Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun, lively, info-packed intro to Founding Father.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Born the youngest son of a very large family, the narrator of I AM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN showed an early talent for paying attention -- and using what you've observed to make things better. For example, when little Ben notices that kids with big hands and feet swim faster, he goes on to invent an early version of swim fins. He goes to work for his brother, a printer, and thinks he'd like to be a writer. But when his brother is having none of it, Ben submits a piece of writing under the name of a fictitious old lady, and a career is born. Over his long life and many accomplishments as a writer, printer, inventor, scientist, and Founding Father, he stressed the importance of constantly working to improve yourself, and then going on to improve the endlessly fascinating world around you.
Is It Any Good?
Known for his lively interest in practically everything and his nonstop quest for self-improvement, the Founding Father makes a fun, engaging addition to the Ordinary People Change the World series. Author Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopoulos are in top form in I Am Benjamin Franklin, making the most of a multitalented overachiever of his era, who never lost the joy of discovery or the urge to make things better.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the many inventions described in I Am Benjamin Franklin. Did it surprise you that these things had been invented so long ago? And that they'd been invented by one of the Founding Fathers of the United States?
Do you think it would have been good to know Ben when he was a kid? Does anything in the story make you think he would have been a fun person to hang out with?
In the book, Benjamin Franklin remarks that none of us is perfect, but we can all make ourselves better people. Do you agree? What might you do in your ordinary life to be a better person?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Chris Eliopoulos
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : History , STEM
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Dial Books
- Publication date : October 13, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 5 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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