<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: History with some humor
Review: I am a fifth grade teacher and thought this was a well written non-fiction book. It gave great details about the beginnings of this country and the key players. The author includes contributions made by women in history. I thought the novel was respectful with a dap of humor. The reading level would suit my class and I order each student a copy to read. I feel it is important for our young citizens to take an interest in the formation of this great nation. We need to find books that keep them interested. Elizabeth Levy's style is just right. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Revolting Author
Review: I saw this book at my son's book fair and the title caught my interest. All I needed to do was scan through it for about 5 minutes to become thoroughly disgusted with this woman's one-sided view of revisionist history. The book calls the early founders and fighters of our country a group of drunken, fighting gamblers, all of whom had whordes of slaves. She even takes pleasure in ridiculing and demeaning George Washington's mother (which is so historically relevant). The really sad part is that this book was labeled with a "scholastic" tag, which I assume makes it "good" for children of this age to read. They should be ashamed also, but I don't think so. Looking at their website there were more books in the history category of African Princesses and French Queens than of those who have built this country into what it is today. I strongly urge anyone considering any books sold under the "scholastic" label or this author to go elswhere. P.S. I would have given this book "zero" stars but the software on Amazon didn't allow it.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing and fun history suppliment!
Review: The person who wrote the review before mine is obviously so "Daughters of the American Revolution" conservative that (s)he's completley lost his/her sense of humor. (S)he's also completely forgotten that MOST kids are smart enough to realize when something's obviously altered for humorous purposes. This is a great series! (Some of the books are labeled "America's Horrible Histories", an offshoot of the popular "Horrible Histories" series.) Levy definitely edits the facts, but the point of this series is to take the most interesting and engaging people and events in history and reveal them for all their foibles, so that kids can develop critical thinking skills while having fun. These books work with that purpose in mind, although I wouldn't recommend teaching anything with them as the sole source of information. They pique kids' interest in history, and let them laugh. The only criticism I have is that the level of the humor (about 7th grade) is, in some cases, above the reding level (about 5th).
<< 1 >>
| 
