Sir Francis Drake : His Daring Deeds

Rating:
Summary: Gerrard's decidedly different biography of Drake (& his cat)
Review: "Sir Francis Drake: His Daring Deeds" is certainly a different sort of juvenile biography, simply because Roy Gerrard draws Drake and all the other characters with what looks to me to be the same proportionality of head to body that you find with babies. Young readers may well find this rather interesting, since it makes everybody look more like children than adults, but it might creep adults out. Despite this odd affectation, Gerrard's artwork is quite stylized (he does especially nice work with sea water) and he extends his artistic talents to the overall graphic design of the volume as well. Young readers will enjoy finding Drake's cat in most of these pictures. Drake's story is told in simple rhyming couplets of two sets per stanza, focusing mainly on his explorations in the New World and the battle against the Spanish Armada. One thing we can all agree upon is that this is a most unusual juvenile biography of Drake. On balance, I think this one comes out ahead of the game.

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent book -
Review: Like all of the Gerard books I have seen, these one is excellent reading. The poetry of the text is well paced and engaging, and makes reading aloud easy and entertaining. The illustrations remain superb. This book is more factually based, telling Drake's life story in vignettes that are imaginative but accurate. The book succeeds on many levels - my son loves to hear it, and I love to read it!

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent book -
Review: Like all of the Gerard books I have seen, these one is excellent reading. The poetry of the text is well paced and engaging, and makes reading aloud easy and entertaining. The illustrations remain superb. This book is more factually based, telling Drake's life story in vignettes that are imaginative but accurate. The book succeeds on many levels - my son loves to hear it, and I love to read it!

Rating:
Summary: not for kids who like history
Review: My daughters love biographies, especially those done by Diane Stanley. This is not really a biography. It has some historical information in it, but really it is just some facts strung together in an annoying rhyme. My oldest (7) thought the illustrations were absurd. The figures look like they are being viewed in a carnival mirror, wide and short with very large heads. Sir Francis Drake is an interesting and controversial character in history and deserves a better telling of his story.

Rating:
Summary: not for kids who like history
Review: My daughters love biographies, especially those done by Diane Stanley. This is not really a biography. It has some historical information in it, but really it is just some facts strung together in an annoying rhyme. My oldest (7) thought the illustrations were absurd. The figures look like they are being viewed in a carnival mirror, wide and short with very large heads. Sir Francis Drake is an interesting and controversial character in history and deserves a better telling of his story.