A Ben of All Trades: The Most Inventive Boyhood of Benjamin Franklin

by Michael J. Rosen, Matt Tavares (Illustrator)

Overview

A rousing biography from Michael J. Rosen and Matt Tavares reveals how Benjamin Franklin’s boyhood shaped his amazingly multifaceted life.

Young Benjamin Franklin wants to be a sailor, but his father won’t hear of it. The other trades he tries — candle maker, joiner, boot closer, turner — bore him through and through. Curious and inventive, Ben prefers to read, swim, fly his kite, and fly his kite while swimming. But each time he fails to find a profession, he takes some important bit of knowledge with him. That tendency is exactly what leads him to become the astonishingly versatile genius we remember today. Inspired by The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Michael J. Rosen’s wry tale captures Ben’s spirit in evocative yet playful language, while illustrations by Matt Tavares follow Ben from the workbench to the water in vivid detail. A love story to the value of variety, A Ben of All Trades sheds light on an unconventional path to greatness and humanizes a towering figure in American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536201215
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/17/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	289,920
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 11.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Michael J. Rosen has written or edited more than 135 books for children and adults, including The Tale of Rescue, The Horse’s Haiku, and The Cuckoo’s Haiku, all illustrated by Stan Fellows; The Hound Dog’s Haiku, illustrated by Mary Azarian; and Chanukah Lights, a collaboration with pop-up master Robert Sabuda. Michael J. Rosen lives in the Appalachian foothills of central Ohio.

Matt Tavares is the author-illustrator of many books for children, including Crossing Niagara, Henry Aaron’s Dream, There Goes Ted Williams, Becoming Babe Ruth, and Growing Up Pedro. He also has illustrated books, including Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport and Jubilee! by Alicia Potter. Most recently he wrote and illustrated a pair of Christmas stories, Red and Lulu and Dasher. Matt Tavares lives in Ogunquit, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

12/16/2019

Rosen (The Horse’s Haiku) expands a segment of Benjamin Franklin’s childhood to reveal his early motivations and character traits. A straightforward narrative with invented, formal dialogue follows novelty-seeking young Franklin as he tries in vain to convince his father that he’s suitable for a sea-faring life. With the help of a book, he masters swimming techniques and adds his own innovations, such as swim paddles and a kite for additional speed. Tavares (Dasher) creates light-infused, multitextured digital illustrations that depict Franklin’s spirited escapades in colonial Boston and more somber scenes of Franklin trying, and discarding, apprenticeships. “I fear my mind is unsuited for the craft,” he says of candle making and other highly repetitive tasks. An extensive note explains the author’s use of creative license, noting that the largely imagined vignettes are based on Franklin’s autobiography. A brief bibliography concludes this detailed view of a Renaissance man whose young tenacity and eventual work at his sibling’s print shop led to an extraordinarily varied adult life. Ages 5–9. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Rosen (The Horse’s Haiku) expands a segment of Benjamin Franklin’s childhood to reveal his early motivations and character traits...A brief bibliography concludes this detailed view of a Renaissance man whose young tenacity and eventual work at his sibling’s print shop led to an extraordinarily varied adult life.
—Publishers Weekly

Tavares’s illustrations bring the rich world of 18th-century dockside to life and include details such as the colonial style of dress (bonnets and tricorn hats), tall ships docked in Boston Harbor, and Union Jack flags rippling in the breeze...this book is an excellent resource for discussions of American colonial life in social studies classrooms and beyond. History lovers will relish this glimpse into the inquisitive childhood of Benjamin Franklin.
—School Library Journal

Inspired by Franklin’s memoirs, Rosen recreates young Ben’s path to finding a suitable trade in this picture-book biography...Tavares’ photo-realistic illustrations offer charm and fine details to this blend of history and technology.
—Booklist

History class has taught us that Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, politician, and statesmen, yet what drove him to these careers? As detailed in the Author Notes, this book is inspired by Franklin's own autobiography...The illustrations are colored drawings that provide the visual details needed to help fill in the storyline.
—School Library Connection

Before the bifocals, the lighting rod, the ambassadorship, and all the rest of his many accomplishments, Ben Franklin knew precisely what he wanted to be when he grew up: a sailor. As a child, he spends his time reading and improving his swimming skills in the nearby Mill Pond and Charles River; Tavares’s expansive illustrations show him testing his handmade paddles and even being pulled through the water by a wind-filled kite, like a human sailboat.
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

01/01/2020

Gr 2–5—As a young boy, Benjamin Franklin loved swimming and dreamed of a future on the high seas. His father, on the other hand, encouraged his son to find an occupation far from the dangers of the open ocean. Franklin tried everything, from dipping candles to making shoes, but nothing held his attention for long. He crafted a kite to increase the speed of his swimming, but that didn't help him land useful employment. Finally, with his father's encouragement, Franklin found his ideal occupation: printing pamphlets and newspapers in his brother's print shop. Tavares's illustrations bring the rich world of 18th-century dockside to life and include details such as the colonial style of dress (bonnets and tricorn hats), tall ships docked in Boston Harbor, and Union Jack flags rippling in the breeze. Rosen explains the deliberate use of language and speech patterns authentic to the time period. While some children may struggle with the unfamiliar rhythm and words, the meaning of the terms become clear within the context of the narrative. However, the inclusion of a glossary defining words such as joiner, chandler, and indentures may have been helpful. That said, this book is an excellent resource for discussions of American colonial life in social studies classrooms and beyond. VERDICT History lovers will relish this glimpse into the inquisitive childhood of Benjamin Franklin.—Alyssa Annico, Youngstown State University, OH

School Library Journal

2019-11-05
While Josiah Franklin seeks the right trade for his son, young Benjamin follows other pursuits.

Growing up in Colonial Boston, Benjamin loves reading and swimming. Eschewing his father's candle making trade, Benjamin longs to be a sailor, but Josiah refuses. Worried his son's becoming an "aimless woolgatherer," Josiah unsuccessfully apprentices him to a joiner, a shoemaker, and a turner. Benjamin prefers swimming in Mill Pond, where he experiments with wooden paddles as flippers and a kite, using wind to pull himself through the water. Eventually, Josiah realizes Benjamin's a boy of many trades and indentures him in a print shop, where he can "read and study and write" to his heart's content. Expanding several incidents from Franklin's Memoirs, this story reveals Franklin as a likable boy whose eclectic childhood interests led to his amazing life. Realistic, carefully executed watercolor-and-pencil illustrations in browns, grays, blues, and yellows effectively use light and varied perspectives to add drama to this formative period in Franklin's life. Scenes of Benjamin sampling tedious trades alternate with upbeat scenes of him swimming, playing to the story's theme. Text panels from antique books surrounded by Colonial-era nautical maps reflect Franklin's interest in books and the sea, reinforcing the authentic period setting. The focus is on Benjamin and his close circle, all white.

An effectively presented and surprising slice of Benjamin Franklin's childhood. (author's note, illustrator's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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