Ink on His Fingers

Ink on His Fingers is just the kind of history book I like. It is fiction, but has real facts too. It also shows how much Johann Gutenberg worked for his press, was in debt, believed in his cause, and was faithful. But it also leaves you hanging after Johann received more help and money from someone.

My 11 yo son rates this a 4 star book because it has action and is told from the perspective of Hans, a fictional apprentice of Gutenburg. Although we studied Gutenburg in a text, this book was much more descriptive of the characters and it helped him learn what it was like to be a kid in the renaissance time period. Now when he thinks of Gutenburg he realizes how important Gutenburg was to history by printing books the way he did. He was also impressed that this happened only 600 years ago. (My 13 yo son was less impressed with the book and found it to be too easy and somewhat boring.)

I had trouble finding a book to use as a biography for our study of Gutenberg. I read a review of this book in a catalog and had to order it. Action, adventure, mystery are all interwoven with the biography of Gutenberg. My children begged me to read another chapter each night. You also get a feel for the time period. I am a fan of Louise Vernon and this book is among the best. We enjoyed it completely. Recommended