Review by Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. The title offers a clue that Smith is winking at adults, but as good a joke as it is, most children just won't get it. In the stories within, bold-schoolboy John (Hancock) writes his name so large on the blackboard that his exasperated teacher remarks, We don't need to read it from space. Similarly, loudmouthed Paul (Revere) embarrasses a lady who comes into his shop to buy extralarge underwear; honest George (Washington) admits to chopping down an entire orchard; clever Ben (Franklin) annoys the neighbors with his platitudes; and independent Tom (Jefferson)\b presents a list of grievances to his teacher. The time comes, though, when their traits are valuable to the revolutionary cause. To reach full comic potential, Smith stretches the truth beyond the breaking point, then attempts to undo some of the misconceptions he has created in a true-false quiz, Taking Liberties, on the closing pages. Deftly drawn, witty, and instantly appealing, the illustrations creatively blend period elements such as wood-grain and crackle-glaze texturing, woodcut lines, and formal compositions typical of the era, with gaping mouths and stylized, spiraling eyes typical of modern cartoons. The artwork and design are excellent and adults will chortle, but this book seems likely to confuse children unfamiliar with the period. Kids will need to know actual, factual American history to appreciate what's going on. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Starred Review. For those constitutionally opposed to history lessons, Smith (Math Curse) profiles the Founding Fathers as the nonconformist kids they might have been. Beatles allusions, like the title, are mercifully few but well-placed ("Say, you want a revolution?" the narrator asks, referring to 1776) as Smith introduces each fellow. "Once there were four lads... Make that five lads. There was also Independent Tom (always off doing his own thing)." Paul, a boy whose penchant for loud bell-ringing leaves him with a tendency to yell, works in a shop where his voice embarrasses customers: " 'Extra-large underwear? Sure we have some! Let's see,... Here they are! Great, big, extra-large underwear!'... It took many years and a midnight ride for people to finally appreciate his special talent." Meanwhile, John has excellent, if ostentatious, penmanship. George is known for his honesty, and the cherry-tree incident gets wry treatment here. Know-it-all Ben spouts aphorisms, irritating his classmates, and Tom gets a time-out in school for refusing to build a balsa-wood birdhouse and instead using "traditional materials in a neoclassical design" (à la Monticello). In weathered shades of brick-red, parchment white and antique blue, layered with collage details from period primers and designed with Early American typefaces, Smith imagines each child's eccentric playground manners. His likenesses of famous faces and 1700s fashion invigorate textbook accounts, and he rounds off the volume with familiar oil paintings of his subjects and short captions on their actual accomplishments. The book closes with "ye olde True or False section," as hilarious as it is informative, a wonderful complement to this singular blend of parody and historically accurate events. Ages 5-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-Describing each man in turn as either bold, noisy, honest, clever, or independent, and taking many liberties with the truth, Smith relates how the Founding Fathers of the title-and Jefferson, too-played a part in securing America's freedom. Hancock's penchant for sprawling his name across the chalkboard as a child led to his boldly writing the biggest signature on the Declaration of Independence. Revere's loud voice selling underwear in his shop came in handy when he had to scream "The Redcoats are coming!" Washington's honest admission to chopping down trees led to his serving as president in New York City where there were few forests. Well, you get the idea. The pen-and-ink cartoon illustrations, richly textured with various techniques, add to the fun. Page turns reveal droll surprises such as young bewigged George, axe in hand and already missing some teeth, surveying his felled orchard, or Franklin's rejoinder when the townspeople express their vexation with his clever sayings. Early American typefaces, parchment grounds, and vestiges of 18th-century life, like chamber pots and hoop toys, evoke a sense of the time. A true-and-false section in the back separates fact from fiction. While children will love the off-the-wall humor, there is plenty for adult readers to enjoy, too-the clever fly leaf, puns ("-that bell-ringing took a toll on young Paul"), and more. Exercise your freedom to scoop up this one.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary, Intermediate) In a history book that will have the stars on Old Glory spinning as it waves, Smith introduces the titular fab four as well as a fifth lad from the colonies (young Thomas Jefferson, who was ""always doing his own thing"") by defining each through a single character trait and then reinforcing that attribute with both historical references and fictional events. John (as in Hancock) is bold; Paul (Revere), noisy; George (Washington), honest; Ben (Franklin), clever; and Tom, independent. John, the bold boy, writes his ""John Hancock"" on the chalkboard in huge letters. The schoolmarm exclaims: ""John, we don't need to read it from space!"" Back matter (titled ""Taking Liberties"") informs readers that blackboards hadn't been invented then; the prescient event depicted is funny but fabricated. That's the challenge: children must read critically and not accept everything on the page as the undisputed historical record. Humor, both broad (noisy Paul shouts to a mortified customer: ""Extra-large underwear? Sure we have some!"") and sly (the parodies in Smith's portraits of the boys and a visual reference to the Beatles' cover of Abbey Road) reminds readers that books hold many discoveries, and quite a bit of ye olde fun. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Despite the Beatles-reminiscent title, this offering concerns itself with not four, but five of the Founding Dads: John (Hancock), Paul (Revere), George (Washington), Ben (Franklin) and Tom (Jefferson). Each is imagined in his youth, identified by one characteristic that becomes key to his involvement in the American Revolution. John is bold, writing his name large on the blackboard; Paul is noisy, bellowing out customers' orders in his family's shop; George is honest, confessing to the chopping down of not only the cherry tree, but the whole orchard; Ben is clever, sharing his aphorisms with all who will listen; and Tom is independent, making a model of Monticello instead of a birdhouse out of "ye olde balsa wood." Smith's faux-antiqued illustrations deliver bucket-loads of zany energy, but his text lacks his sometime partner Jon Scieszka's focus. While there is a hallowed place for irreverence in children's literature, one might wish for a work that more evenly balances humor with substance. Still, this may serve as an entry point for kids who think that history is dry as dust, and "Ye Olde True or False Section" really is pretty funny. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
