self reading in grades 3-5, and as a read-a-loud for grades 1-5.

[Spencer Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great book full of information about Thomas Jefferson. The book has great illustrations that help move the story along. I like the bright colors and colonial look to them that help tell this story of a great historical figure. This is a sequential book taking us through the important moments of Thomas Jefferson. The book gives a lot of facts about our former president. I also learned a lot from this book about him and gave a good insight on the kind of person he was. This is a great book to have a collection and made me wnat to get more from my own classroom library.

[Christina]

This book follows the life of Thomas Jefferson. It follows his life as an architect, president, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is done as a picture book, so it is easy for students to follow along with. This can be a great way to introduce Thomas Jefferson to the class. It can also be a part of a unit on the Declaration of Independence.

[Asher Antcliff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson was very young. When he was only 14, his father and his mother both died. Thomas Jefferson helped the Indians plant food after the French and Indian War. Thomas Jefferson also hated slavery even though he had a slave of his own. Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743. He died in 1826.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for kids.

This book has fun pictures and some interesting facts and details about Thomas Jefferson. A great summary of the life of one of the founding fathers and presidents of the United States.

[Deanna Mcdonough]

This was an enjoyable biography on Thomas Jefferson. This book is great for young readers. The sentences are easy and have many pictures. This was one big story about Thomas Jefferson. The book hit on all the main points as well as some of the irony surrounding his life. This was a good book.

[Amanda Caple]

A great book to include in a listening center. Students are able to learn all about Thomas Jefferson's life in a simpler and friendlier way. I would have students complete an organizer while reading to find out information about his life.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not the best source of information about our third president, this book is a nice start for exposing young readers, both reading independently or with an adult, to non-fiction writing.

[Annisaa S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is really cool because it is about thomas the president

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the lives of Thomas Jefferson. Age appropriate presentation of facts and information. The illustrations were good support for the text.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable kid level book about thomas Jefferson

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

short mention of slavery, none of religion

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Jefferson - my favorite President to study. A broad and informative book about the whole life of Jefferson.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to introduce young readers to Jefferson. Easy to read with fun illustrations. While obviously not extensive, it covers the major events of his life and even touches on his hypocrisy around slavery.

[Bethany.Alvarez94gmail.Com]

Such a great book that has condensed important information about Thomas Jefferson in a way for children to understand. It is great for a student using this as a resource if they are doing a report on him. The illustrations are good and the book overall is great for its purpose. It is obviously a non-fiction history book so it will not have everything but it definitely serves its purpose of sharing some of his life and history.
Lexile: AD700L
DRA Level: 24
6+1 Traits: Presentation, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency