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ISBN 0440420385 (which now belongs to another book) - Really well-done, tongue in cheek "biography" of Benjamin Franklin, a man who is "undeniably stupid at times", according to Amos, the mouse, whose brilliant ideas seem to be all that stand between Franklin and certain death with his crazy experiments.
Amos, oldest of 26 children, comes from a family of church mice. Knowing how hard it is to feed such a brood, Amos sets out to try to find some way to help his family and stumbles into the home of Ben Franklin. Ben is sneezing away in a room thick with smoke from the fireplace until Amos gives him almost every detail Ben needs to create the famous Franklin Stove. Thrilled to have such a great mind at hand, Franklin works out an agreement with Amos and the two go on living and working together. When the Revolutionary War takes a financial toll on Washington's army, the two go to France to borrow from the French and Amos is able, with a great deal of help, to save one beautiful female mouse named Sophia and her seven children. After this final adventure, Amos is ready to settle down to a quiet life in his old age and thinks Ben should, too.
The back cover says the book is for ages 8-12. I think it might be a little tough for 8 year olds, with a large number of big words, but it's amusing enough that an 8 year old might make the effort to learn the words and expand their vocabulary. For the parents who worry about every little word in every book their kid reads, there's a couple disparaging "stupids" and one sentence that has Ben Franklin "tossing off" a shot of brandy. For those who just want their kid to enjoy a book and learn new words, this one's WELL worth it.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Amos, oldest of 26 children, comes from a family of church mice. Knowing how hard it is to feed such a brood, Amos sets out to try to find some way to help his family and stumbles into the home of Ben Franklin. Ben is sneezing away in a room thick with smoke from the fireplace until Amos gives him almost every detail Ben needs to create the famous Franklin Stove. Thrilled to have such a great mind at hand, Franklin works out an agreement with Amos and the two go on living and working together. When the Revolutionary War takes a financial toll on Washington's army, the two go to France to borrow from the French and Amos is able, with a great deal of help, to save one beautiful female mouse named Sophia and her seven children. After this final adventure, Amos is ready to settle down to a quiet life in his old age and thinks Ben should, too.
The back cover says the book is for ages 8-12. I think it might be a little tough for 8 year olds, with a large number of big words, but it's amusing enough that an 8 year old might make the effort to learn the words and expand their vocabulary. For the parents who worry about every little word in every book their kid reads, there's a couple disparaging "stupids" and one sentence that has Ben Franklin "tossing off" a shot of brandy. For those who just want their kid to enjoy a book and learn new words, this one's WELL worth it.
- AnnaLovesBooks